A dark green house exterior can show off a home’s stone through contrast. On a suburban Colorado home, The Color Concierge chose Sherwin-Williams Rosemary (SW 6187, LRV 14), a warm dark green, to frame the stone rather than repeat the stone’s colors. Sherwin-Williams Taupe Tone accents, Sherwin-Williams Egret White trim and a Sherwin-Williams Stolen Kiss front door complete the palette.
I’m Michelle Marceny, founder of The Color Concierge, and Sherwin-Williams Rosemary (SW 6187) is one of my go-to paint colors when a client wants a dark green house exterior. We’ve featured Sherwin-Williams Rosemary on a gorgeous Colorado Victorian home on the blog before. Today, we’re sharing a dark green house exterior that is very different but just as beautiful.
This homeowner came to us to update his home’s exterior, which featured large sections of warm stone. He wasn’t sure he liked his stone, but knew it was going to be too expensive to replace. Instead, he wanted an exterior color palette that would complement the stone and make the home look more cohesive.
Sherwin-Williams Rosemary was the perfect option, and this home is now a fantastic example of a dark green house exterior that just might inspire an exterior paint project of your own!
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What Colors Go With a Dark Green House Exterior?
For a warm green exterior like Sherwin-Williams Rosemary (SW 6187), the best coordinating colors are also warm. In the case of this client’s home, we chose a neutral accent taken from the stone, a darker warm white for the trim, and a pop of color with a rich, red front door.
Green paint colors can be cool, with blue undertones, or warm, with yellow undertones. Rosemary has subtle yellow undertones, which is why it looks so beautiful with other warm hues.
| Color | LRV (Light Reflectance Value, on a scale of 0 to 100) | Where we used it |
|---|---|---|
| Sherwin-Williams Rosemary (SW 6187) | 14 | Siding, back board and batten next to the siding, side and back foundation, and the back accent above the deck |
| Sherwin-Williams Taupe Tone (SW 7633) | 36 | Gables, garage doors, front cement foundation, back columns and downspouts that run over stone |
| Sherwin-Williams Egret White (SW 7570) | 70 | Fascia, soffits, gutters, frieze board, corners, window trim, door trim, garage trim, downspouts that run over trim, and the front and back porch ceilings |
| Sherwin-Williams Stolen Kiss (SW 7586) | 7 | Front door and sidelight |
Should Your Siding Color Match Your Stone?
Not always. Sometimes we pull the siding color from the stone, and sometimes we pull the trim or accent colors from the stone instead. Either way, the goal is a siding color that complements your stone. When the siding and accents are too close to the stone, an exterior can look heavy and one-dimensional, without enough contrast.
On a Sherwin-Williams Grays Harbor exterior with warm stone, for example, we pulled Sherwin-Williams Fawn Brindle (SW 7640) from the grout color of the stone to use as an accent color.
On today’s Sherwin-Williams Rosemary (SW 6187) exterior, we took the opposite approach with the siding: Rosemary contrasts with the stone, and we pulled Sherwin-Williams Taupe Tone (SW 7633) from the stone for the front gables and garage doors.
Project Spotlight: A Dark Green Suburban Exterior
This gorgeous Colorado home sits on a beautiful lot that backs onto a community trail. The lot has plenty of green foliage but not many large trees, so the house gets a lot of sun. The home’s original palette featured muted dark blue siding and dark gables, and the front door was painted to match the gables, so the exterior didn’t flow as beautifully as it could.
The transformation of this home with its new dark green house exterior is absolutely beautiful.
Sherwin-Williams Rosemary Siding
Sherwin-Williams Rosemary (SW 6187) is a really popular green paint color right now. It’s dark without risking looking black, with an LRV of 14, and its subtle yellow undertones keep it warm.
We didn’t pull Rosemary from the stone. We chose it to contrast with the stone and show off its beauty. I absolutely love the way the Rosemary siding looks alongside the warm stone, especially since my client went into this project not loving his stone.
Sherwin-Williams Taupe Tone Gables and Garage Doors
We pulled Sherwin-Williams Taupe Tone (SW 7633) from the stone and used it as an accent color within the palette. The stone has much warmer, reddish tones, but we could still see Taupe Tone in it, which is why the two look so beautiful together. We used Taupe Tone on the board and batten on the front gables.
We also used Taupe Tone on the garage doors, the back columns, the downspouts that run over stone, and the front cement foundation to tie the entire house together. On this house, we specified painting the front cement foundation but not the front cement steps.
Sherwin-Williams Egret White Trim
A dark green house with white trim could end up looking too stark if it’s not the right white paint. Sherwin-Williams Egret White (SW 7570) was the best option to complement Sherwin-Williams Rosemary, because it’s a darker white with an LRV of 70 and warm taupe undertones.
Egret White is darker than the home’s white vinyl window frames, and that’s on purpose. Matching the trim to the windows would have been way too bright for this warm, earthy palette, and next to a dark body color, almost nobody notices the difference.
We used Egret White along the roofline, for the soffits, fascia and gutters. We also used the color for the window and door trim and the porch ceilings on the front and back of the house. You can see more of this color in our Sherwin-Williams Egret White review.
Sherwin-Williams Stolen Kiss Front Door
We love to add a pop of color to an exterior color palette. For this home, we chose Sherwin-Williams Stolen Kiss (SW 7586), a rich, dark red and one of my favorite front door paint colors, for the front door and sidelight.
