Earth Tone House Color Schemes with Trim and Door Colors
Earth tone house color schemes pair a brown, olive or tan body color with a pale trim and one stronger door color. The four schemes here use colors measured from paintings by Degas, Inness and Andrieu, each with a roof color to match.
Quick answer
For a classic look, use #66503A on the walls, the pale green-white #CFDAD2 on the trim and #A88C6F on the front door and shutters. Choose a brown roof.
Every wall, trim and door color here was measured from one of these public-domain paintings.
4 complete exterior color schemes
Walls, trim, front door and roof together. Each scheme takes its colors from public-domain paintings, so the pairings are ones a painter already put side by side.
Walnut Colonial
Walls #66503A
Trim #CFDAD2
Front door & shutters #A88C6F
Roof: brown
Dark walnut walls with pale sage trim and a soft bronze door suit a two-story colonial. Add a brown roof so the house reads as one warm mass.
Sand olive walls and jadite green on the door and shutters suit a craftsman bungalow. The light walls keep the porch bright under a weathered wood roof.
Exterior paint is seen in much stronger light than a room. Full sun bleaches a color by a shade or two, while the shaded side of the house and overcast days pull it cooler and darker. Test a large sample on two sides of the house.
Color
Swatch
Full sun
Overcast
In shade
Golden hour
Dark Walnut Brown LRV 9
Baked Clay Brown LRV 18
Dry Olive LRV 25
Sand Olive LRV 34
Pale Sage White LRV 68
Try these colors on a house
Pick a color for the walls, the trim, the front door and the roof, and switch between house styles. Shadows and siding lines follow your choice.
Roof colors are typical shingle, tile and metal colors, not paint. Every other color comes from a painting on this page.
Colors for the walls
#66503ALRV 9
Dark Walnut Brown
A deep brown with an LRV of 9, strong enough for siding or stucco on a large house. It comes from Degas's "The Millinery Shop".
Start with what cannot change: the roof, any brick or stone, and the driveway. The four body colors here run from LRV 9 to 34, so pick the depth you want the house to have. #66503A at LRV 9 is a dark, rich brown that suits large, simple shapes. #A79E77 at LRV 34 is the lightest and keeps a small house open.
The warm yellow and red-orange undertones in these browns look natural beside wood, stone and planting. If your roof is gray, test the sample next to a shingle before you commit, because warm browns can look muddy next to cool gray.
The closest measured paint matches include Sherwin-Williams SW 6104 Kaffee and SW 6095 Toasty.
How much contrast should trim and the front door have?
All four schemes use the same trim, #CFDAD2, with an LRV of 68. It is a pale green-white, so it looks soft next to brown and olive instead of stark. Against a body color at LRV 9, the contrast is strong and the trim will stand out clearly. Against LRV 34, it is gentler.
The front door is where the scheme can take a stronger color. A terracotta such as #9C5B47 warms olive walls. A dark door such as #382814 gives a frame to a mid-tone brown house. Keep shutters the same color as the door so the house has only three colors on the front.
If the garage door is visible, paint it the trim color so it fades back.
How do earth tones look in sun and shade?
Exterior colors look lighter in full sun and cooler in shade, so it is usually wise to choose a shade darker than you think you want. A mid-tone such as #907155 can look almost tan at noon and noticeably darker under a porch roof.
Olive and sand colors, like #97875C and #A79E77, show their yellow side in strong light. On a north wall they can look grayer. If your house has both a bright south side and a shaded north side, check both before choosing.
Dark browns hold up well in bright light, but they absorb more heat. For a very sunny location, a mid-tone is the easier choice for walls, and the darkest color can be used for the door or shutters.
How do you test exterior earth tones?
Paint a sample of at least three feet square on two sides of the house, one that gets direct sun and one in shade. Include a patch of the trim color next to it, and put the door color on a board that you can hold against the entry.
Look at the samples in the morning, at midday and in the late afternoon. Check them from the street, not just from arm's length, because color changes with distance.
Keep the sample next to the roof and any brick or stone. The paint matches listed here are the closest measured colors, so always compare the real chip with your sample before ordering.
FAQ
What are the best earth tone colors for a house exterior?
Deep browns, olives and sands work well. The schemes here use #66503A, #907155, #97875C and #A79E77, each with a pale trim and a door color.
What trim color goes with earth tone siding?
A pale, slightly green white such as #CFDAD2 at LRV 68 looks softer than a pure white next to brown and olive.
What roof color suits an earth tone house?
Brown and weathered wood roofs are used in these schemes. A black roof is also possible with a very dark body color.
Can I use a dark brown on a small house?
Yes, but a mid-tone such as #A79E77 keeps a small house open. A dark brown like #66503A suits larger shapes.
Is #382814 available as a paint color?
No close commercial match was found for #382814, so it would need a custom mix.
Save these colors
A card with these house color schemes: walls, trim, front door and roof. Pin it, or take it to the paint store.
Painting images: The Art Institute of Chicago, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, public domain (CC0).
Colors measured by Light & Pigment. Paint names belong to their brands and matches are approximate. Colors look different on screen than on a wall, so always test a sample.
