Pick your siding color and see the roof colors that go with it: the ones the shingle maker GAF pairs with that siding first, each with how much it stands out from the house. Then paint the roof on a sample house or on a photo of your own. Your photo never leaves your device.
Pick a color to paint the roof
1Your house
2Your house and trim colors
3Roof colors for your siding
A Chestnut roof on a tan house: an LRV gap of 35 with the siding (stands out in any light) and 88 with the trim (stands out in any light).
Your siding reads warm. GAF, quoting color consultant Amy Wax, recommends “brown-toned shingle colors if you have brick siding or warm house paint tones such as beige or taupe.”
Your siding reads cool. GAF: “choosing gray or black-toned shingles may be more visually pleasing if you have a cool paint color such as gray or cool green or blue, or cool stone siding details.”
A white house. In GAF’s shingle color guide black is “often paired with white homes”, red is “a unique alternative to black roof shingles on a white home” and green is “often found on white homes”.
Gap = the difference in LRV (how much light a color reflects, 0 black to 100 white): over 30 the roof stands out from the walls in any light, 20 to 30 in daylight. A big roof in a dark color can dominate the house, GAF warns: look at your roof from the street.
4Or pick any roof color
5Tap the roof
On a sample house the whole roof is painted for you. On your own photo, tap each side of the roof that faces you: a roof in sun and shade is two taps. Paint on the gutters or the sky? Move Spread left, or wipe it with Erase.
Quick answer: match the roof to your siding’s warmth. The shingle maker GAF recommends brown-toned shingles for brick and for warm beige or taupe siding, and gray or black shingles for cool siding: gray, cool green or blue. On a white house, GAF names black, red and green as the roof colors it is often paired with. Pick your siding color above to see the roof colors GAF pairs with it first, painted on a house, with how much each one stands out from the walls.
How to use the roof color picker
- Pick your siding color. Tap a chip, type its color code, or tap Read it off my photo and then your siding.
- Say what your trim is. White, cream, black or the house color.
- Read the roof colors. The families GAF pairs with your siding come first, marked GAF pairs it with this siding. Each shows its LRV and its gap from the siding and from the trim.
- Tap a roof color and the sample house’s roof is repainted in it, or pick any color on the board below.
- Try your own house. Use your photo, pick a color and tap each side of the roof that faces you. Shingles are textured, so the picker starts on Shingles, tile or shakes.
The shingle maker’s rule: warm siding, warm roof
GAF’s guide Choosing the Right House and Roof Color Combination says to Choose shingle colors that complement the color family of your home’s paint and trim
, and gives the two halves of the rule:
- Warm siding.
color consultant Amy Wax recommends selecting brown-toned shingle colors if you have brick siding or warm house paint tones such as beige or taupe.
- Cool siding.
choosing gray or black-toned shingles may be more visually pleasing if you have a cool paint color such as gray or cool green or blue, or cool stone siding details.
Its checklist puts it in one line: Pair cool paint with cool shingles and warm paint with warm-toned shingles.
For a white house, GAF’s Shingle Color Guide says black is often paired with white homes
, red is a unique alternative to black roof shingles on a white home
, and green is often found on white homes
.
The picker reads your siding the same way. A siding with no clear hue and an LRV of 75 or more is white; otherwise its hue says warm (reds, oranges, yellows: beige, tan, brick) or cool (gray, green, blue). Gray counts as cool, in GAF’s own words. That reading of the color is ours; the pairings are GAF’s.
Stands out, or blends in
Each roof color also shows how far its LRV (how much light it reflects, 0 black to 100 white) is from the siding’s. The yardstick is the UK’s Approved Document M, paragraph 0.26, which calls two surfaces contrasting when the difference in light reflectance value between the two surfaces is greater than 30 points
, or at least 20 in good light. It was written so people can find a door, not to choose a roof, so here it only answers “will the roof read as a separate color from the walls”.
For a roof, blending in is not a fault. GAF’s own pairings often sit close to the siding: a dark brown roof on red brick blends in (a gap of 9), and that is the look GAF recommends. GAF also warns that when a roof covers a large square footage, a dramatic or dark shingle color may be too visually dominant to be cohesive with your overall aesthetic.
Look at your house from the street before you choose the darkest one.
