Should Siding Match The Trim? [Inc. 11 Beautiful Combinations]

Home siding and trim are critical elements that help shape a home's exterior appearance and curb appeal. Knowing this, you are wondering if the siding and trim should match. Well, in this post, we thoroughly answer your question and offer eleven beautiful combinations as inspiration.

While siding and trim should match, there is no rule of thumb for how to achieve this harmony. Siding and trim are often appealing if they are the same color or different colors. Choose your siding and trim based on the following criteria:

  • Home Style
  • Neighborhood
  • Landscaping and Hardscaping
  • Roofing
  • Window and Door Appearance
  • Price Point
  • Durability
  • Personal Preference

Keep reading the rest of this post for details on each of the above bullet points. We pair these details with 11 modern and beautiful siding trim combinations for you to draw inspiration from. To conclude, we answer several questions related to the topic of this post.

A huge beige siding American themed house with brown shingle roofing, Should Siding Match The Trim? [Inc. 11 Beautiful Combinations]

Should Siding Match The Trim?

In most cases, trim is a lighter color than the siding. White and off-white trim will match almost any siding color. However, this rule is in no way hard and fast, as demonstrated in the following sub-sections.

Home Style

First and foremost, consider the style of your home when choosing how to coordinate your siding and trim. For instance, if you have a home and property tucked away in the woods, more subdued earthy tones and more subtle trim may be the most appropriate choices.

A beautiful lake house glowing brightly at night

On the other hand, a brightly lit decorative home may benefit from trim that 'pops' from the siding, which produces a highlighting and inviting look. Remember, both the inside and outside of your home contribute to the overall style.

Neighborhood

Whether you like it or not, neighborhoods have visual vibes and sometimes even rules dictated by homeowners' associations. Both of these issues impact your home's look, your experience in your home, and the future resale value.

A huge and nicely developed subdivision

For instance, opting for a siding-trim pairing that clashes with the rest of the houses on your street may decrease the eventual resale value of your home. Also, according to the Cedar Management Group, if you choose a siding and trim that breaks the homeowners association rules, you may incur fees or the ire of your neighbors.

Finally, remember that taking a drive in your neighborhood or other similar neighborhoods is a great way to get some ideas for your own home's siding and trim.

Landscaping and Hardscaping

The following considerations are the landscaping and hardscaping elements around your home. These are the rock features, flowers, bushes, trees, pathways, and even your sheds and driveways. 

A wonderful and properly maintained front lawn garden

Essentially, you want to ensure that both the siding and trim and the siding and trim together match these elements. This can be achieved with either contrasting siding and trim or siding and trim with relatively similar colors.

Roofing

An expensive and luxurious American home with clay roofing and stucco exterior walls

Roofing is another part of your home that you want to consider when choosing whether your siding and trim match. You can choose to either match your roof or contrast your siding and trim to your roof. The critical point is that your roof, siding, and trim will all be viewed together when looking at the outside of your home.

Window and Door Appearance

Similarly, window and door appearance is an important factor when choosing whether or not your siding and trim match. If you have specialty windows and doors, you may not want to draw attention away from these elements to bold-colored siding and trim.

White painted doors and window trims and a red door

On the other hand, if you find that your doors and windows risk not being bold enough, consider trim that draws the eye to these exterior home elements. Once again, you certainly want siding, trim, windows, and doors that all look good together.

Price Point

While considering the look of your home is certainly important, so is the price of both the siding and trim. Often, common colors such as white or gray are easy to find when it comes to prepainted materials. Usually, the store-bought colors are designed to coordinate well.

Stockpiles of wooden sidings inside a huge factory

Further, while the stock colors may not be your first choice, being able to side and trim your home securely is very critical.

Durability

In line with the price point is the issue of durability. Namely, do not sacrifice this feature for siding and trim that match exactly how you hope they would. Durable siding and paint are an important investment, and remember, you can always paint again if you do not prefer the first color choice.

Personal Preference

Finally, and perhaps of the utmost importance, is to choose siding and trim that coordinate in a way that you, as the homeowner, enjoy. If you like trim that pops from your siding, make that happen. Or, if you dream of a woodsy home with brown all around, that is a great choice too.

