What Color Shutters Go With Red Brick

A very common finish for brick homes are shutters. It’s a classic that’s been around for centuries and goes with a variety of brick home styles. But what color shutters go with red brick?

Choosing the right exterior finishes and colors are essential if you want to maximize your home’s curb appeal. Ask any realtor and they’ll tell you almost nothing’s more important than making a good first impression. That feeling buyers get when pulling up to the house can make or break a sale. And it’s even more important if it’s your own home because you’ll be the one looking at it each and every day. Even if the home only has a small amount of brick it’s still a big concern. Red brick is a bold choice and an immediate focal point so you have no choice but to coordinate your color scheme with the tone of your brick. Shutters are a classic finish that’s looked fantastic on brick homes for centuries. But choosing the right color is extremely important.

That’s why we’ve compiled our list of the BEST shutter colors for brick houses along with lots of pictures, information and tips from the builder.

Shutter Colors For A Red brick House

What color shutters go best with red brick is a question we get asked all the time. Whenever we build or remodel a home that has any red brick in the design it’s impossible not to design around the brick. It’s an unmistakable focal point you always have to consider.

Pick a color that helps showcase the brick. If you have a home with red brick don’t fight it by picking colors that aren’t complimentary. Embrace your brick as a major design element and create a stunning focal point with accent colors. As you’ll see in the pics ahead, the best designed homes use colors that not only coordinate with the red brick but accentuate it.

Try to remember these tips when choosing the color for your shutters.

Colors tend to look 3 shades lighter when outdoors. Take samples home and put them against the brick at different times of day to see what they’ll actually look like on your home.
Look at example pics and local homes with red brick. Look for high end homes because they tend to be designed by the best architects and designers. If you don’t have the budget to hire help yourself and are unsure what looks best then get inspired by what others have done. You’ll find tons of photos on our website or elsewhere online.

Shutters Create Contrast

In the old days, shutters were a functional part of the home. They were attached to the house with hinges and closed to protect the windows from storms. Shutters are great at blocking flying debris, snow, ice or heavy rain. Windows weren’t as good 100 years ago as they are today. Old homes didn’t have tight seals of multi pane glass. And options like insulated glass or tempering weren’t even invented yet.

Today’s shutters are generally all about looks. While there are some homes that still use functional shutters, the overwhelming majority of brick homes are using them just for looks.

Whether your using your shutters for a functional purpose or just for show, you want them to create contrast. They act as a trim piece around windows and draw attention. The last thing you want is a shutter that’s the same color or tone as the brick. This is why most shutters tend to be either very dark or very light. It doesn’t matter which you prefer as long as they clearly stand out against the brick.

Creating contrast has nothing to do with color. It’s about value. Dark and light. Most red bricks are a mid tone so light or dark shutters create an immediate contrast.

Pro Tip: Try to use shutters at least one value away from your brick. For example, if you have a mid toned brick then a light or dark shutter will work. If your brick is really dark then you can use a mid, light or extremely dark shutter like black. If you have a light brick then use a mid tone, dark or extremely light shutter like white. We recommend putting the shutter up against your brick and seeing how it looks from afar. If it doesn’t stand out then the tones wrong.

4 Red bricks of different sizes, colors and tones.

Determine The Overall Tone & Color Of Your Red Brick

Always take your brick’s exact tone and color into consideration when picking out a shutter color. There are typically specs of color found throughout each individual brick when you look at them up close. These colors can vary from the overall color you see from the street and from brick to brick. It’s a natural material so unlike siding, brick is rarely one solid color.

When up close you can pick out lots of different shades. From far away, however, the brick will appear to be one solid color. The farther away you are, the more solid color the bricks will appear. This solid color is what you should coordinate your shutter color with.

When matching a front door color to red brick consider the following.

The various colors found in each brick. Often times brick has spots of other colors in it like grays, deeper reds or even blue tones.
Consider the brick’s texture. Are they smooth or tumbled. This can help determine a shutter style.
How does the color change from brick to brick. Are they all exactly the same or do the colors vary.
What’s the overall color of the brick when seen from the curb. This is the color you should primarily use when choosing a shutter color.

When picking the perfect shutter color that goes with a red brick house think about how the color will look from a variety of places but especially the curb. That’s the look with the biggest impact.

Black Shutters

Black shutters are by far the most popular color with red brick. It’s the most classic shutter color that’s been used for centuries. It doesn’t matter what style your brick is or how red, black shutters still look great.

The reason for this is due to how neutral a color black is. It goes with just about everything so it’s hard to go wrong. If your using fire house red bricks with a super smooth finish, or a more earthy brick that’s tumbled, black shutters will look great.

Red Brick Colonial with black shutters and lots of white trim. White front door. All white sunroom with roof top deck and white rails.

Red Brick Colonial With Black Shutters

Black shutters are a classic look when paired with red brick. Especially so on an old fashioned Colonial like the home we see pictured above. Black shutters provide a great contrast against the brick and white window and door trim.

