US exterior painting trends, color guides, costs per sq ft and HOA-friendly palettes. Articles written by US-based contractors covering Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore and Behr, with region-specific tips for Sun Belt, Pacific Northwest and New England climates.
Exterior painting & siding: cost per square foot across Los Angeles, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Dallas, Chicago, Denver and Seattle. Hardie board vs vinyl siding vs stucco repaint comparisons.
US paint brands in depth: Sherwin-Williams Emerald, Benjamin Moore Aura Exterior, Behr Marquee, PPG Timeless - paint sheen guides and climate durability from Sun Belt heat to Pacific Northwest rain.
HOA, permits & climate: HOA-approved palettes, city permit requirements, and picking exterior colors that hold up in Florida humidity, Arizona sun, or New England winters.
Is Swiss Coffee warm or cool? Behr vs Benjamin Moore OC-45 undertones, LRV and best rooms compared. Test Swiss Coffee on your own wall photo, free.
The 10 best Texas modern farmhouse exterior paint colors for 2026, with Magnolia-inspired Waco palettes, Hill Country limestone combos, HOA-compliant picks for Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio, and AI visualizer mockups.
Best paint for stucco: the acrylic vs elastomeric decision first, then Sherwin-Williams Loxon XP, Behr Masonry and Dunn-Edwards Enduralastic on their claims.
Faux stone paint guide 2026: manufactured stone veneer (Eldorado, Cultured Stone), top 6 accent colors, Tuscan integration, DIY vs pro. Preview free.
Behr Premium Plus Masonry, Stucco, Brick and Block Paint is Behr's dedicated 100% acrylic masonry topcoat, roughly $36 to $48 per gallon at The Home Depot. It is the right pick for sound, properly prepped stucco, brick, block, and cement surfaces in light-to-mid colors, with Behr Marquee Masonry as the premium step up for harsh sun, dark shades, and one-coat hide.
Sherwin-Williams exterior stain colors 2026: a curated palette guide to the Woodscapes range with 30 picks organized by use, plus solid vs semi-transparent and how to test the right tone on your siding.
Benjamin Moore Boothbay Gray HC-165 is the single most-used Benjamin Moore coastal blue-gray on US exteriors, the soft blue-gray with a slate undertone that anchors Maine, Cape Cod, and Mid-Atlantic shingle facades into a 2026 magazine-cover read. HEX #ACB7BB, LRV 47, the mid-tone value that holds its blue cast in flat coastal light without ever crossing into a true gray. Boothbay Gray is a Benjamin Moore coastal blue-gray worth a close look in 2026. Full spec, eight trim pairings, four-orientation NIR behavior, a side-by-side comparison versus SW Sea Salt 6204 on a Cape Cod shingle property, and a free 30-second photo preview.
15 popular Glidden exterior paint colors for 2026 with HEX, LRV, the Glidden 2026 Color of the Year, Home Depot and Walmart availability, and how Glidden stacks up against PPG and Behr similar tiers. Test any Glidden shade free on your own house photo.
Hands-on 2026 review of the Sherwin-Williams ColorSnap mobile app (iOS, Android): 5 structural limits, 10-feature comparison, step-by-step workflow, Pro mode tier, and the #1 mobile alternative for real-photo AI renders.
Oregon HOA-approved exterior paint colors for 2026, ORS Chapter 94 Planned Community Act compliance, Pacific Northwest moss and gray-day light considerations, and approved palettes for Portland, Eugene, Salem, and Bend.
Benjamin Moore stucco paint 2026: Aura Exterior with Color Lock proprietary mineral acrylic resin is the top recommendation for cement and lime stucco bodies, Element Guard handles high-humidity coastal Florida and Gulf Coast facades, and BM Texture variants cover repair patches. This guide covers the full product ladder, 10 BM stucco-friendly colors including Stone House 1083, competitive matchups against SW Loxon XP, Behr Premium Plus Masonry, and Dunn-Edwards Evershield, retail pricing from authorized BM dealers, application protocol on rough-troweled stucco, and an 8-question FAQ.
Behr deep base, ultra deep base, LRV limits for dark colors, the Marquee Lifetime Limited Warranty, Premium Plus 10-year terms, NIR cool-paint additive, and the $5 to $12 per gallon upcharge over standard base, with 8 FAQs.
Sherwin-Williams VinylSafe colors explained: the 100-color palette, the darker shades it unlocks, the 7 paint lines that carry it, and the rule for other paints.
10 tested siding and brick color combinations for 2026: red brick + white siding + black trim, gray brick + sage Hardie + cream, vinyl + brick rules, and color theory for mixed-material facades.
Brick house paint ideas for 2026: the ten colors that work on painted brick with published LRV, how to paint brick step by step, and what a job really costs.
The most popular Cabot stain colors in 2026 are 1480 Cedar, Redwood, New Cedar, Driftwood Gray, and Mahogany Flame, ranked across Transparent, Semi-Transparent, Semi-Solid, and Solid opacities. This guide ranks the top 20 Cabot shades by real demand, matches them to wood type (cedar, redwood, IPE, pressure-treated pine), and compares the lineup against Sherwin-Williams Woodscapes, Benjamin Moore Woodluxe, and Olympic. Test any Cabot color on your own deck photo free in 30 seconds.
Sherwin-Williams Anew Gray (SW 7030) exterior complete guide 2026: HEX #BFB6AA, LRV 47, warm mid-greige with soft taupe undertone, the Country Club Plaza Kansas City pick, all 4 orientations, trim and door pairings, Mediterranean Revival and transitional fits, and head-to-head vs Agreeable Gray, Repose Gray and Worldly Gray.
Sherwin-Williams Accessible Beige (SW 7036) exterior complete guide 2026: HEX #D4C8B0, LRV 58, warm beige with balanced yellow-gray undertone, all 4 orientations, best trim and door pairings, traditional/ranch/Mediterranean style fits, and head-to-head vs Anew Gray, BM Manchester Tan and BM Lenox Tan.
Urbane Bronze SW 7048 outdoors: LRV 8, the brown-gray-green undertone, heat on siding, trim whites, and how it compares to Iron Ore and Black Fox.
Sherwin-Williams Agreeable Gray SW 7029 complete 2026 guide: real LRV 60, hex #D1CCC0, cream-leaning warm greige, 4-orientation behavior, vs Repose Gray (cooler), Anew Gray (warmer), Mindful Gray (cooler darker), trim pairings, door pairings, FAQ.
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