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What Color Siding Goes With A Brown Roof

One of the most classic roof colors you can choose is brown. In the old days roofing shingles were made out of clay or real wood which are both brown. And many home still use those same materials to this day. A clay tiled or cedar shingled roof is a beautiful thing. But although brown roofing is still used all the time it’s not an easy color to work into a color scheme. Siding, accessories, masonry, trim, shutters, railings, etc. all have to look good with the brown you choose. So what color siding goes with a brown roof. Let’s start there.

A brown roof actually comes in all sorts of tones. They can be dark or light. Have undertones like red or gold. And can be either natural or artificially colored. All of these things effect which siding color is the best choice to go with the exact brown roof you have. Other earthy colors are my first choice. Cedar shake, browns, tans, creams, and greens are all great siding colors with brown. And so are other natural materials like brick and stone. Stick to colors that are on the warm side like the roof. Brown roofs look best with a harmonious color scheme.

Ahead we’ll look at some beautiful homes and their color schemes all featuring a brown roof.

Brown Roofs Have Variety

It’s not enough to ask what color siding goes best with a brown roof. You have to be a lot more specific than that. The reason is how much color variation there is with brown roofing.

Your brown roofing material could be dark, medium, or light brown. And it can have all sorts of color undertones like red, orange, or gold. You’ll also find that some browns are grayed like weathered wood. Natural brown roofing material like wood cedar shingles can weather and gray quite a bit over time. While other types of shingles are manufactured to look grey from the start. It’s important to consider how your roofing material will look in a few years or even a decade or two.

Some types of brown roofing is a solid color like clay tiles. While others like real cedar or asphalt have a variety of colors in them. Pay attention to the colors you see other than brown if your using a multi colored roof shingle.And pay special attention to the color undertones you see. These effect the right siding color choice a lot.

  • Neutral brown roofs with less undertones work with a wider range of siding colors.
  • Undertones effect the best siding color a lot. For example if you have a brown roofing with a strong orange undertone then the siding has to go with the orange.

Pro Tip: You should always consider how the overall roof color looks from the curb when choosing your siding color. Don’t pick a siding color based on a roofing sample you see up close. The color can be deceiving at that distance. Even when your standing close to a house your still 10-20 feet away from the roof so always consider how roofing colors look from far away because that’s how you’ll see them in real life.

Beautiful home featuring a brown cedar roof with red cedar siding and natural stone.

Beautiful home featuring a brown cedar roof with red cedar siding and natural stone.

Consider Contrast

When your choosing the best siding color to go with your brown roof don’t forget to consider contrast. The value of the roof and siding are just as important as the colors.

Value is how light or dark a color is. It has nothing to do with the color.

Contrast is putting two elements next to one another that have different values. For example something light next to something dark. Both things stand out because their values are different. If you out two things next to each other with the same value and no contrast then your design will look flat.

You can test this design theory by bringing color samples into Photoshop or some other image software and turning them black and white or what’s known as grayscale. In grayscale all the colors are changing into their value. It makes no difference what color they are because all you see is value. If the roof and siding are the same value then the house will look flat. Wat you want is a roof that’s at least slightly lighter or darker than the siding. When the values are different you have contrast which makes the image pop.

Pro Tip: When picking a siding color to go with a brown roof don’t forget contrast and value. Make sure the colors look good together but also have different values. The easy way is to go with a light and a dark but even a small amount of variation works. All you need to do is pick colors that are slightly darker or lighter than each other and you’ll be fine. And remember this has nothing to do with the colors. Although colors can contrast too which makes things even more complicated.

Some General Brown Roof & Siding Color Rules

As with any color choices in or on the home, there are a few general guidelines that tend to be true most of the time.

Brown is a natural color and is typically warm so stick within those color schemes for your siding. Browns, reds, yellows, tans, and greys all look great. Stay away from bright, bold, vibrant coloring. Keep the color palette natural and muted.

Any siding color that looks real and natural looks great. Stone, brick, stucco, or wood are all safe bets.

