Explore a real-world example of a Sherwin-Williams Green Onyx exterior color palette and learn how to choose the right exterior paint colors for your home.
As paint color consultants, we see many paint color trends come and go. Recently, we’ve seen a big increase in clients interested in adding color to their homes – even on the exterior!
One of our favorite trends is the growing popularity of blue and green exterior color palettes…which is why we were so excited to work with the clients whose home we’re featuring today!
This stucco house is on the Florida Gulf Coast, and when they purchased it, the home featured a brown color scheme. While I love an earthy brown color scheme, it wasn’t the right option for this house and the clients wanted to try something lighter and brighter that would boost the curb appeal.
They were thinking of a white or beige house to blend well with their windows but were also open to splashes of color. During the color consultation process, we recommended several conservative white palettes that featured colorful front doors.
We also included the colorful Sherwin-Williams Green Onyx palette they ended up choosing. It was a wild card, but they loved it! Keep reading to learn more about SW Green Onyx paint and see the full before-and-after transformation of this Florida home.
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What Color is SW Green Onyx?
Sherwin-Williams Green Onyx is a medium green paint color that looks beautiful indoors and outdoors. It’s muted enough to work even in climates with bright sunshine (like the Florida Gulf Coast!) and is soft enough to use alongside lots of green foliage.
SW Green Onyx LRV
With an LRV of 31, Green Onyx is a mid-tone green. But it appears lighter when used as an exterior paint. Colors look 4-5 times lighter and more colorful outdoors than indoors, especially in bright sunlight.
What is the SW Green Onyx Undertone?
SW Green Onyx has yellow undertones. The undertones keep the color warm without skewing too yellow, thanks partly to how muted the color is.
Is Green Onyx Sherwin-Williams Warm or Cool?
Green Onyx is a warm paint color thanks to its yellow undertones. While it looks beautiful on a home’s exterior with lots of sunlight, it can also work well in shady spots or cloudier climates.
Sherwin-Williams Green Onyx vs Benjamin Moore Kennebunkport Green
BM Kennebunkport Green is the closest Green Onyx alternative for those looking to work with Benjamin Moore paints. It has an LRV of 31.32 and yellow undertones similar to Green Onyx. It is also similarly muted and will work well in many of the same applications.
Project Spotlight: SW Green Onyx Exterior Color Palette
This Florida home has stunning green foliage and a gorgeous backyard pool. It also has some unique architectural elements that weren’t being highlighted in its original brown color palette. The colorful Sherwin-Williams Green Onyx exterior palette we designed has truly brought this house back to life!
The home’s backyard patio and pool area was also transformed by the new color. It’s amazing how much brighter and more welcoming this space feels now!
Here’s what the client had to say about the new palette:
“Thank you for the great color schemes you provided. I had a hard time choosing between the white one, which was my original intention, and all of the beautiful alternatives. However, as soon as my husband saw the green palette he was set on it…we are so happy with our choice! The green looks amazing on our house!!!… Even though we still haven’t tackled our random landscaping somehow it all looks better with a green house as the backdrop.”
Sherwin-Williams Green Onyx Exterior Color Scheme
This was the final color scheme, featured with the palette from our All-In Exterior color consultation package, a custom illustration similar to your home. The client originally wanted a white or beige color scheme. While we gave them some classic and beautiful options, we also wanted to show them what their home would look like with a more colorful palette.
An Alternate White Color Scheme
Below is a palette from their consultation featuring Sherwin-Williams Greek Villa exterior paint. The clients loved it, but they opted for the more colorful option. We thought you might want to see it anyway to get an idea of how our consultations work.
Sherwin-Williams Green Onyx Body
The final SW Green Onyx exterior was the perfect choice for this home! It looks bright and cheery in the Florida sunshine but is muted enough not to overwhelm the home or its surroundings.
Sherwin-Williams Oyster White Exterior Trim
We wanted to keep the rest of the Green Onyx exterior palette simple and classic, so white exterior trim was the way to go. The homeowner was concerned about picking a white that was too bright in the Florida sunshine. We determined that Sherwin-Williams Oyster White was the perfect trim color for this palette.
