Difference between exterior and interior paint color.

Choosing the right color that’s perfectly suited for the interior or the exterior of your residential or commercial building may appear to be a daunting task, especially if you’re a novice.

At this stage, you want to add the final touches, you want to add the masterstroke that’ll adorn your house and make it come off as a masterpiece. The perfect work of art.

You could use some help here. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to create a disturbing, instead of a comforting feeling on the inside, or give your building a dull look on the outside because of a misjudgment in colors that are best suited for each aspect.

Here you’re going to learn the difference between exterior and interior paint colors so that you can make the best choice. Also, see here for the Best Local Painting Company.

Types of paint

Basically, all paints are made of four components: pigments, solvents, resins, and additives. 

Paints are either water-based ( latex paints) or oil-based. The difference between the two types is the nature of the solvent. Latex paints have water as the solvent, whereas oil-based paints have mineral spirits as the solvent.

The solvent is what keeps the paint wet. As the paint dries up, the solvent evaporates, leaving behind the pigment, additives, and resins which are the lasting components of the paint.

The colors of the paint are due to the pigments, which are either organic or inorganic. Usually, organic colorants give bright colors, while inorganic colorants produce earthy colors, and they are more durable for exterior painting jobs.

What is the difference between exterior and interior paint colors?

If you do a simple experiment by comparing the appearance of the same paint color, inside and outside the house, you’ll notice that it looks darker on the interior and lighter on the exterior. Anyone who doesn’t know may be fooled into thinking they’re two different paint colors.

So what’s the reason for this difference? and how can you consider the factors that influence this difference to guide you or your painting company make the best choice of color for the interior or the exterior painting?

The difference between interior and exterior paint colors is largely due to factors such as lightening, surrounding colors, and other natural elements.

That’s why the same paint color may look and appear differently on the interior than on the exterior.

But regardless of where the building is located, you should know that paint colors usually appear lighter on the exterior. And as a general rule, to get the maximum desired effect, it is advisable that when choosing paint colors, you should go for a color that’s two shades darker than what you’d want it to look like on the exterior.

For example, let’s say you’re choosing a cream or off-white color for the interior, if you compare that same color on the exterior, it comes off as a bright white, due to natural lighting and natural elements like the weather condition.

And a light gray color on the inside may read as warm off white on the outside surface.

Another important thing you should note is that the exterior color will most likely read differently at different times of the day, under different lighting, and different weather conditions.

What to do with this information?

In line with this, the tip here is that when choosing a color for your exterior, choosing a two shades darker variant of that color is just perfect, and you should also sample paint colors you wish to use for the exterior of your house during daylight hours so that you’ll get a better feel of what you’re going to get.