White siding is a neutral and goes with anything which is also true of a brown roof. But when you use white siding with a brown roof the accent colors really stand out so choose them carefully.

  • Warm stone colors. Creams, tans, browns, orange, and yellows look good with a brown roof.
  • Most brick colors. Reds, oranges, yellows, browns and even whites.
  • Neutral Trim. Colors that are warm cream, beige, dark brown, grey, real wood or white.
  • Muted. Stay away from bright, bold colors.
  • Warm. Siding colors like beige, yellow, green, red and other colors that are muted with just a hint of color.
  • Natural. Pretty much any material that has a natural coloring works. This can include stone, brick or wood.
  • White. It goes with brown but pay attention to the accents.

Keep in mind these were just some general guideline that tend to be true most of the time. Now let’s look at some pictures and specific color combinations.

Which Siding Color Is Best With A Brown Roof

It’s easy to talk about general design and color theory and another to see it in real life on an actual home. In this sections we’ll look at over a dozen beautiful homes with different color brown roof and siding color combinations. Hopefully there will be one or two that you like.

Keep in mind that these are all for inspiration. Color combinations work differently depending on the style of the home. For example a Colonial looks great with white siding and a brown roof. It’s a classic house color combination that’s been around for over a century. But that color combo doesn’t look as good if your home is a Victorian. So use these pictures as they’re intended. As inspiration to help you design your own fabulous house color combo.

White siding with a muted natural brown roof shingle. Transitional style home with black frame windows and a white entry door.

White siding with a muted natural brown roof shingle. Transitional style home with black frame windows and a white entry door.

White Siding With A Brown Roof

I absolutely love this style home that’s commonly referred to as Transitional. It uses a combination of Modern and Traditional elements. White siding and a brown roof have been used on Colonial homes for over a century. But a Transitional home adds in black frame windows and more Modern architectural line and details to really freshen up the color combo. It’s a beautiful look that’s very in style at the moment.And it’s a very safe choice.

White goes with anything so you have a lot of freedom when it comes to picking the brown roof. But I recommend going with a natural, neutral brown. Stay away from undertones. This style is meant to be clean and fresh. As natural and muted as you can be with the browns and any wood you use on the home the better.

Stunning home featuring a dark brown roof, pale cream siding, real stone, white trim and warm wood doors.

Stunning home featuring a dark brown roof, pale cream siding, real stone, white trim and warm wood doors.

Light Cream Siding With A Dark Brown Roof

Brown roofs are great with a warm and natural siding color scheme. And don’t forget about contrast. This house color scheme does it all beautifully.

The dark brown cedar shingle roof is a fantastic contrast to the pale muted cream siding, white trim, natural stone and brown doors. The entire color scheme is warm and inviting with lot’s of natural colors and lots of contrast. Pay attention to the value range here. The home ranges from white all the way to black which is found in the railings.

This is what you’d call a harmonious color scheme. When you have a brown roof it’s a good idea to choose not only a harmonious siding color but also a good family of colors that all work together. Think of house colors as a team and not as individual players. It all has to work well together. Even one small element out of place can ruin the entire design.

Another thing to notice with this house’s color scheme is how muted the colors are. The roof and siding have very little pigment. This allows those rich wood doors to really stand out.

Beautiful custom home featuring warm cream siding, a natural brown shingle roof, red brick and white trim. what color siding goes with a brown roof.

Beautiful custom home featuring warm cream siding, a natural brown shingle roof, red brick and white trim.

Warm Cream Siding With A Brown Roof

Here’s another example of cream siding used with a brown roof. Only this time the cream is much warmer and with more color. I just love this combination. But you have to make sure and use it when the brown roof is neutral and without pigment. I wouldn’t recommend cream if the roof had undertones like red in it. This is definitely better as part of a harmonious color scheme.

This color cream has some warm brown in it. The way the dark brown metal roof and gutters both compliment and contrast the cream is just beautiful.

Red brick is a great choice if your thinking about adding a masonry product. And I recommend you do. The brick is warm and adds a lot of depth and detail to the design. It’s also just the right tone so it stands out against the darker roof and lighter siding.