Before, the front door was painted the same color as the gables, and the house just didn’t flow. With an LRV of 7, Stolen Kiss is bold and rich but muted enough not to feel too bright, and it looks really beautiful against the dark green exterior paint.
Should the Back of a House Match the Front?
Not always. For many homes, the back of the house easily matches the front, but for a home like this client’s, the choice wasn’t so simple.
The back of this home features a large covered porch, with a board-and-batten gable and more board and batten on the exterior walls of the porch. A covered lower level is also visible at the back but not from the front of the house. Because the property backs onto a community trail, the back was almost as important to the homeowner as the front.
One of our design options used Sherwin-Williams Taupe Tone (SW 7633) on the board and batten under the back gable. But it made the whole porch, where the homeowner spends time, feel darker, and it didn’t contrast with his porch furniture.
So we painted the entire back of the house Sherwin-Williams Rosemary (SW 6187), including the board and batten under the gable, which creates a pretty contrast with the taupe cushions on the furniture. Taupe Tone on the back columns ties in with his outdoor decor, and a Sherwin-Williams Egret White (SW 7570) porch ceiling helps keep the whole space feeling bright.
You can see how much brighter and more inviting the back of the house looks with the addition of lighter and brighter colors compared to the original palette, which felt heavy and dark.
Dark Green Exterior FAQ
Is dark green a good color for a house?
Yes, dark green can be a gorgeous house color, especially in a warm, earthy palette with stone, wood tones and warm neutrals. Be careful when every nearby home is very light, since a near-black exterior can look harsh. A muted, warm dark green such as Sherwin-Williams Rosemary (SW 6187) feels moody without clashing with lighter neighbors.
Does a dark green house fade quickly?
Not if you use good paint. In our experience at The Color Concierge, dark exterior colors only fade when a mid- to lower-quality paint grade is used. A dark green will look lighter and greener in bright sun than indoors, because paint reads four to five times lighter outdoors. That shift is lighting, not fading.
Are dark colored houses in style?
Yes. Dark charcoal, green and blue exteriors are still in style, although lighter, warmer palettes are more common overall. Earthy greens are trending too: Sherwin-Williams Rosemary (SW 6187), a warm dark green, is a really popular color on Pinterest right now. Dark exteriors work best for homeowners who want a house that stands out.
Sample This Dark Green Exterior Palette
| Paint color | Peel-and-stick sample |
|---|---|
| 1. Sherwin-Williams Rosemary (SW 6187) | Sample Rosemary |
| 2. Sherwin-Williams Taupe Tone (SW 7633) | Sample Taupe Tone |
| 3. Sherwin-Williams Egret White (SW 7570) | Sample Egret White |
| 4. Sherwin-Williams Stolen Kiss (SW 7586) | Sample Stolen Kiss |
Rosemary shifts a lot, so a palette that looks right on paper still has to prove itself on the house. We knew Egret White would work with both Rosemary and Taupe Tone, but testing is what sealed it: in this home’s light, Egret White simply looked beautiful. We use Samplize peel-and-stick samples in our own consultations because they’re made with real manufacturer paint, so what you hold against your siding is the actual color. Before you commit to exterior colors, here’s how we test paint colors.
Key Learning Points
Sherwin-Williams Rosemary (SW 6187) makes a gorgeous dark green house exterior, especially when the rest of the palette is designed around the home’s stone.
- Let your stone set the accent color when the siding needs contrast. Sometimes we pull the siding color from the stone, but on this house we chose Rosemary to contrast with the stone and show it off, then pulled Sherwin-Williams Taupe Tone (SW 7633) from tones we could already see in the stone.
- Don’t match exterior trim to bright white vinyl windows on a warm, earthy palette. Sherwin-Williams Egret White (SW 7570) is darker than the white window frames, and next to a dark body color almost nobody notices, while a bright white would have looked way too bright.
- Design the back of your house for how it’s seen and used. A design option with Taupe Tone under the back gable made the porch where the homeowner spends time feel darker and blended into his furniture, so we carried Rosemary across the back and used Egret White on the porch ceiling to brighten it.
Remember: NEVER, EVER use paint matches from a different brand than the one specified. Results are poor and there are no standards for the sheens. Even though your painter may truly believe it can be done, don’t do it. See results in our paint matching guide.
No matter what, always test your paint colors. It’s a standard best practice. Whenever I test my paint colors, they are perfect, and when I don’t test they turn out wrong. Learn how to test your paint colors like a pro.
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Related Posts:
- Sherwin-Williams Rosemary Exterior Color Palette
- Sherwin-Williams Egret White Review
- Best Front Door Paint Colors
About the Author
Hi, I’m Michelle Marceny, founder, owner, and Principal Color Designer at The Color Concierge. I believe a fresh coat of paint can completely transform a space. The Color Concierge was born out of my drive to help clients fall back in love with their homes. My clients trust me to help them find the perfect paint color — whether that’s a whole-house color scheme or ideas for a single room.
Since founding The Color Concierge in 2017, my team and I have completed 1,000s of color consultations, online and in person. I’m a Certified Color Expert with nine years of experience creating interior and exterior color palettes throughout North America.
Every color review on this site comes from colors we’ve specified in real homes and photographed on location during our own consultations — not from a fan deck or a manufacturer’s website.
We love your comments! Please note that the blog is meant as general advice, and it is not possible to give out specific answers to your paint questions. If you want more specific advice, our Online Color Consultations will help you pick your paint colours. Thank you for your understanding.