Red Brick Colonials are known for their use of white trim and elaborate door frames. As you can see, the design provides three distinct tones which makes it perfect in terms of contrast.

Light. The white trim, front door and paneling provide the light tone.
Mid. The bricks provide the mid toned shade.
Dark. The shutters and roofing shingle are where the dark tones come into play.

A design like this which uses 3 main tones is a great way to make all your elements pop.

Gray Shutters

Gray is a fantastic color to use with red brick which makes it a great choice for a shutter color. And it’s a neutral so it goes with just about everything.

One of the best things about gray is how in style it is at the moment. Every designer seems to be using gray inside and out. We see it used just about everywhere and on a huge variety of homes.

Make sure to vary the tone accordingly. Remember to think about creating contrast with your shutters. Gray isn’t like black or white, it comes in a wide variety of colors and tones so make sure you choose one that’s appropriate for your brick’s color and tone. We recommend going dark most of the time. A nice charcoal or granite gray shutter goes with pretty much any shade of red brick and just about anything else you use on the home.

Red brick home with charcoal gray shutters and matching front door.

Gray Shutters With Red Brick Veneer

These dark gray charcoal shutters are a beautiful choice with this shade of red brick. The provide a nice contrast to the brick and white trim without being too dark. That’s what we really like about this shade of gray. Black can be very stark. Dark gray provides all the benefits of a neutral color with a strong contrast but it’s a little less bold. Gray fades into the design a little more and isn’t as in your face as black. It’s a softer look.

Carrying the color choice to the front door is a fantastic choice. When accent colors match it creates a harmonious color scheme that most people find appealing. Just make sure you choose those colors carefully because together they’ll make up a large portion of your exterior.

White Shutters

White shutters are another great choice with red brick. The colors go together really well and provide a nice contrast.White is also a classic neutral that goes with everything so you can’t go wrong with the choice.

White is a fantastic shutter color if your someone who wants to brighten up your home. Even light red bricks are still not that light so adding in white shutters to each window keeps the home from looking dull.

White draws a lot of attention because pretty much nothing in nature is white. It’s a stark color that really pops against the red brick. If you want to stand out then white is a great color choice because it’s hard to miss. Especially when it’s used in a smart way like against a red brick backdrop. Because the bricks will always be darker than white your shutters will really stand out.

Keep in mind that even white has a ton of different colors and tones. Snow white, cream white, gray whites, and pure whites are just a few. There are just as many shades of white as pretty much any other color, especially when you get into tints. We recommend going with a pure white. It’s clean, crisp, goes with everything and won’t clash with any other colors.

Beautiful red brick estate home with white shutters, trim, columns and a wood front door.

Red Brick Estate Home With White Shutters

This beautiful red brick estate home features pure white shutters, trim, columns and railings. The nice thing here is that they matched each white element so there are no clashes. It’s easy to do with painted finishes but much harder when things come factory colored. Pure white is great because it’s so clean and crisp. It doesn’t have any tints or undertones so no matter what color you put along side it the white shutters will look great.

A wood front door is a fantastic choice here. Wood brings a lot of warmth to a home and again, it looks great with white.

Notice how much the house really stands out from the road. Compare that to some of the other pictures on the page using darker grays and black. Those homes look great too but they don’t jump out at you like brick homes with white shutters do.

Green Shutters

Green is classic shutter color that’s been used on red brick homes for over a century. While not as popular as white or black, it’s still one of the only actual colors we see. It works really well with red because they’re both natural, earthy colors that compliment one another. Just think of all the color combinations that use red and green. It makes sense that the combination would also look good on a house.

Green is also a nice color for other accent colors that we see on red brick homes. Things like metal or copper roofing and flashing that turns a shade of green.

The general rules of color tone apply to green just as much as any other color. Make sure you not only choose a nice color green but also the right tone. Shutters should contrast the brick no matter what color they are.

Old red brick home with green shutters, white trim and a green metal roof.

Green Shutters Go Great With Red Brick

Green and red naturally go great together. Just think of all the times you’ve seen them used on all sorts of products. They’re just one of those color combinations that just work. The colors are both earthy and complimentary to one another.

Green shutters add warmth to a red brick house. Studies have shown using green on a home is considered tranquil and inviting. It gives the home a welcoming feel and a lot of curb appeal.

Choose your shade of green carefully. Stick with classic shades that are a bit on the muted side. Unless of course you live somewhere that warrants bright colors like say, Miami.generally speaking a nice shade of forest or olive green is a good choice. And as with all the shutter colors we’ve discussed, add contrast.

Summary: What Color Shutters Go With Red Brick

A very common finish for brick homes are shutters. It’s a classic that’s been around for centuries and goes with a variety of brick home styles. But what color shutters go with red brick?

That’s why we’ve compiled our list of the BEST shutter colors for brick houses along with lots of pictures, information and tips from the builder. I hope some of it helps you make the right decision for your home.

If you have any questions or comments e-mail us any time. We’d love to hear from you.