Reddish brown roofing shingle with golden tan painted stucco and cream shutters.

Reddish brown roofing shingle with golden tan painted stucco and cream shutters.

Golden Tan Stucco With A Reddish Brown Roof

Many people forget that stucco is a fantastic form of siding. And the good thing about stucco is that it’s painted so you have a lot of freedom when it comes to color. This golden tan paint is perfect along side the reddish brown roof. Both are warm and have lots of contrast. Even the light cream shutters work really well with the color scheme.

I really love this house. It’s a great example of how a classic house design goes best with a classic color scheme. Don’t forget to consider the style of your home’s architecture when choosing colors. This color scheme probably wouldn’t work as well with an Ultra Modern home but with this style it’s perfect.

Reddish brown roofs are rare and hard to find a siding color for. With stucco it’s a bit easier because there are so many paint colors to choose from. But if you’ve got siding then I recommend wood or fiber cement. Both of those are painted so you can match this color. Use a light tan or cream base tinted with a splash of golden brown.

Light tan siding with a neutral brown roof shingle. White trim with matching white garage and front door.

Light tan siding with a neutral brown roof shingle. White trim with matching white garage and front door.

Tan Siding With A Neutral Brown Roof

This home has a very similar color scheme to the cream examples we looked at earlier only this time the siding is a bit more on the tan side. Cream and tan are made from the same basic colors anyway only the amounts are adjusted a bit. Add a bit more brown pigment to cream and you eventually get tan.

Tan comes in a wide variety and even has it’s own undertones, temperatures and value ranges. This example is a light medium and warm with a hint of gold. The roof is a natural brown asphalt shingle with grey and even some black added in. Overall the roof is pretty dark for a brown shingle which gives the house some nice contrast. The roof also mirrors the dark colors found throughout the stone base which is a nice effect. Using related colors on different parts of the home is a great way to tie a design together.

What I really love about this color scheme is all the white. It’s a creamy warm white, not bright white, which really works well with the siding and roof colors.

Closeup of a home featuring tan cedar shake siding and a brown asphalt roof.

Closeup of a home featuring tan cedar shake siding and a brown asphalt roof.

Tan Siding Looks Great With A Brown Roof

As you can see from all these examples I really like the look of tan and cream siding with a brown roof. The colors just go so well together why not consider using them. The result is beautiful and it’s hard to mess up. I wanted to include at least one close up example and here it is.

Most of the examples shown throughout this article are from the curb. While curb appeal is very important to consider you also need to think about how the home looks as you get closer. Colors change a little and details come into focus as you get closer to the home. Like the cedar shake siding texture and grain running through the real wood doors. Many elements you use on a home will look one way when at the curb and another when up close so don’t forget to consider both. Although we always recommend choosing colors based on how they look from the curb.

It’s worth mentioning that as you get close to a home you see the roof less and less. This is because of how the roof pitches and how high it is. Yet another reason why it’s best to style your home from the curb.

Beautiful home with a 2 tone siding color scheme. Green and light tan siding with a brown roof.

Beautiful home with a 2 tone siding color scheme. Green and light tan siding with a brown roof.

Light Tan & Green Siding With A Brown Roof

Why choose just one color siding to go with your brown roof when you can pick two.

Generally I don’t recommend using two siding colors on a home. I like when a few small accent areas are sided with a second color but the home is primarily one color. But this home is an exception. I really like this color scheme and will probably try to incorporate it into one of my own designs some day. All the colors are earthy, warm and very natural. And I really like the choice of forest green. The deep color really provides a powerful backdrop to this porch.

When you choose two siding colors, even if it’s just an accent color, they both have to work with the brown roof. It’s harder because there are a lot of colors that work well with a brown roof but not necessarily with each other. Do what this home does and stay neutral. It’s much easier to coordinate colors if you stay within a muted neutral color ranges.

And again, don’t forget to vary the values and create contrast. No matter how many colors you use they still need to have contrast.

Rich brown roofing shingles with green siding and brown shingle accents.