An infographic showing a magnifying glass searching for a house

If you have trouble narrowing down the siding and trim choices that satisfy all of the criteria listed here, first consider browsing the eleven combinations presented below. Also, remember that hiring a home designer is a great way to help choose the right colors for your siding and trim.

11 Beautiful Siding Trim Combinations

Here we provide 11 different attractive siding and trim combinations.

1. Classic White Trim

A wonderful and elegant country home with cream wooden sidings and a properly maintained front lawn

This home features classic white trim and subtle eggshell siding that combines to impart a sense of calm and hominess. 

2. Draw from the Brick

A huge brick walled mansion with shingle roofing and a gorgeous front lawn

The brick siding of this home features several colors dominated by red. However, the off-grey/green color present in the bricks is also used for the trim. This choice gives a sense of continuity to the exterior of the home.

3. Make Room for the Shutters

A classic American themed country home with wooden sidings and black window shutters

On this home, we see trim and siding that are both painted in a relatively subtle way. However, this choice makes their green shutters truly pop.

4. Seeing Red

Gorgeous houses with two tone colored trims and sidings

Above, the center home's red siding makes an impression. Further, the white trim on the red siding provides a stark contrast that brings the brightness of the red out even more.

5. Bring up the Hardscaping

A luxurious Mexican Villa with a pool on the back

While we all cannot live in luxury villas, the trim choice of this home makes an interesting example. Notice how the rock trim on the upper level matches the rockwork around the pool and elsewhere. This conveys a oneness to the entire home.

6. Little House in the Woods

A gorgeous house with wooden siding and brown wooden front porch fence

Here, the green and blueish siding make excellent pairs to the verdant woods around this cabin. Also, we see once again why white trim is so popular—it makes the color of the siding stand out.

7.  Another Take on the Outdoors

A two story log cabin house in the middle of the forest

In this log home, we see siding and trim colors that are virtually identical while still maintaining their look. Also, the choice of wood colors helps this home blend into its environment. Further, the subtle trim helps the traditional construction technique be the feature of this house.

8. Match those Doors

Wooden front door and stone decorative on the column and flooring

In the photo of this home, it is clear that attention was paid to match the doors, the siding, and the trim. The three features are all nearly the same color, and it looks great.

9. Let the Architecture Speak for Itself

A huge two story house with white wooden sidings and gray shingle roofing

The choice of siding, trim, and doors that are almost all the same color allows the other features of this home to truly stand out. The turret tower and the overall grandeur of the style are front and center.

10. Focus on the Trim

Yellow painted casement windows with a white wooden siding

This combination of siding and trim falls outside of the norm because the trim, rather than the siding, is the focal color. This particular trim is yellow, but other possible bright trim colors include red, blue, green, and more.

11. Bold and Brown

A prominent subdivision of luxurious two story homes with stucco exterior walls and gorgeous front lawn

In this home, we see siding that is white with brown trim. The brown is a way to highlight the lines of your home with trim without choosing a bright, potentially over-the-top color.

Should soffits match siding or trim?

Generally, soffits match the trim of a home. However, sometimes it is possible to use soffits as an accent piece and give them a unique color.

Does exterior window trim have to match?

No, it does not. While most homeowners choose to match their exterior window trim to the rest of their trim and the trim throughout their home, this is optional. Changing the trim from window to window or side to side can make a unique and attractive design choice.

Should exterior trim be light or dark?

A huge two story classic American home with dark green wooden siding and white trims

In most cases, exterior trim is more light rather than dark. However, it is also common to match brown siding to brown trim or to have trim that is darker colored.

Should your windows match the siding?

No rule of thumb says your windows need to be the same color as your siding. Most windows are in white vinyl, no matter the color of the surrounding siding.

In Closing

A huge beige siding American themed house with brown shingle roofing, Should Siding Match The Trim? [Inc. 11 Beautiful Combinations]

In this post, we answered whether or not trim and siding should match. We provide the information you need to begin making a choice you will be happy with for years to come. Following this, we provide 11 great siding trim combinations as inspiration and answer several related questions. 

Additional Reading

To learn more about how to choose the colors and match of the exterior of your home, read these great Home Decor Bliss articles:

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