SW Oyster White is a warm, muted, and very light greige paint color with green undertones. With an LRV of 72, it looks like a soft white outside and pairs wonderfully with the green stucco exterior of this home.
We used Oyster White for the trim, garage doors, and the unique posts at the home’s front entrance.
Sherwin-Williams Black Magic Front Door
We completed this colorful but classic exterior with a timeless and classic black front door using Sherwin-Williams Black Magic.
Black Magic is typically considered a true black with slightly warm undertones. It’s the perfect, timeless complement to the Green Onyx exterior and Oyster White trim.
Things to Consider When Choosing an Exterior Color Palette
Want to design your own exterior color palette? It takes more than just choosing paint colors you like. Here are some of the things we consider when designing exterior palettes for our clients:
Location
Your home’s location greatly impacts the exterior paint colors you choose. Colors appear 4-5 times lighter and more colorful outdoors than they do inside a home. And colors can be even brighter if your home is in very sunny locations in the South or high-altitude areas.
Surrounding Foliage
If you have a lot of bright green foliage, you have to be really careful when choosing white or other light exterior body colors. Some whites can reflect the color of the foliage and leave your house looking green (when you don’t want it to be!).
That is why we like to pick a darker white for this type of setting. Oyster White is dark enough to have a lot of pigment that won’t be as reflective as a lighter white.
Neighbors
We always consider the colors of neighboring homes when picking an exterior color palette. Your home shouldn’t be an exact match of your neighbor’s homes, but also needs to work with them. For example, if your neighbor has a very bold color, a light exterior may reflect that color back.
Architectural Details
Pay attention to the unique architectural details of your home when building an exterior color palette. If your home has a lot of intricate trim and other details, you may need to select more colors to work with.
Hard Finishes
Don’t forget to consider your home’s other hard finishes, including your windows, roof, and any brick or stone you may have. There are many paint colors that go with red brick and other finishes, but it’s important to take the time to find the right one for your home.
We loved how the charcoal roof looked with the green stucco and repeated the black front door. It also paired well with the black windows in the backyard.
Need help designing your perfect exterior palette? Hire our color consultants to do the hard part for you!
Testing Exterior Paint Colors Dos and Don’ts
One of the most important parts of finding the right exterior paint colors is by testing them – and testing them correctly.
Don’t just paint your swatches onto your exterior. It’s hard to see what the true color looks like when it’s painted in the middle of the existing color because the background color tricks your eye.
Instead, test large swatches painted over primer or tape white paper around them to isolate the color. Test your colors next to any brick, stone, and trim you must also consider.
Our favorite way to test paint colors is with SAMPLIZE 9X14” Pre-Painted peel-and-stick paint samples on white poster board. You can move the board around to see the color in different light and easily move it to different parts of your home to compare the color to your hard finishes.
Check out the SAMPLIZE website here or click here to get a sample of Sherwin-Williams Green Onyx exterior paint.
Key Learning Points
Sherwin-Williams Green Onyx is a lovely exterior paint color option and worked perfectly on this stucco house.
- SW Green Onyx is a warm, medium green paint color that is muted enough not to look too bright even in lots of sunlight.
- Green Onyx pairs well with SW Oyster White (which has green undertones) as an exterior white trim color. SW Black Magic paint is a classic color option for a front door paint color.
- When choosing exterior paint colors, remember that paint looks 4-5 times lighter and more colorful outdoors than it does inside.
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 from paint matching here.
Online Color Consulting
Still, looking for the perfect paint color? Discover our Online Color Consulting Package.
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Get an Expert-Made Exterior Paint Color Scheme
Don’t want to create a color palette by yourself? Contact The Color Concierge to learn more about our in-person and online paint color consultations.
Our All-In Exterior consults include three tailor-made color palettes, support with testing paint colors, one round of design edits and detailed color placement instructions you can hand off to your painter.
Click here to explore our exterior paint color consultation package.
We love your comments! Please note that the blog is meant as general advice, and it is not possible to give specific answers to your paint questions. If you want more specific advice, please consider purchasing a color consultation. Thank you for your understanding.
