09 Jun Texture Tuesday – When the Color of Your Roof Matters

Exterior siding, stucco, and roof colors by international color consultant, Amy Wax. Roof is by Timberline; color is Barkwood. Home designed by Oasis Architecture. Photography by, and with permission from, Amy Wax.

Who would have known?  Not me, because I haven’t remodeled my home in 16 years.  So it was a HUGE surprise to discover how much has changed over the course of a decade in roofing.  I went into it naively thinking that I had to pick between 2-tab shingles or 3-tab. Well, the reality is it’s a lot more in depth then that. Way more in depth than I really wanted to go. I mean who wants to spend countless hours trying to decide what the roof shingle will look like in different light? For this week’s #TextureTuesday I bring you my tale.

What I learned from international color consultant Amy Wax, is that the color of your roof DOES matter!  As you can see from the above photo that a large part of the exterior IS the roof. And with our tiny 1950’s bungalow cottage, it’s the first thing you see.

My problem, however, was very similar to the year I needed to purchase a red blouse to go with this wonderful light blue patterned skirt I bought with a touch of red in it.  Well, so much for THAT idea The fashion industry had already decided what colors our clothes were going to be that year and there was NO red blouse to be had. I kid you not! (I should have gone to Goodwill, but I think I looked there too and still didn’t find even an old one).

My point here is that the roofing industry has changed it’s look.  The majority of homeowners select “Weatherwood” (in image below) or “Driftwood”, as the color of choice, because, well, it looks like weathered wood and it’s a great neutral and good for the resale of your home.  And at first glance online, it looks like a basic brown grey.  But I did NOT want brown,  I wanted grey. It was not as simple finding it as you may think.

Three key changes that I noticed in shopping for shingles are:

•  The quality of the shingles are much better and more durable (than 16 years ago!), withstanding high winds, and,
• They are now designed to actually look like wooden shingles, incorporating “shadowing”, a shading variation in the color and a more “textured” look.
• There are a multitude of colors and shading levels from which to choose, so chose wisely.

This is “Weatherwood” by Timberline. Looks gray/brown, right?  Wrong. In person it is more brown and each roofing company has their own name for similar colors. Photo by, and with permission from, Timberline.

Below is my roofer Jose, through Craig Construction, who kindly brought sample after sample by our home for me to see. But as you can see in the upper right corner image (with the Pink Panther), THAT is what “Weatherwood” really looks like close up.  Many different colored shingles leaning toward a definite brown. Frustrated, I thought how difficult could it be to find a grey roof shingle?

Evidently, a bit of a challenge.  Because roof shingles now  (and probably for some time!) are multi-colored, a more 3-dimensional shingle they now call “architectural”. According to Luxe Cape Cod, in a post The New World of Roofing, “Most (Cape Cod) homeowners now choose a raised-profile, architectural shingle, which is a composite material made with a fiberglass mat, asphalt coating and mineral granules. Most manufacturers now offer a lifetime, 50-year warranty. The old-style, three-tab shingles are still available with a 25- or 30-year warranty.”

But I didn’t really like the new style of shingles!  Well, at least at first. It’s growing on me now that I’ve looked at a zillions roofs in my neighborhood and checked out the ones on Amy’s new website.  And do I really have a choice?  Yes, I did if I just wanted a 3-tab roof, but the high quality roofs are this architectural style. But I knew I would not be happy if I had a roof on my home that has shades of blue and green or a shimmery brown, or even gray and pink shingles like in the below samples I took driving around my hood.

I simply wanted a medium grey roof, as close to one color as possible. I kept asking the roofer, don’t you have any grey? And he politely said “Ma’am, this is how roof shingles are now, they have shading, to make them look more like a thatched roof”. Sigh…..  (Yes, I know there are more important things to worry about in life right now than my roof, but when a new roof costs 10K you certainly don’t want it installed and go “Oh no, it’s too green!” So go cautiously my friends).

And the new on-trend color seems to be charcoal black (below).  Mighty attractive as you can see from this house built right across the street from ours, but a tad too dark for Texas heat!

(By the way, in the lower left-hand corner of this pic, next to this brand new, large million dollar home recently built in our quiet neighborhood filled with quaint mid-century bungalows, is our neighbors home. Yup! Above that terra cotta light fixture is the top of their roof).

Here’s some more of the newer homes being built in my neighborhood. Although larger, at least the homes LOOK like the cottage/bungalow style homes in our hood.  Notice the modern one on the right chose a metal roof, which is also a popular choice, but more costly.

My roofer, a very patient and helpful man, not knowing what to do with me, and clearly seeing how frustrated I was at this whole complicated process (I don’t pick out paint colors well either!) he suggested I go directly to the warehouse to see all the color choices in larger samples.

That’s when I realized it was time to bring in the experts!! And thankfully, I had several to turn to because I’m a member of the online resource Interior Design Community, filled with incredibly talented interior designers and other home experts.

And I thought selecting colors for my interior walls was hard.  Finding anything remotely like a true grey (without it leaning toward green, or blue) was challenging indeed.

