HGTV Star Erin Napier's Color Wheel Method For Choosing The Perfect Roof Hue

A new roof is a major investment, so the last thing you want to do is pick a color you end up regretting. Luckily, Erin Napier of the hit HGTV show "Home Town" has a simple but brilliant way to ensure a gorgeous roof tone that works perfectly with the existing shades of your house's siding or brick. As Napier showed in a recent Instagram post, the trick is to use a color wheel to pick a shade that is either complementary or analogous to the hue of your siding or brick.

Color wheels are a must-have for home design. Whether you're using a color wheel to help you decorate your home or taking garden inspiration from one, the same basic principles you likely learned in an elementary school art class can also help give your home a cohesive and beautiful style. While there are a lot of factors to take into account when picking the best roof for your home, the shade can be one of the easiest and most fun aspects as long as you keep a few basic principles of color theory in mind.

One of the strategies Erin Napier suggests for picking a roof is to choose a shade that is complementary to the color of your bricks or shingles. Complementary colors are hues that are directly across from each other on a color wheel. For example, Napier suggested pairing warm reddish-orange bricks with a green roof shingle. While many roofing shingles have subtle undertones and a mix of tints, this strategy can also be used for a metal roof, likely to even more dramatic effect thanks to the uniformity most metal roofing materials.  

Complementary colors contrast with each other and are especially useful for creating bold and intense looks. If that is what you're looking for, then pairing your blue siding with warm orange roof shingles or using purple roofing to boost the intensity of your yellow house could be perfect for you. These high-contrast combinations are sure to make your home a memorable and bold structure. 

If the bold look of complementary colors is a bit much for you, then opting instead to pick a roof tint that is analogous to your siding shade can be a more subtle and understated option. Analogous colors are hues that are next to each other on a color wheel, like green and blue. These combinations are generally seen as calming and harmonious, giving your home a comforting and relaxing look. To use an analogous color scheme for your exterior, you may want to opt for roof shingles with warm orange tones if you have red or yellow siding.

If your home has white siding, you can still use analogous or complementary colors when deciding on a roof hue. Just consider what other shades are prominent on your home's exterior. It could be a bold red door or bright blue shutters, and then use your color wheel to pick a roof shade that works well with those tones.