Rich brown roofing shingles with green siding and brown shingle accents.

Green Siding With A Deep Brown Roof

Green is a wonderful siding color with a brown roof. They’re both colors found in nature which is why they work so well together. Just make sure to pay extra attention to the undertones. This home is a play on the previous example in that it has two siding colors. Green as the main and brown as an accent color. This is how we usually do a two tone siding color scheme.

This roof is very rich in color and has a reddish undertone. The perfect compliment is red brick. The red found in the roof is beautifully accented with the brick. But when you’ve got this much warmth you have a decision to make. Either go with more warmth or add some contrast. In this case the designer went with contrast. The green siding is a little on the cool and muted side. Can you see all the contrasting elements.

This house really illustrates how important contrasts are to a home’s exterior design. It’s a push and pull relationship. If everything is exactly the same color, temperature or value it’s hard for anything to stand out. This blog is about siding colors that go with a brown roof but there are other considerations as well. Don’t forget about adding your contrasts.

Custom home featuring brown cedar shake siding and a brown wood shingle roof with lots of white trim, railings and columns.

Custom home featuring brown cedar shake siding and a brown wood shingle roof with lots of white trim, railings and columns.

Brown Siding With A Brown Roof

One of the best siding color to go with a brown roof is more brown. And best of all you can pull off this look with absolutely no outside coloring, stains or paints. Natural wood cedar shake siding is a fantastic material that’s been used for over a century and so is a cedar shingle roof. The type of wood you use is why the colors look different shades of brown as they age. That’s where the variation and contrast comes into play.

Best of all this is a timeless color scheme that won’t go out of style any time soon. And it works at every price point. We see this a lot in the Hamptons and all along the Jersey Shore on homes that cost well over 50 million dollars. So it’s safe to say no matter what price point your home is at the color scheme will work.

I recommend sticking with the Hamptons look and using lots of white trim, railings and columns. It does need some maintenance to keep up the bright white but it’s well worth it. And if you don’t like to paint then consider using composite materials like Azek. The white isn’t as bright but you don’t have to paint it.

Beautiful custom home featuring red cedar wood siding and a brown shingle roof.

Beautiful custom home featuring red cedar wood siding and a brown shingle roof.

Red Cedar Siding With A Brown Roof

Here’s another beautiful home featuring a brown roof with brown siding. Only this siding is a different species of wood which gives it a reddish color. It’s called red cedar. One of the great things of using natural materials on the roof and siding of your home is how many colors they actually come in. While of course you don’t have the variety of colors you do with paint, there’s still a nice size selection. And each species weathers a little different so over time the look of your home will change a bit.

This home is interesting because most of the time the roof is darker than the siding. But in this case the roof is lighter. That’s fine as long as the roof and siding aren’t the same value. Remember how important contrast is to your color scheme.

Check out the trim work. It’s a mix of burnt red and white. I love when common colors are used in different places. It really ties elements together. You even see variations of the same reddish color throughout the stone. If you like a harmonious house color scheme then I recommend you do this with a few of your accent colors.

Natural brown roofing shingle with gray siding, white trim and a real wood door.

Natural brown roofing shingle with solid gray siding, white trim and a real wood door.

Solid Gray Siding With A Natural Brown Roof

Gray is another of my favorite siding colors with a brown roof. And it’s a super safe and in style choice. Gray goes with just about everything and looks fabulous with wood. That’s pretty much why you see so many gray homes with a wood front door. The combination of a neutral gray with a natural warm wood is beautiful. And that effect doesn’t stop at the front door. Brown is a much softer color roof than black and makes a gray home appear more natural.

This home has painted solid gray siding. If your using paint then make sure to consider your choice carefully because there’s no variation. More natural grays have multiple colors running through them but paint is completely solid.

Pay attention to the tone of your gray. As with any other neutral base color you can tint your gray blue, green, red, purple, yellow, etc. This home is using a very pure medium gray without any tinting.

White is a wonderful trim color choice with gray and also works really well with the brown roof. It’s an extremely clean and crisp look that works on a wide variety of home styles.

