Ideas & Inspiration
PORCH, PATIO & POOL DECK
Ready to upgrade your staycation? Benjamin Moore’s wide range of exterior paints and stains transform outdoor spaces into at-home sanctuaries.
In addition to al fresco fun, outdoor spaces extend the space of your home. Whether you are looking to refresh your patio, spruce up your front porch, or punch up your poolside setting, paint color and stain is a starting point for bringing relaxing vibes home.
Popular Colors for Porch, Patio and Pool Deck
These outdoor-friendly colors blend beautifully with a range of landscapes and architectural styles.
Porch Paint Ideas: Beyond Neutral
Your porch is the ultimate “outside room.”
Before you start looking for the perfect patio paint color to extend your interior outdoors, consider how much sun it gets, since light and time of day affect paint color appearance.
Colorful accessories are an easy and cost-effective way to elevate a porch or patio.
Here, Adirondack chairs in Caliente AF-290 and light pink pillows add fun against cool Nimbus Gray 2131-50 siding, paired with monochromatic gray floors in Normandy 2129-40, ARBORCOAT® Exterior Stain, Semi-Solid.
Other porch paint colors we love include Georgian Brick HC-50, Hawthorne Yellow HC-4 and Kennebunkport Green HC-123.
Feeling in a DIY mood? You can easily repaint or stain your existing outdoor patio furniture in a weekend!
Porch Paint Idea: The Beauty of a Light Blue Ceiling
Always popular in the southern United States, blue porch ceilings have made their way north over time. Light blue porch ceilings are beloved for matching the color of the sky, helping to visually extend daylight.
You can achieve this look with Palladian Blue HC-144, Arctic Blue 2050-60, Yarmouth Blue HC-150, or Clear Skies 2054-70. Pair these light blues with White Diamond OC-61, a cool white trim, to draw eyes to the ceiling, and explore other whites in our Off White Collection.
The Floors Have It: Patio Paint Ideas
Your patio is just like any other room in your home—this one just happens to be outside! Off-whites, like Cloud Cover OC-25 and Gray Owl 0C-52, pictured here, create a fresh, clean backdrop for any accent color.
Most patio floors have flagstone, brick or some other type of paver that offer an earthy foundation that goes with a range of hues. If your patio floor needs a facelift, consider Floor & Patio, a quick-drying, easy-to-apply latex enamel ideal for lanais, porches–even concrete patios. We love it for its convenient “ready mix” colors: 74 Platinum Gray and 71 Deck Gray, are two favorite options, available in low sheen or high gloss. Looking for something brighter? Floor & Patio can also be tinted in any one of Benjamin Moore’s 3,500 colors, engineered with Gennex® Color Technology.
Beautify Your Pool Deck and Surroundings
Whether you have an above ground pool deck or a built-in one, lounging poolside always feels luxurious. Use white paint on surfaces if you want the cool blue water and surrounding landscape to be the focal point, like Evening White OC-81 and Atrium White OC-145, shown here. Accent with seaside-inspired blue paint colors like Galápagos Turquoise 2057-20 and Blue Lagoon 2054-40. INSL-X®: Sure Step® is also a great anti-skid option, loved by homeowners for pool decks and stairs alike, and available in ready-made colors including the two most popular: Light Gray and Gray Pearl.
Need more exterior painting ideas? Get inspired by our home exterior section, explore a palette of 75 colors specially curated for vinyl siding, spruce up your deck with stain colors and opacities, or consider an upgrade to your front door.
When Sunroom Colors Go White
Sunrooms, lanais, screened-in porches…whatever name these spaces go by, they help bring the outdoors in, offering a year-round respite from the rush of everyday life.
Evoking all things cool and calm, Cascade White 2127-70 is a great place to start, seen here on walls, doors and floor.
Silver Cloud 2129-70 on the ceiling adds an oh-so-subtle color dimension into the monochromatic mix.
Take colors from your natural surroundings and bring them indoors to strengthen that indoor/outdoor connection with pale and mid-tone hues of green, yellow and blue. We love nature-inspired Fernwood Green 2145- 40, Tranquility AF-490, and Soleil AF-330.
HOME EXTERIOR COLOR
When painting the exterior of your house and other outdoor features, you have two important characteristics to keep in mind: how well it lasts and how good it looks.
Choosing the best paint color for the exterior surfaces of your home means picking colors that look great–and last. Benjamin Moore Aura® Exterior has you covered, with a line of durable paints that resist the punishing effects of weather—and offer a lifetime limited warranty to prove it.
Foolproof Color Picks
To narrow down your color choices, build an exterior palette around the elements of the house that won’t change, such as roofing materials and stone or brick components.
If you want to highlight the architectural elements and add dimension, choose a contrasting trim color. Here, trim in Simply White OC-117 provides striking contrast against mid-tone Revere Pewter HC 172 siding. Conversely, if your home’s exterior is painted in a lighter hue, consider a trim in a darker color.
Take a Look Around
The best inspiration may come from stepping outside. Select hues that are compatible with your neighborhood, architectural style and natural surroundings. For exterior colors inspired by classic American design and architecture, look no further than Benjamin Moore’s Historical Collection for tried and true favorites that are perfect for any home including Stonington Gray HC-170, Edgecomb Gray HC-173, and Narragansett Green HC-157.
The Right Light
Just like interior paint colors, exterior colors shift depending on how the light hits them. Outdoors, surrounding landscapes also play a role in how a paint color is perceived.
Always “try on” your paint colors with a paint sample, available at your local Benjamin Moore retailer. Once you’ve applied color samples, observe the color during different times of the day to see how both light, and your home’s natural environs, impact the color you are considering.
Finish Lines
Color is only one aspect of an exterior paint choice; sheen is another important factor.
Low Lustre finish is a top choice for the main siding color—the low-reflective finish adds a slight gloss, hides surface imperfections and cleans well.
Semi-gloss paints add extra durability and clean up easily, making them a good choice for areas such as windowsills that bear the brunt of weather shifts.
High gloss finishes make color look richer but magnify surface imperfections.