How to choose exterior colours for your home
Strong sun, red dust and heavy rain all change how an exterior colour ages. What to weigh before deciding.
By Chinwe Okafor · · 1 min read
An exterior colour is chosen once and lived with for years, through a great deal more weather than an interior wall ever sees.
Look at it in the light it will live in
A colour on a card indoors tells you very little. Paint a patch on the actual wall and look at it in the morning, at midday and late afternoon. Strong sun bleaches pale colours and exaggerates warm ones.
Think about dust
In much of the country, harmattan dust settles on everything for months. Very dark and very pale colours both show it. Mid-tones with some warmth in them stay looking clean for longer between washes.
Consider what is next door
A facade does not exist alone. Look at the roof colour, the boundary wall, the neighbouring buildings and the planting, and choose something that sits with them rather than against them.
Practical choices that age well
- Warm neutrals — forgiving of dust and strong light
- Earth tones — quietly Nigerian, and they hide weathering
- Deep accents on detail only — gates, doors, railings
Save the boldest colour for the smallest area.