White Houses with Black Trim: Three Exterior Color Schemes
A white house with black trim works because the contrast is strong and the look stays simple. Here are three white wall colors, each measured from a painting, with the same near-black trim, a front door color and a roof. The whites differ in undertone, so the right one depends on your roof, your stone or brick, and your light.
Quick answer
Use a very light white (LRV 73 to 78) on the walls, near-black trim (LRV 2) on window frames, fascia and the garage door, and a deeper color on the front door and shutters. Pair it with a charcoal or black roof.
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.
Warm White, Olive Door
Walls #E2DED4
Trim #1F261A
Front door & shutters #5A5432
Roof: charcoal
Paint the walls warm parchment white, the trim and garage door soft green black, and the front door and shutters deep olive on a two-story colonial. Add a charcoal roof for a calm, traditional look.
On a ranch, use blush mist white on the walls, soft green black on the trim, and smoky blue on the door and shutters. A black roof keeps the long roofline in step with the trim.
A farmhouse takes cool river white on the walls, soft green black trim, and a burnt copper door and shutters. The warm door stands out against the cool walls, and a charcoal roof ties it together.
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
Warm Parchment White LRV 73
Blush Mist White LRV 78
Cool River White LRV 73
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
#E2DED4LRV 73
Warm Parchment White
A very light white (LRV 73) with a warm yellow undertone, good for siding or stucco on a house with a charcoal roof or cream stone. It comes from "Landscape with the Penitent Saint Jerome", a Belgian painting from 1530–40 at The Art Institute of Chicago.
The lightest wall color here (LRV 78), with a pink-red undertone that stays soft in shade and can show more pink in warm evening light. It comes from Claude Monet's "Branch of the Seine near Giverny (Mist)", 1897, at The Art Institute of Chicago.
A very light white (LRV 73) with a cool blue undertone that reads as a pale blue, especially in shade. Use it on a farmhouse or a house with gray stone. It comes from Claude Monet's "The Petite Creuse River", 1889, at The Art Institute of Chicago.
Near-black (LRV 2) with a faint green undertone, for window trim, fascia, gutters and the garage door against any of the whites. It comes from "Portrait of a Woman" by Jean Marc Nattier, 1753, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. No commercial paint we checked is a close match, so ask a paint store to match a chip.
A deep, warm yellow-toned olive (LRV 9) for the front door and shutters. It sits quietly against the warm white and the black trim. It comes from Nattier's "Portrait of a Woman", 1753, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
A mid-tone, cool blue (LRV 20) and the lightest of the three door colors, so it reads clearly as color next to black trim. It suits the blush white on a ranch. It comes from Nattier's "Portrait of a Woman", 1753, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
A deep, warm red-orange (LRV 15) for a front door that stands out against cool walls. It gives a farmhouse a clear focal point. It comes from Nattier's "Portrait of a Woman", 1753, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Start with what cannot change. Brick, stone, a roof and a driveway each carry an undertone, and the wall color has to sit next to them. Hold a large sample beside the roof shingle and any stone before you decide.
The three whites here differ mainly in undertone. The warm yellow white (LRV 73) suits a charcoal roof and tan or cream stone. The pink-red white (LRV 78) is the lightest and goes well with a black roof, but it can look faintly pink beside gray stone. The cool blue white (LRV 73) reads as a pale blue and suits charcoal roofs and gray or blue-gray stone.
If you keep red or orange brick, a cool white will make the brick look hotter. A warm white usually sits more quietly beside it. If you plan to paint the brick too, the choice is open, so pick the undertone you like and match the roof to it.
How much contrast should the trim and front door have?
The trim here has an LRV of 2 and the walls sit between 73 and 78. That is a gap of about 70 points, the strongest contrast you can get. It outlines windows, corners and rooflines sharply, so it works best on a house with clean, even trim.
Use the black on window frames, fascia, gutters and the garage door. Painting the garage door black helps it recede instead of dominating the front of the house.
Give the front door a different job. The door colors here have LRVs of 9, 15 and 20, so they are lighter than the trim and read as color, not as another black. Paint the shutters the same color as the door so the scheme stays at three colors plus the roof. If you want the quietest look, paint the door and shutters the trim color instead. Keep the door to one accent only.
Why do exterior colors look lighter in sun and cooler in shade?
Outdoors, bright sun washes out color. A white with an LRV of 73 or 78 can look close to plain white on a sunny wall at midday. Large surfaces also make a color look lighter than a small chip does.
Shade pulls the other way. On the north side of a house, or under a porch roof, colors look cooler and grayer. The cool blue white will show more blue there. The warm yellow white stays soft. The pink-red white can turn gray-pink.
Because of this, choose a shade darker than the one you think you want. Light whites above LRV 60 already bounce a lot of light, so going slightly deeper keeps the wall from glaring in full sun. It also keeps the black trim from looking harsh against a wall that has gone almost white. Check your pick on both the sunniest and shadiest walls before you commit.
How do I test exterior paint colors on my house?
Paint large boards, at least two feet square, instead of small patches on the wall. Give each board two coats so the color is true. Use boards so you can move them around the house.
Test on at least two sides, such as the sunniest wall and the shadiest one. Look at each board in the morning, at midday, in the evening and on an overcast day. The same white can shift a lot between those times.
Set the boards next to the real things they must work with: the roof shingle, the stone or brick, the door and the trim. Paint a trim sample next to each wall board so you can judge the contrast. Leave the samples up for a few days before you decide. Look at them from the street, not only from arm's length.
FAQ
What white goes best with black trim?
Any very light white (LRV 73 to 78) gives strong contrast. Choose the undertone by your roof and stone: warm yellow for cream or tan, cool blue for gray, pink-red for a black roof.
What color front door suits a white house with black trim?
Deep olive, smoky blue and burnt copper all work here. Their LRVs are 9, 20 and 15, so they read as color beside the near-black trim without competing with it.
What roof color goes with a white house and black trim?
Charcoal or black. Both sit close to the trim in tone, so the roof and trim look like one dark frame around the white walls.
Can I match the black trim exactly?
The trim color measured here is near-black with a faint green undertone (LRV 2). We found no close commercial match, so take a chip to a paint store and ask for a color match, then test it on a board.
Is white too light for an exterior wall?
Whites at LRV 73 to 78 look very light and can wash out in full sun. Choose a shade slightly darker than your first instinct and check it on both sunny and shaded walls.
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.