Natural weathered gray siding with a wood shingle roof, real stone and a stained wood front door.

Natural weathered gray siding with a wood shingle roof, real stone and a stained wood front door.

Natural Brown Roof With Weathered Gray Siding

Weathered gray is a natural color that isn’t painted. As you can see it has lots of color variation which becomes more apparent as you get close to the siding. Weathered gray goes great with a brown roof because one of the colors running through it is brown. For this reason weathered gray siding with a brown roof and some natural colored stone is a very harmonious color scheme.

As with any color gray siding a wood front door is a fabulous choice. And it looks great with a brown roof so why go with anything else.

Remember that stone or brick is a part of your siding color scheme too. When your looking for siding color that go with your brown roof don’t forget the masonry. If it goes on the wall then it’s a part of the siding color scheme. These stones are very warm and loaded with grays, browns and oranges. They’re a perfect choice with the weathered gray siding and natural brown roof.

The roof shingle is real cedar shingles. If you want a beautiful roof with lots of color then go with wood. Almost everyone uses asphalt these days because they last a long time, are cheap and don’t need maintenance. But they don’t look like real wood.

If you have a gambrel style roof line like this home then the roof color becomes more of an issue. Because the lower part of the gambrel is on such a steep incline you can see a lot more of the roof from the curb and up close. The more visible the roof is the more it’s color matters in relation to the home’s curb appeal.

Red brick siding with a reddish brown roof shingle.

Red brick siding with a reddish brown roof shingle.

Reddish Brown Roof With Red Brick Siding

Red brick homes are a true classic that won’t be going away anytime soon. They’re still very much in style and are built at just about every price point. And they look great with a brown roof. This home has a reddish brown asphalt shingle. Red brick is one of the only colors this roofing shingle is used with. As you can see it’s just a touch darker than the brick because of those splashes of dark running throughout the roof.

When you look at an asphalt shingle up close you can see how many colors they’re made up of. That’s also true of brick. If you use a color scheme like this it’s extra important to realize how much different the materials look up close. There are all sorts of little colors and textures found in a single brick that you can’t see from far away. That’s one of the reasons why natural materials like brick are so beautiful. There are no two brick exactly alike. Or two shingle.

Tan brick and stone siding with a brown asphalt roof shingle.

Tan brick and stone siding with a brown asphalt roof shingle.

Brown Asphalt Roof With Tan Brick & Stone

Another great siding color with a brown roof is brick and stone. Many people don’t consider brick and stone to be siding but they are. Anything that covers the side of your house is considered a form of siding.

For whatever reason most people these days are using wood, fiber cement or vinyl siding. Stone and brick are used more as an accent than a true whole house siding. I think it’s mainly due to the higher cost. At very high price points we still see lots of masonry but at the low end it’s not really done. And that’s a shame because some of the most beautiful homes every built have used masonry.

If you have a brown roof then consider using masonry products as your siding. If not on the entire home then as an accent. Pretty much any real material like wood, stone or brick will go with a brown roof. But be sure to look for masonry that matches your exact roofing choice. Certain undertones may clash depending on what you choose.

Summary: What Color Siding Goes With A Brown Roof

One of the most classic roof colors you can choose is brown. In the old days roofing shingles were made out of clay or real wood which are both brown. And many home still use those same materials to this day. A clay tiled or cedar shingled roof is a beautiful thing. But although brown roofing is still used all the time it’s not an easy color to work into a color scheme. Siding, accessories, masonry, trim, shutters, railings, etc. all have to look good with the brown you choose. So what color siding goes with a brown roof. Let’s start there.

A brown roof actually comes in all sorts of tones. They can be dark or light. Have undertones like red or gold. And can be either natural or artificially colored. All of these things effect which siding color is the best choice to go with the exact brown roof you have. Other earthy colors are my first choice. Cedar shake, browns, tans, creams, and greens are all great siding colors with brown. And so are other natural materials like brick and stone. Stick to colors that are on the warm side like the roof. Brown roofs look best with a harmonious color scheme.

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

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