Choosing the GOAT (Greatest of all Time) Shed Colour

Wondering what colour to paint your shed? Here are three guidelines to help you decide what colour your shed or outbuilding should be. 

Todays post is super fun because it’s also about my Sister/Mom’s Nigerian Dwarf Goats.

First, let’s talk about outbuildings.

When I did a search for the question (what colour should my outbuilding be), the first advice, right at the top, was this:

“In general, a great rule of thumb when choosing what color to paint your shed is to go with a lighter, more neutral color for the base, and a darker accent color to make the door and window trim stand out.”

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know that there’s mostly no such thing as a ‘rule of thumb’ when it comes to choosing colours.

The minute you think you’ve found a rule when it comes to colour or design, you’ll be confronted with a colour problem and and break that rule instantly.

As you should.

The mark of a good artist is that you have good instincts.

And the designers/artists who attend my live training generally arrive with good instincts/spidey senses and what they need to get better at is explaining WHY their advice is correct.

But I digress.

How to choose a shed colour.

First, let’s discuss the three guidelines for helping you choose the right colour your outbuilding or shed:

1. If your outbuilding or shed is visible with your home, the colour should coordinate.

If you can see your house and your outbuildings at the same time. They should coordinate. This goes for a barn as well.

Since I live in the country, I drive by many, many homes with barns surround them and most in no way relate.

And they are NOT beautiful yet.

I will get into this in greater detail in my Exterior Masterclass 15th Module: What Would Maria Do with THIS Patio/Porch/Fence/Deck (and outbuildings too). You can register and get instant access to all 14 modules immediately. This module is coming up May 15!

2. Or, here’s how to choose a shed/outbuilding colour if you don’t like your house colours.

If you don’t like the existing colour of your house and you need to paint your shed and you don’t want to look at your house colours (that are bad), then I recommend that you choose colours to move everything FORWARD.

The full tour of my 500 white tulip garden is coming for Mothers Day!

Here’s what I mean. I inherited my pale taupe vinyl siding house colour (above), and I have two outbuildings in my backyard: my studio and a garden shed.

And, I’m really happy that the previous homeowners simply chose white vinyl siding because I’m not a big fan of my taupe house. Although it doesn’t bother me enough to change it right now, because I’m too busy enjoying my garden.

3. And, maybe your shed/outbuilding is out of sight, so it doesn’t matter what colour it is.

This is the situation with the goat shed in my Mom/Sister’s backyard.

For those of you who don’t know, my mom and sister’s family own property two minutes away from me and my mom built a carriage house behind my sister’s house.

When they bought the house, they inherited an old goat and a ewe. Over time they both passed and the old shed sat empty for a few years until they adopted three Nigerian Dwarf goats last year!

Midnight and Max are brother and sister. They often bully Robin and push him around. We worry we need  a fourth goat so he has his own friend. 😉

Here’s a look at the goat shed before:

The other day my Mom called me from Home Depot and said, “Hey Maria, I’m here and I might as well get some paint for the door, can you give me a colour?”

To which I replied, “Mom, we stare at this shed everyday, let’s discuss the colours with everyone first.”

The existing red of this shed happens to be a faded version of what every house in Finland is painted.

That or a rich yellow.

Or both. Like this one (below).

Kurikka, Finland

Since the goat shed was already painted red and just needed a fresh coat, I thought perhaps the door should be yellow, as a nod to our Finnish heritage.

Then there’s the existing green corrugated plastic that isn’t changing as well.

Ok, so here are the colour options… I thought I’d put it out for a vote!

Here is the shed with yellow doors and fascia.

Then a here it is with green to coordinate with the corrugated plastic.

The problem with these two shades of red and green is they are way too close to Christmas colours.

Then William said, “Can we make the attached shed yellow too? And Markus added, let’s make the steps leading up to the roof green!

Here’s the before again:

I think we all liked this shed colour combination the best!

This year, the kids and my Mom added the steps so the goats could get up onto the roof and they LOVE it. They are up on the roof all day long!

They’ve never fallen once and not landed on all fours! It’s amazing how sure footed they are. It makes me feel sad for all the goats who never get to climb!

William & Markus

Here’s a short video I put together just for fun! We all need some joy right now!

Let me know which shed colour you like in the comments below!

If you need help with your exterior colour scheme, check out my eDesign packages here.

Related posts:

My Sister Elizabeth’s Fresh (But Still Tuscan) Kitchen Makeover; Before & After

Refresh of my Mom’s Kitchen and Sitting Room; Before & After

My Nephews HomeSchooling Room: Before & After