Switching up your home’s exterior paint color can enhance curb appeal in one big stroke. If your Northern Michigan home is ready for a new look, check out these colors for some eye-catching inspiration.

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Make a Statement with Anchors Away Blue

Designer: Marcus Trombetta | Builder: Ayers Contracting | Exterior Paint: Anchors Away by Sherwin Williams | Location: Glen Arbor | Photographer: David Speckman

Originally, Marcus Trombetta had envisioned white siding with black windows for the new home he calls Clarity House on Airbnb. While that combination is trending now, Trombetta wanted to make his own unique statement, so he took his color search out of the box and ended up giving his home a dark and vibrant blue exterior. While he’d figured the color would be a handsome contrast with the dark windows, what he didn’t count on, Trombetta says, is “how striking the dark blue is against the massive hardwoods and pines that surround the home.” The paint color’s name, Anchors Away, is no coincidence—Trombetta served in the U.S. Navy.

Home in the woods with a bonfire

Photo by David Speckman

Let Your Home Shine with Soft Cypress

Designer: Stephanie Baldwin, Edgewater Design Group | Builder: Legacy Construction Services | Exterior Color: Cypress Vinyl by CertainTeed | Location: Boyne City | Photographer: Jacqueline Southby

Ellen and Jeff Miller were looking for zero maintenance for their new home in Boyne City, so they opted for vinyl siding by CertainTeed. While you can paint vinyl siding, the Millers hoped never to add that chore to their to-do list, so they chose their color with care. The couple’s main consideration was that their home fit in with the older homes in their lakeside neighborhood. Their choice, Cypress, picks up the soft green tones of the surrounding pines and Lake Charlevoix across the street, while complementing their neighbors’ blue and gray houses. Four years later, the Millers still smile when they pull into their driveway.

Home with light green siding

Photo by David Speckman

Bright Up Your Home with a Creamy Yellow

Architect: Bradley J. Butcher, Sidock Group | Contractor: JNJ Construction, Inc. | Exterior Color: Woodland Cream by Sherwin Williams | Location: West Twin Lake, Lewiston | Photographer: Sidock Group

This creamy shade offers the traditional cottage yellow without the need to scream it. Moreover, given its exposure to the south, the color makes the home “shine very nicely among the trees that surround it,” says architect Brad Butcher. “The home is not small,” he adds, “yet the covered porches and soft yellow color help to downplay its size and reflect the character of a cozy cottage as opposed to some of the larger log homes along the same shoreline.”

Home in Lewiston on West Twin Lake

Photo by David Speckman

Photo(s) by David Speckman