It hasn’t skipped my attention that the weather in Vancouver is getting slightly better. Funny thing about the sun. It gets people thinking about being outside again and all of those projects that need attention.

Exterior painting and exterior house colours have been high on the list of search terms on our website lately. So I thought I would give my readers a Spring gift.

I have spent a considerable amount of time testing the new Artisan colours from Cloverdale Paint and as I have mentioned previously, I love them. No more colour matching for me. If we are painting a house in Cloverdale Paint, we are now using Cloverdale Paint colours.

So fresh from Cloverdale Paint’s new Artisan Color Palette, here are my top exterior colour combinations for 2012.

And of course I fully expect greys to remain front and centre in house colour trends for 2012.

Finding that right grey that doesn’t have a lot of blue (or worse purple) undertones is important for choosing exterior paint colours for your house. My favourite exterior greys are always a green grey and my favourite on the Cloverdale Paint Artisan fan deck is Bay Leaf (CA142). It has the right amount of green undertones in it and it pairs well with Wool (CA031) and Foothills (CA084). This is also a great combination if you have brick on your home.

For a darker grey combination (like the one we feature on much of our advertising) my choice is Cloverdale Paint Brushed Nickel (CA205). I paired it with Mist (CA028) and I have the front door in a fabulous burnt orange Brandy (CA226). Last Fall I did a similar recommendation of what I thought was some of the best colour combinations from 2011 and I think this will continue into 2012. I also really like Brushed Nickel with Fossil (CA079) for the trim.

Even though grey is the new brown, brown isn’t disappearing anytime soon. I put together a combination that will work with the abundance of brown ledgestone I see on houses. Cloverdale Paint Oyster (CA018) is a great neutral. I have paired it with Peat (CA077) for trim and Canopy (CA212) for a dramatic dark door. Canopy is dark enough that it will read as black in lesser light. A very beautiful colour. This is a combination that will again work well with brick.

Do you have a great cottage or charming bungalow that could use a great paint colour? I love this combination of Cloverdale Paint Artichoke (CA160) with Olive (CA162)  for an accent colour (think shutters and window trim details). Colour this fresh needs a good white and I have chosen Cameo White (CA008). A colour selection like this could also work on a heritage home as well.

I grew up in a blue house. I like blue houses – when the are done right. Navy can’t have purple undertones. Lighter blues can’t be baby blue and the trim needs to be the perfect compliment to the blue (no Cloud White). There are a couple of blues I like in the Artisan fan deck. I am pretty keen on Shale (CA192) because of its smoky green undertone. On a colour like this I wouldn’t do an off-white because it will read dirty so I paired it with the creamier Buttermilk (CA001). I like a glossy black door and accents with a dark blue house but since the Artisan palette doesn’t have a black I have chosen Obsidian (CA204).

Do you like blue but not for a whole house? Here is a nice combination that plays on the teal blue that is becoming more popular. A front door would look stunning in Deep Water (CA203). Especially with a nice paper bag brown on the siding in Mocha (CA048). I paired it with Vellum (CA011) for the trim.

Six hot colour combinations for exteriors for 2012. I have some others that I like but remember when choosing colours for your house, don’t ignore the fixed features that are often going to determine the colours that will look best for your home. Then you have to test them because getting it wrong when painting an entire house is either going to be a mistake you won’t forget until you repaint it.

If you have a home in Vancouver anywhere in the lower mainland, you can also call us at Warline. We’ll not only do a first class job painting your home, we’ll make sure the colour is perfect.