Choosing a shingle color sounds like the fun part of a roof replacement. And it can be. But it is also a decision that will affect your home's appearance, your energy bills, and potentially your resale value for the next 20 years. Getting it right requires thinking through a few things that most homeowners do not consider until they are standing on a ladder holding a shingle sample that looks completely different in the afternoon Colorado sun than it did in the showroom.
Step One: Check Your HOA Rules First
Before you fall in love with a color, find out if you are even allowed to choose it. A significant percentage of homes along the Front Range are in HOA communities, and many of those HOAs maintain a list of approved shingle colors. Some require specific products and manufacturer color codes. If you install an unapproved color, you may be required to redo the roof at your own expense. This is not hypothetical. We have seen it happen. Pull out your CC&R documents or contact your HOA directly before you start looking at samples. If your project is insurance related, the approved color list also affects what you can install as a replacement. Most HOAs will work with you on color selection as long as you follow the process.
Match Your Existing Exterior First
The roof is the largest single surface visible on most homes. Whatever color it is will interact with every other visible exterior element you have, including the color and tone of your siding or stucco, the color of your brick or stone accents, the trim color, the garage door, and even the driveway material. The goal is not to match all of these exactly but to choose a shingle color that works harmoniously with the overall palette. A few general principles help here. Warm toned exteriors, which include red brick, tan stucco, and brown stone, typically look best with warm shingle tones such as amber, brown, tan, and weathered wood blends. Cool toned exteriors, which include gray stone, blue gray siding, and white trim, typically look best with cooler shingle tones such as charcoal, slate blue gray, and gray blends. Natural and earthy exteriors, common in Colorado's mountain adjacent communities, often work well with shingles in the green gray, brown gray, and forest color range.
Lighter Versus Darker Shingles in Colorado Sun
There is a genuine energy efficiency consideration in shingle color choice for Colorado, but it is more nuanced than the common advice suggests. Darker shingles absorb more heat, which can slightly increase cooling loads in summer. Lighter shingles reflect more solar energy, which helps with summer cooling. However, in Colorado, we have both hot summers and cold winters. In winter, darker shingles absorb more solar heat and can actually help reduce heating loads. For most Front Range homeowners, the energy difference between a mid tone charcoal and a lighter gray shingle is small enough that it should not be the primary decision driver. It matters more in homes where the attic is directly adjacent to living space or where ventilation is inadequate.
How Samples Look Different on a Roof
This is one of the most consistent surprises homeowners experience. A shingle sample in a showroom or in your hand looks a certain way under indoor lighting. The same shingle installed on a pitched roof surface, viewed from the ground at an angle, and illuminated by Colorado's intense high altitude sunlight, will look noticeably different. Colors tend to read lighter and more washed out on a real roof in bright sun. Blended shingles with multiple tones often look more uniform once installed at scale. Dark colors can look almost black under harsh midday sun. The best approach is to look at the actual product installed on a real home, either one your contractor has photos of or a nearby property you can drive by.
Manufacturer Visualizer Tools
Both GAF and CertainTeed offer online visualizer tools that let you upload a photo of your home and apply different shingle colors to see how they look. These tools are imperfect, because rendering technology does not perfectly replicate real world lighting conditions, but they are much better than trying to visualize from a two by four inch sample. We recommend using them as a starting point and then confirming your choice by looking at real installations.
Popular Shingle Colors in Colorado
Across the Front Range, the most popular shingle colors reflect Colorado's natural landscape. Charcoal and dark gray remain the single most popular category, working with almost any exterior palette. Weathered wood blends, which mix brown, gray, and tan tones, are popular on homes with natural wood accents or earthy stucco. Slate blue gray shingles have been growing in popularity in newer construction and remodels with modern gray exteriors. Brown and barkwood tones remain popular in more traditional Colorado neighborhoods with brick or earth toned stucco. Avoid very trendy colors that may not age well over a 20 year roof life. A color that feels fresh today can feel dated in ten years.
Resale Value Considerations
If you are within five years of potentially selling your home, lean toward neutral, widely appealing shingle colors rather than bold or unusual choices. A charcoal, weathered wood, or medium gray shingle will appeal to the broadest pool of buyers. More unusual colors may be perfectly appropriate for your personal taste but can limit your buyer pool if you sell.
Choosing shingle color is one of the last decisions in a roof replacement project, but it deserves careful thought. At Gates Enterprises, we work through this process with every customer as part of our full service approach. Visit our roof replacement services page to learn more about what the replacement process looks like, or call us at (720) 766-3377 to schedule a free consultation.