How often do you consider how a color makes you feel? Probably not very often, right?
The funny thing is, there’s no denying the psychology behind colors: Different colors make you feel different things, and that doesn’t apply to the colors found in nature, the walls of your home, or the clothes that you wear.
The colors on the outside of your home, including your roof, also affect the way that you feel.
The Psychology Of Colors and Roof Selection
The basic idea of color psychology revolves around how colors can influence human emotions and behaviors. Consider how this applies to specific aspects of home design, like picking a roof color.
Then, it is about more than just the psychological effects of the different colors; it’s about you creating the right ambiance and desired aesthetic of your home, one that can be felt both inside and out.
In a home, colors are much more than decorative items. They communicate a particular message and evoke an emotional response. For example, cooler colors like blues, greens, and purples can create calmness and relaxation, while warmer colors like reds, oranges, and yellows create warmth and excitement.
Color psychology is as subjective as color preferences, meaning what you may like someone else may not, and how a color makes you feel may make someone else feel something entirely different.
This emphasizes why it is so important to put thought into your decision when choosing the color of your roof.
A Deeper Look at Roof Colors and What They Can Mean
Roofs come in many different colors and tones, with each creating a different mood and perception.
1. Warm Color Roofs
Reds, oranges, and browns are all warm roof colors. As mentioned before, they are often associated with feelings of warmth. Other feelings commonly associated with them include energy and vibrancy; the right tone will either evoke feelings of a warm, cozy space or something exciting.
2. Cool Color Roofs
Again, blues and greens are roof colors with a tranquil, soothing quality. They can create a calm, relaxed environment, ideal for when you're looking to create your own personal retreat.
3. Neutral Color Roofs
Neutral colors like beige, gray, and white are classic, versatile, timeless colors. They can create a feeling of elegance and cleanliness and offer more flexibility than other colors.
4. Contrasting Color Roofs
If you want to create an impact on your exterior, opting for a roof that contrasts your home can have a striking effect, making it the focal point.
It's About More Than Just the Color
Color isn't the only thing that can evoke emotional responses; materials can as well.
Wood shingles and shakes can create a cabin woodsy feel, evoking feelings of warmth and comfort. It can make a home feel more cozy, compared to an option like metal roofing, which can create a modern, clean, and sophisticated feel.
Other materials, like clay tiles, exude warmth and joy, and slate offers old-world elegance, making even the simplest home seem more upscale.
Choosing the Best Roof for You
These two things play a significant role in roof selection, but you don't want just to close your eyes and point; you'd likely end up with a roof you can't stand, and there would be no turning back unless you wanted to spend a couple thousand dollars. To select your roof consider this:
Your Needs: Yes, you need a roof, but consider the climate in your area, the architectural style of your home, and, most importantly, your budget. There's no need to get into debt because of a roof. If you live in an area with harsh weather, you want a durable material, like slate, clay, or metal.
Materials: Different materials each have their advantages and disadvantages beyond their looks. You should consider these carefully, keeping your budget in mind, as some options can be expensive. You also want to look into the long-term cost of options like wood shakes and shingles.
Energy Efficiency: Climate change makes weather unpredictable. It also means summers are becoming hotter; keep this in mind, as energy-efficient roof colors can help keep your home cooler, lowering your energy bill.
Brava: High-Quality Roofs, Endless Color Options
Brava is a company known for its superior composite roofing products made of 100% recycled materials. These roofing products mimic the look of cedar shakes, slate, and clay tiles; each made so that you would never guess it isn't authentic.
What makes them stand out from their natural counterparts is their durability; these roofing tiles are made to withstand the toughest weather, whether it is the storms of Florida or the summer heat and wildfires of California; they will endure it all. They offer Class A and Class C fire ratings and Class 4 impact ratings and can withstand the strongest winds.
Best of all? You have over 74 possible color combinations between the three materials, with some select energy-efficient "cool roof" options.
Examples of How Roof Colors and Materials Work Together
Here are some examples of how the right combination of colors and materials, using brava products, can create a significant impact on the feelings a home evokes.
1. A Cozy Secluded Retreat

This home features Brava’s cedar shakes in “Natural Cedar.” The material perfectly replicates the hand-split look of traditional cedar shakes. This warm brown color almost glows in the sunlight, taking on a golden hue that seems to complement the yellow and green trees surrounding the home.
2. A French Country Welcome

This home has a similar color palette, with soft creamy walls paired with medium-brown toned brick accents.The roof has Brava’s “Aspen” shakes, a mix of dark and light brown tones that create a more textured and rustic look. Surrounded by nature, it creates a cozy cottage feel that is warm and inviting.
3. A Striking Combination

This home’s reddish brown brick gives the home a more contemporary feel that is warm, and the green shutters add a slight relaxed feel. The roof, a mix of grays and brown in Brava’s “Sierra” color cuts a cooler, striking contrast that draws your eye up to the dormered roof.
4. A Cool-Toned, Relaxing Escape

This beautiful home features a few different elements: the warmer stone accents pair nicely with the cool-toned, blue-gray siding, creating a relaxing peaceful feeling––exactly what you want to feel after a hard day at work. The homeowner paired it with Brava’s “Arendale” synthetic slate, adding a sophisticated, old world charm.The bright yellow door ties it all together and makes the message clear: there’s no place like home.
5. A Stately Home

This home’s bright white siding makes it stand out like a beacon against the landscape, drawing people in to admire the grand estate. The slate roof also draws the eye, with the mix of reds, brown, and black that make Brava’s “Atlantic” slate tiles.
6. A Homey Patchwork Roof

The creamy beige and light stone create a warm, inviting look for the home, making visitors feel welcome. The roof is something you don’t see often, almost looking like a patchwork quilt, with the different colors mixed in. “Washington” is a mix of gray and black, with just a hint of green; despite these dark tones, the design adds to the welcoming feel of the house and can bring a smile to faces as they take in the uniqueness.
7. A Vibrant, Multi-Color Contrast

Spanish barrel tiles have a certain charm to them, bringing a touch of the Mediterranean and Europe to homes in the states. This home’s cheery yellow stucco fills you with joy, and the multi-colored roof mixes “Cool Terra Cotta” and “Cool French Clay” for something truly unique that creates an added element of joy and warmth. These colors are also “cool roof” options, which help reduce heat absorption and keep homes cooler.
8. A Calming Green

This complex combines warm and cool tones; the warm colored stucco makes it warm and inviting, especially when paired with the white trim. The contrasting deep “Pine Green” Brava barrel tiles add a soothing, relaxing note creating an altogether warm, inviting, relaxed appearance.
9. A White Oasis

This home is a blend of light colors, from the cream stucco and tan stone blocks that cover the exterior walls. The bright white barrel tiles stand out, shining brightly against the surroundings and creating a cool oasis from summer heat.
10. A Classic Mediterranean Look

This home is truly European in appearance, from the architecture to the colors. The yellow-ish tan exterior is warm and inviting and can fill you with a sense of joy. These warm-toned barrel tiles are more of a classic color; “Antigua” is a vibrant reddish-brown that draws your eye up to admire the architecture around the roof.
Find Your Color By Building Your Roof with Brava.
When you’re building, repairing, or remodeling your home’s roof, it’s important to remember that colors impact the way you feel, and the exterior of your home is no different.
If you would like to learn more about Brava's composite roofing products and get advice on what color and material would be best for you, contact us today or use our visualizer!
We want to make sure your roof is making you feel the way it should.