recoat.YOUR HOUSE, YOUR COLORS

Exterior paint colors for cottages

Compare a soft blue, a muted green and a warm light neutral on a cottage with the door, roof and garden in view. The useful choice is how strongly the house should contrast with those surroundings, not whether one color is universally a cottage color.

Cape Cod inspired cottage; horizontal lap siding; charcoal gray steep side gable with two front gabled dormers roof; concrete path and entry steps.
Grays HarborBody · SW6236
AlabasterTrim · SW7008
OriginalAccent
Compare the colors around your existing materials.Search all colors

Opening interactive colors…

Explore palettes

Color guide

Compare Grays Harbor siding with Alabaster trim while preserving roof, stone, wood door. This provides blue-gray with light trim for the shortlist.

Screen colors are a guide. Always test real paint.

Working with what stays

Choose a comparable roof and entrance

A two-dormer cottage with a small canopy distributes paint differently from a stone cottage with an arched entrance. Start with the closer shape and fixed materials.

Keep flowers as context rather than a paint specification

Seasonal planting can frame the house beautifully, but it changes over time. Judge the palette against the roof, path, stone and wood as well as the flowers visible in the example.

Palettes to compare

More example homes

Explore another house and compare its colors.

Victorian inspired cottage; horizontal lap with fish-scale gable shingles; charcoal gray side gable with front-facing gable roof; red-brick chimney; low stone foundation; red-brick walkway.Victorian inspired porch cottage; horizontal lap siding; gray brown front gable with lower porch roof and side dormer roof; red-brick chimney; red-brick garden path.Narrow shotgun style cottage; horizontal lap siding; dark gray front gable with lower porch roof roof; red-brick steps; red-brick path.