I’m happy to say that with a little help from my friends, and reaching out to experts in their field, I was able to  finally select a roof color, but not without fan fair.

Here’s a little aside funny story that happened along the way. We had planned an end-of-the-school-year, mini family vacation to Galveston to visit old friends, get out of town and relax on the beach away from all the rain, flooding and daily stress. And lo an behold, what do I see on their kitchen counter the minute I walk in? None other than a roof shingle sample book. I about screamed!!  And of course it WOULD have several samples of grey. I guess with all the storms we’ve had, it’s not surprising that many homeowners are looking to replace their damaged roof. Our friends had hail damage. They too were baffled by all the color choices!

So, without further ado, here’s what I did.

•  I sought the expert advice from international color consultant Amy Wax, the genius behind “Color 911”.
• Interior designer Patrick Landrum of PL&D Design so graciously offered to come over and review samples with me.  That’s Patrick below on the ladder as we look at the shingles ON my to compare it to my current, torn up very light grey. And
• Interior designer, Hjardeir Dunn, of Hjardeir Dunn Design even chimed in with, “Girl, there are a lot of shingle companies out there. I would go on out to that warehouse like your roofer suggested to make sure you get the “grey” that you want.”

Can you see the roof shingle samples amidst the fallen tree debris below?

In fact, all three of these color and interior design experts suggested I do just that, hightail it out to the warehouse (below) and look at tons more samples.  And you know, they were right and I’m really glad I did! 

Because your roof is a huge investment, upward of $10,000.  When you have a small bungalow cottage built in the 1950’s like ours, you SEE a lot of the roof the minute you park in front of the house. So, all of a sudden, what I thought to be a simple decision, turned into a very important decision before proceeding with our remodeling project.

 The warehouse with shingles after shingles after shingles. And each company has similar colors but with different names. And there’s some with a lot of shading and some with “light” shading, making selecting a roof shingle very challenging.

Before I reveal how beautiful my roof is going to look with the “Estate Grey” that Amy and Patrick helped me decide upon, here are 5 tips from color expert Amy Wax on how to select a roof.  I found these tips to be extremely helpful!

Roofing Tips by Amy Wax:

• Your roof will be illuminated by sunlight. The roofing samples are a shade darker than the roof will actually appear once it is installed.
• Consider the style of the home and what was on original roof. If an original roof might have been wood choose a color that incorporates both browns and greys to reflect the color of a weathered wood. If the original roof might have been a Spanish tile, the red or green close to the tile color would look appropriate on your home. This applies especially if you are in a community with roof colors that reflect ordinal color palette of the homes.
• If you are in a climate with higher temperatures, a lighter roof will reflect the heat of the sun and can make a difference in controlling the temperature of your home. Darker shingles will absorb the heat helping homes in Northern / cooler climates maintain the heat in your home.
• If you have a home with a natural element such as brick, stone or stained woods choose a warmer color roof to tie the natural colors of your home together.
• Natural color roofs are a safer selection (if resale is anywhere in the horizon). These more neutral colors include tans, grays, browns, brown-gray mixes and charcoal blacks. These will coordinate with a larger selection of house colors and will not restrict your house color selection in the future.

And here are my final choices (below) at the warehouse IN the direct sun.  The one to the left is the WINNER, “Estate Grey”.  The one in the middle is a “Slate Grey”, and you see that it leans toward blue.  And the image on the right is “Estate Grey” on the left compared to “Charcoal Black” on right (the color of the roof on the  new home across the street from ours).

And here’s what it will REALLY look like on a roof below.  I can’t wait!!!  I also want you to see the difference between “Estate Gray” and “Weatherwood” so you know I’m not overly picky, or C-R-A-Z-Y and that thee color of your roof really DOES matter! As you can see from Amy Wax’s beautiful example at the beginning of this post, roof and exterior colors make a huge difference in the curb appeal of your home.

Photography and description by, and with permission from, Owens Corning.

Here’s the description on the Owens Corning website:

“Oakridge® shingles have a warm, inviting look in popular colors for a step up from traditional three-tab shingles. And now Owens Corning Roofing has expanded the Oakridge color palette with a collection of new Artisan Colors that provide a unique blend of artistry and craftsmanship that will give homes a look that is anything but ordinary and are backed with a Limited Lifetime Warranty (for as long as homeowner owns the home).”

On the left, “Estate Grey”. On the right “Weatherwood” Photos by, and with permission from, Owens Corning.

And who ever knew that the shingle I finally picked turns out to be from their new  “Artisan” collection.  How apprepro! Thank you to friend and international color consultant Amy Wax for her helpful tips and advice and for Patrick Landrum hauling shingles on my roof, and Hjardeir Dunn for always speaking her mind to set me straight.

Lesson learned: When you don’t know what you’re doing, hire the professional color experts and interior designers to do the job right. It is so worth it! 

Thank you all!  I can’t wait to get my roof fixed. Now all I have to do, like countless others in Texas, is wait patiently for the adjuster to arrive.  Till then, I hope my story saves you some time and money! XOPG