Exterior Paint and Trim Color Combinations: Light and Dark Trim
The trim sets how much contrast a house has. This page compares a near-black trim on a pale wall, a light gray trim on a dark wall, and a deep teal-black trim on a warm brown wall.
Quick answer
Put dark trim such as #2E2820 on a light wall like #DED5BF, and light trim such as #D2D2D2 on a dark wall like #554B40.
Every wall, trim and door color here was measured from one of these public-domain paintings.
3 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.
Cream with Dark Trim
Walls #DED5BF
Trim #2E2820
Front door & shutters #A47B64
Roof: charcoal
Rice cream walls with chocolate trim and a clay tan door suit a two-story colonial. The charcoal roof matches the dark trim.
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
Rice Cream LRV 67
Bronze Brown LRV 7
Clay Tan LRV 23
Light Gray Trim LRV 65
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.
Trim colors
#2E2820LRV 2
Dark Chocolate Trim
A very dark warm trim at LRV 2, from van der Helst's Portrait of a Man. It gives the strongest contrast on cream siding without the cold edge of pure black.
A very light wall at LRV 67 with a warm yellow undertone, from van der Helst's Portrait of a Man. It is the light wall that pairs with the darkest trim.
Sherwin-Williams SW 7055 Enduring Bronze
Very close
Valspar 6010-1 Journey
Very close
Behr MQ2-39 Rare Wood
Very close
Farrow & Ball No. 255 Tanner's Brown
Similar
#A47B64LRV 23
Clay Tan
A mid-tone wall or door at LRV 23 with a red-orange undertone, from van der Helst's Portrait of a Man. As a wall it is warm, and as a door it is quiet against cream.
Start with the wall and work out the trim by value. A light wall like #DED5BF at LRV 67 can take a very dark trim. A dark wall like #554B40 at LRV 7 looks best with a light trim.
The gap in LRV is the contrast. Cream at 67 and chocolate trim at 2 is a gap of 65 points, which is a sharp look. Bronze at 7 and light gray at 65 is almost as wide, but the trim now reads as the bright part of the house.
A mid-tone wall like #A47B64 at LRV 23 can go either way. Here it takes a very dark teal black trim.
The same rule works for vinyl, wood or fiber cement. Decide whether you want the trim or the wall to stand out, and keep the other one quiet.
How much contrast should dark or light trim give?
Dark trim on light walls draws the eye to windows, corners and rooflines. It makes a house look crisp and graphic. The two dark trims here, #2E2820 and #1A3037, have LRV of 2 and 3, so they read nearly black.
Light trim on dark walls reverses it. The wall becomes a calm mass and the trim becomes a thin outline. #D2D2D2 at LRV 65 is neutral and soft, so it avoids the glare of bright white.
If you want a gentler look, narrow the gap. Use a clay tan wall with a trim that is lighter than the wall but darker than cream. The door can then take one of the deep colors, basil green or coffee brown. Keep shutters on either the trim color or the door color, not a third color.
Do dark and light trim look different in sun and shade?
They do. Dark trim in strong sun can look a shade lighter and show its undertone. #2E2820 shows its warm brown, and #1A3037 shows its cool blue. In shade, both look black.
Light trim loses brightness in shade and picks up the color of what is around it. #D2D2D2 can look slightly blue under an overcast sky and clean in direct sun.
Walls change too. A bronze wall such as #554B40 looks richer in morning sun and flatter on a gray day. Since colors look lighter in full sun and cooler in shade, it helps to choose a wall one shade deeper than your first instinct, then check how the trim looks against it.
Look at the north side of the house, where the light is coolest, before you decide.
How do you test trim and wall colors together?
Paint the wall sample at least two feet wide, then paint a strip of the trim color on a board and hold it against the wall. Doing it on a separate board keeps your siding clean while you compare.
Test on two sides of the house, one sunny and one shaded, and look at each in the morning, at noon and in the evening. Add the door color beside them.
Make sure the trim sample sits next to the roof color and any stone or brick, since those fixed materials set the limits for your choice.
If you cannot decide between two trims, paint both on the same window frame and live with them for a few days.
FAQ
Should exterior trim be darker or lighter than the siding?
Either works. Dark trim on a light wall gives a crisp outline, and light trim on a dark wall makes the trim the bright part of the house.
What is a good dark trim color for a house?
#2E2820 is a warm dark brown at LRV 2, and #1A3037 is a cool blue black at LRV 3. Pick the warm one for yellow or cream walls and the cool one for warm tan walls.
What is a good light trim color on a dark house?
#D2D2D2 is a light neutral gray at LRV 65. It frames dark walls without the glare of bright white.
What color should the shutters be?
Paint them the door color or the trim color. Choosing one of the two keeps the house from looking busy.
Does vinyl siding change the trim choice?
The same contrast rules apply. Check the siding maker's limits on dark colors, since very dark paints can absorb more heat.
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 Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, 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.
