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.
Victorian paint colors for Boston 2026: Back Bay brownstone, Beacon Hill Federal-Victorian, South End bay-window Italianate, Roxbury Stick-Eastlake palettes plus Landmarks Commission rules and freeze-thaw formulations.
The 12 most authentic Benjamin Moore® Williamsburg paint colors for Colonial heritage homes in 2026: CW-150 Wetherburn's Tavern Cream, CW-205 Capitol White, CW-690 Wythe Blue, CW-330 Yellow Bayberry, CW-630 Tarpley Brown, CW-435 Boxwood Green. Rockefeller-funded 1928-1934 restoration palette tested on a 1750 Massachusetts Saltbox HDC submission.
Stick Eastlake Victorian paint colors for California 2026: the 5-color body, trim, sash, accent and detail hierarchy, ten authentic palette picks and SF Pacific Heights restoration techniques.
Stucco hairline crack repair costs $50 to $300 DIY or $400 to $1,500 pro in 2026. Diagnose hairline vs settling vs tectonic cracks, pick the right elastomeric crack fill product, and prep for a lasting fix.
Paint color sampling at home 2026: 5 methods compared (chips, Samplize peel-and-stick, foamcore, sample pints, AI). 4-orientation testing, time-of-day, sample-card pitfalls, FAQ.
Shingle Style house paint colors 2026: 10 approved palettes for Hamptons, Newport, and shingle-style Victorian estates. BM Newburyport Blue HC-155, Hale Navy, Sea Salt, Wedding Veil, Cottage Red, Greenfield Pumpkin, and natural cedar patina options.
The best trim colors for red, brown, beige, gray, white-painted and multi-color brick houses. Exact BM and SW codes for trim, doors and shutters. Test free on your photo.
Hands-on 2026 test of the Behr paint visualizer and the ColorSmart app: feature scores 1 to 10, the broken scanner, exterior limits, and 5 free alternatives.
15 best stucco color options 2026 across SW, BM, Behr and Dunn-Edwards with elastomeric vs standard paint specs, application, cost, and 18-month Phoenix UV test. Preview free.
The 15 best Benjamin Moore exterior paint colors for 2026, ranked by selection rate. Silhouette AF-655 takes the #1 slot as the official 2026 Color of the Year, followed by Hale Navy HC-154, Revere Pewter HC-172, Simply White OC-117 and 11 more shades with HEX values, LRV, style fit, and verified trim plus door pairings.
Benjamin Moore Hale Navy HC-154 is the single most-used Benjamin Moore navy on US exteriors, the deep traditional navy with a warm gray undertone that pulls Coastal, Cape Cod, and Modern Farmhouse facades into a 2026 magazine-cover read. HEX #475866, LRV 6, full-bodied without going black. Hale Navy is a Benjamin Moore navy worth a close look in 2026. Full spec, eight trim pairings, four-orientation NIR behavior, a side-by-side comparison versus SW Naval 6244 on a Charleston coastal property, and a free 30-second photo preview.
Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter HC-172 and Edgecomb Gray HC-173 are the two Benjamin Moore greiges most often shortlisted for exteriors. Both are warm greiges. Both sit in the Historical Color Collection. Both will appear on the same fan deck page. But side by side on the same elevation, in the same light, they behave differently. This 2026 head-to-head guide settles the comparison.
The 10 best exterior shutter paint colors for 2026 with exact SW and BM codes, plus vinyl shutter rules (VinylSafe required) and house-color match guide. Test free on your photo.
The PPG Color Visualizer (PaintWithPittsburgh) and the Glidden Color Visualizer are both free, but each is locked to a single retail channel and neither renders photo-realistic AI on your actual house. Here are the honest 2026 limits plus the multi-brand free alternative that handles both catalogs on a real photo in 30 seconds.
Spanish Mission Revival paint colors for 2026: top 10 authentic stucco bodies, wrought iron and bell-tower accents, regional schemes for Stanford, Santa Barbara, Riverside, San Diego, and Sacramento, plus barrel tile harmonization and extreme UV stucco prep.
The 8 best garage door paint colors of 2026 are: 1) Polar Bear SW 7564, 2) Iron Ore SW 7069, 3) Cracked Pepper PPU18-01, 4) Pure White SW 7005, 5) Hidden Gem PPU13-03, 6) Repose Gray SW 7015, 7) Hale Navy BM HC-154, 8) Wrought Iron BM 2124-10. Match-house or accent strategy.
Paint color visualizer apps compared 2026: 8 house paint visualizer apps compared on the same public criteria: own-photo upload, brand catalog, free tier, native app or web, sharing, privacy. FacadeColorizer, Behr Paint, SW ColorSnap, BM Personal Color Viewer, Houzz, Magicplan, Dulux, Valspar.
Front porch paint colors for 2026 broken into three elements: ceiling (Haint Blue tradition with SW Aviary Blue and BM Palladian Blue HC-144), floor (Behr Premium Plus Floor, BM Floor and Patio Latex Enamel, SW Porch and Floor Enamel), and railings plus columns (matching the house body or contrasting trim). Includes wraparound porch palettes, maintenance, and cost.
The Benjamin Moore Personal Color Viewer is the brand's free first-party visualizer, but in 2026 its stock-room overlay still struggles on real exterior photos of cedar shake, brick, and Hardie lap. Here are 5 honest limits plus the #1 free AI alternative that renders all 3,500-plus BM shades on your actual house photo in 30 seconds.
The Valspar Color Visualizer at Lowe's is free across app, web and in-store kiosk, but in 2026 its sticker-style overlay and Lowe's-only stocking footprint hold it back on real exterior photos. Here is the honest review plus the #1 free AI alternative that renders Valspar Renew Blue (2026 COY) and the full catalog on your actual house in 30 seconds.
Upload a photo and see the result in 30 seconds. 1 free HD simulation with 3 variations (magic wand), no sign-up required.
Upload my photo nowFree - no credit card required