Roof colors by siding color
With white trim: how the picker reads each siding and the roof colors GAF pairs with it, each with its LRV gap from the siding. “Stands out” = over 30 points, “daylight” = 20 to 30, “blends” = under 20. Color names are the picker’s own, not a shingle brand’s.
| Siding | Reads | Roof colors GAF pairs with it (gap) |
|---|---|---|
| White #F4F1EA | white | Jet Black (87, stands out); Brick Red (83, stands out); Hunter Green (82, stands out) |
| Cream #F3EAD3 | warm | Dark Brown (80, stands out); Desert Tan (53, stands out) |
| Beige #DCC7A6 | warm | Dark Brown (56, stands out); Desert Tan (29, daylight) |
| Tan #C4A882 | warm | Dark Brown (38, stands out); Desert Tan (11, blends) |
| Light gray #C9CAC6 | cool | Jet Black (58, stands out); Slate Gray (49, stands out) |
| Gray #A3A5A1 | cool | Jet Black (36, stands out); Slate Gray (27, daylight) |
| Sage #A9B59B | cool | Jet Black (43, stands out); Slate Gray (34, stands out) |
| Blue-gray #7D8C96 | cool | Jet Black (24, daylight); Slate Gray (15, blends) |
| Red brick #9B4A3A | warm | Dark Brown (9, blends); Sand (34, stands out) |
| Charcoal #45484A | cool | Jet Black (5, blends); Light Gray (33, stands out) |
| Navy #2B3A55 | cool | Jet Black (3, blends); Light Gray (35, stands out) |
Climate: light roofs and dark roofs
GAF on the weather: Since dark shingles absorb more heat, folks in cold climates may help offset cold climate heating costs with darker shingle colors. Dark shingles may also reduce the visibility of blue-green algae stains
. In a hot, sunny place a light roof, or a shingle sold as reflective, keeps more heat out. Metal roofs come in light colors too, from silver to off-white: the board’s last family is for those.
Three worked examples
Light gray siding, white trim. The siding reads cool, so GAF’s black and gray lead: Jet Black is 58 points from the siding and Slate Gray 49, both standing out. The gray sample house opens on this siding.
Tan stucco. Warm siding, so GAF’s brown leads. Dark Brown is 38 points from the tan and stands out; Desert Tan is 11 away and blends into the walls, a soft, all-of-a-piece look. Tap the tan sample to see both.
A white farmhouse. GAF’s three for a white house all stand out: Jet Black (87 points), Brick Red (83) and Hunter Green (82). Black is the classic; red and green are the bolder choices GAF names.
Common mistakes when choosing a roof color
- A cool gray roof on warm siding, or the reverse. GAF’s rule is to keep the roof in the siding’s color family.
- The darkest color on a big, steep roof. A roof that fills half the view from the street can overwhelm the house in black. Try a lighter shade of the same family.
- Choosing from a screen or a single shingle. Shingles are blends of colored granules and change with the light. Ask for a full-size sample, or look at a finished roof near you at different times of day.
- Forgetting the trim and the gutters. A roof sits on the fascia and gutters: a white trim line between a dark roof and the siding frames both.
- Ignoring the neighborhood. GAF suggests looking at the houses around you, and an HOA may limit roof colors.
Painting the house too? The exterior house color visualizer paints the siding on your photo, and the front door color picker and the garage door color picker finish the front. Planning the inside too? The free 2D room planner lays out every room.
Paint the sidingRead next
- Orange brick exterior color schemes
- Updated split-level exterior ideas
- Green house exterior ideas
- Lake house exterior ideas
- Painted brick ideas
Roof color questions
What roof color goes with my siding?
One in the same color family. GAF recommends brown-toned shingles for brick and for warm siding such as beige or taupe, and gray or black shingles for cool siding such as gray, cool green or blue. Pick your siding above and the picker puts GAF’s pairings first.
What is the best roof color for a white house?
Black is the classic: GAF says it is often paired with white homes. Red and green are the bolder choices GAF also names for a white house. All three stand out strongly from white siding, more than 80 LRV points.
What color roof goes with a gray house?
Gray or black shingles, GAF says, because gray siding is cool. On light gray siding both stand out from the walls; on dark gray siding a black roof blends in and a lighter gray reads as a separate color.
What color roof goes with red brick?
Brown-toned shingles, GAF recommends, for brick siding. A dark brown roof blends with red brick, which is the point; a lighter tan or sand stands out more.
Should the roof be darker than the house?
Usually, and most roofs are. But on a large roof a very dark color can be too dominant, GAF warns, and in a hot climate a lighter roof stays cooler.
What are the most popular shingle colors?
Gray, black and brown, in many blends. Shingles are mixes of colored granules, so a “charcoal” can carry flecks of brown or blue; GAF says shingle colors that blend cool and warm tones offer the most versatility.
What color metal roof goes with my house?
The same rule works: cool siding with charcoal, black or gray metal, warm siding with brown or bronze. Metal also comes in light colors such as silver and off-white, which stay cooler in the sun.
Can I try roof colors on my own house?
Yes. Upload a photo, pick a color and tap each side of the roof that faces you. Your photo never leaves your device: the painting happens in your browser.