So how do you choose the right white paint color for the exterior of your house? There are so many whites to choose from, the decision can be stressful and definitely overwhelming.
We are Painting the Exterior Brick of our Home
Where do you start? Where do you go for advice? As you know if you’re following my blog and Instagram we are painting our brick exterior….WHITE.
Our brick home consists of yellow and brown brick. Picking the right white for an exterior surface such as brick is not an easy task. You don’t want to use a white that is too bright, especially on the outside of a house. If you do, your home will be blinding to look at in full sunlight.
How to Choose the Best White Color for the Exterior of a House
Going with an off white or a white that has some creaminess to it, is the way to go. It won’t be glaring to the eye, and it will give your house a softer more pleasing appearance.
I rounded up some examples of painted white brick homes from Houzz. Each home has a different shade of white on the exterior. The colors are both from Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams. Take a look at the difference in tone, some are whiter than others and many have a creamy softer appearance.
Examples of Painted White Brick Homes and the Colors Used
White Paint Colors Not to Use on the Exterior
As I mentioned earlier, you don’t want a pure white color for the exterior. For example, in Sherwin Williams colors, I would not choose SW Extra White or SW Ceiling Bright White for the Exterior. The “whitest” color I would choose for the exterior is SW Pure White. It has a hint of warmth added to it but is still a very pretty white white.
Where To Go for Help in Picking Out a Paint Color for the Exterior?
I suggest doing a ton of research, especially if you are painting brick. If not done correctly, you will have problems down the line. Check out Exterior Home Modernization “ORC” (Week 2) Prepping the Brick for Paint and Home Exterior Modernization – “ORC” (Week 1) for tips on painting brick. The more research you do the better – if you are reading this, you are definitely on the right track 😉
Get your research from experts and homeowners that have gone through the process, like myself. During my research for picking the Best White Color, I looked at a ton of pictures and then I asked an expert. I had my own ideas on exterior paint colors but really wanted a professional opinion.
Good friends of ours are having their entire home styled by a top designer in the country. I reached out to him for advice on his favorite exterior white colors. I am sharing this list with you. The colors on the left are Sherwin Williams. The colors on the right are Benjamin Moore.
All these whites are beautiful and look amazing on a brick exterior. Feel free to Pin this for later use.
Which color did we pick for our exterior brick?
We chose Alabaster by Sherwin Williams.
And we absolutely love it! For more pictures of our exterior transformation check out Home Exterior Modernization “One Room Challenge” Final Reveal (Week 6)
Follow along on Instagram HERE and Instagram stories HERE for daily updates and happenings at Happy Haute Home.
Denise
XO
Please Subscribe to Happy Haute Home
For more informative posts about home improvement, please subscribe to Happy Haute Home and follow along on Pinterest HERE, and Twitter HERE and feel free to pin and tweet your favorite pics from Happy Haute Home.
Great post Denise, and wow – so many choices! They all look beautiful on their respective houses. Your home is so lovely – I don’t know if I can wait till November to see what color you ended up choosing. The suspense is killing me! 🙂 Happy Monday my friend! ❤️
Hi Barbara, it was a huge struggle picking a color and sleepless nights! But looking at what has been painted so far, I feel really good about my decision 😊Happy Monday
Gosh Denise, I agree with barbara mantel, November 7th is a long time to wait!
Hi Karen, I show sneak peeks on Instagram stories😊Thank you for following along! Lot more to be done before reveal!
I always love white painted house, exterior and interior 😀 Wow tough choices of white!
Hi Mel, it was a stressful decision but so far, I’m very happy with the color we chose. A very positive reaction in my neighborhood too!
Can’t wait to discover which you chose. I know which is my fave from the photos you shared. Wondering if you narrowed it down to the swatches in the photo… didn’t see my fave there. Love creamy whites… whatever you have chosen, I’m sure it will be magnificent. 🙂 <3
Hi Lynn! I am so pleased with how the painting is coming along. It looks soooo good! DO tell! Which is your favorite creamy white? I should have consulted with you before I made my choice 😉
Hi Denise – thanks for the choices – it is so hard, especially if hubby isn’t interested in painting at all!! My question is – we live in an older neighborhood established in the 1950’s – all the houses are brick – well, I want something a bit different. Our home has a black roof, no shutters on the windows b/c of the design, not all windows have space for shutters. House is Cape Cod style with taupe siding and white trim windows….. I was thinking something in a “blue” shade to accent the taupe or something in the white color scheme, then paining the window trim black to match the roof…. so many decisions!
Hi Terry, my husband wasn’t on board either but now loves it!!! If I am understand you – most houses are brick but yours is siding? I just love the clean and classic look of white, white siding is beautiful. Black accents like the doors, windows, garage and even the gutters would be gorgeous. Blue can get trendy, white will always be in style 🙂
Thanks Denise – actually, my house is brick and siding- the siding is in a taupe color. Thanks for the info! Terry
Are you thinking about painting the brick and siding? All white would be beautiful 🙂
I actually wanted to leave the siding in the taupe color and just paint the brick only. What are your thoughts?
For a cohesive look, I would paint them both. Not sure you would like the 2 tone look?
Okay, thanks for the input, appreciate it!
Anytime Terry! Good luck on your project 🙂
Love this article. Thank you! I have a question about the first picture at the top of this article. Picture of white house in moutains. Do you know what color paint they chose? Is that Alabaster or Creamy? Is the roof owens corning trudefinition duration driftwood?
My house is one story brick California ranch built in 1950. It is a taupe gray green and I want to paint it off white white…. roof is Driftwood. Any suggestions?
Hi Angela, I don’t have any details about the home you are referencing but it looks similar to Alabaster, which is the color we used on our home. If you want white white, Pure White by SW is the “whitest” I would go but again Alabaster is a softer tone and works well with so many accents.
Hi. I am about to paint my brick house SW Alabaster and wanted to see if you have any regrets or suggestions? Also, what sheen did you use on the brick and trim? Thanks for any advice you can provide.
Hi Kimberly, Alabaster is really pretty on a home’s exterior and for the most part I am very happy with the choice. The steps that were painted are getting quite dirty but that’s to be expected, the walls still look great. I don’t remember the exact sheen but stayed away from flat. Hope that helps.
We are doing the exact same as Kimberly and I was going to ask the same question about sheen. Why did you stay away from flat?
The same reason I would stay away from flat on the interior…too hard to keep clean. Hope that helps.
What gray shutter color would you use with the paint color creamy
I’ve never used creamy, I assume that’s a Sherwin William color? Try looking at Intellectual Gray or Agreeable Gray as they are very nice SW grays.
What about for Stucco??
I don’t know a whole lot about stucco but we just installed part stucco on our pool house and I used the same color on the stucco as I did on the brick which is Alabaster from Sherwin William.
that house by LRO that you say is Pure White is actually Frosty White
Not sure about that but ok.