Beautiful exterior house colours: 12 modern two-tone pairings, from soft cream to cool grey

The formula for a beautiful exterior: walls, trim, door

A good-looking house is like dressing for an event: a main garment, trousers or a belt that contrast a little, and one pair of shoes or a bag that people remember. A house has three pieces too: the walls, the trim and the door.

The walls take up the most area, so choose a calm colour you can live with every day. For the trim, use a colour clearly lighter or darker than the walls to sharpen the shape of the house. The door is where you can let loose: green, wine red or blue all work, because it is a small area. When you tire of it, you can repaint it in an afternoon.

Two-tone cream exteriors: warm without looking dated

Two-tone cream is the all-time favourite for Thai houses. Cream is warmer than white, reflects less of the harsh sun and sits well with the trees in the garden. The trick to keeping it from looking dated is to pick a trim or door with some weight, not cream on cream until the house looks like a cake with no topping.

• 1. Walls Oatmeal, trim Ivory, door Pine Green
• 2. Walls Custard Cream, trim Ivory, door Coastal Pine
• 3. Walls Coconut Ice Cream, trim Sand Dust, door Antique Brick
• 4. Walls Linen, trim Coconut Sugar, door Chocolate

Modern exteriors in white and grey

Modern houses love crisp lines, which makes white and grey a natural pair. White or pale grey walls make a house look clean and larger. Dark grey trim frames the windows sharply, like black glasses frames. Then finish with a door in a colour with some warmth, so the house doesn't feel too cold.

• 5. Walls Soft Gray, trim Snowflake, door Navy
• 6. Walls Pearl White, trim Volcanic Rock, door Tea Leaf
• 7. Walls Marble, trim Shadow Stone, door Amber
• 8. Walls Wet Cement, trim Snowflake, door Thai Tea
• 9. Walls Snowflake, trim Sesame, door Red Wine

Two-tone green and earth tones: a house that blends with the garden

If your house has lots of trees, let the house talk to the garden instead of competing with it. Grey-greens and earth tones make a house look as if it has stood there for years, like the holiday homes in Khao Yai that everyone comes back with photos of.

• 10. Walls Tea Leaf, trim Ivory, door Coffee Bean
• 11. Walls Sand Dust, trim Popcorn, door Horse Poop
• 12. Walls Ivory, trim Shadow Stone, door Coffee Bean

Exterior feature walls in Mineral Finish, and how to test colours before you paint

If you want a spot that makes people stop and look, try one feature wall, such as the front wall or the wall beside the entrance, in Voqe Mineral Finish. It is a limewash-style mineral paint with a matt finish that works on both interior and exterior walls. Apply the two tones in alternating directions until you get a pattern no one else has. Finish with Voqe Mineral Sealer, a clear satin that can be used outdoors. Mineral Wax is for interior use only.

Exterior colours meet real sunlight and always look brighter than they do in the shop. Order a 100ml sample bottle at ฿75, paint a large patch on an outside wall and look at it at midday and in the evening. Or send a photo of your house to LINE @dynohomes and our team will help you choose a colour combination for free.