# Did I make a mistake with the soffit color?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-make-a-mistake-with-the-soffit-color/754613>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [May 12, 2016, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-make-a-mistake-with-the-soffit-color/754613 "2016-05-12T15:56:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-make-a-mistake-with-the-soffit-color/754613/1 "2016-05-12T15:56:06Z")

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Here’s my house. The new siding will be a reddish semi-transparent stain.

I picked brown soffits to blend into the dark brown roof and not draw attention to the metal parts of the house even though the trim and windows are white. Wondering if I made a mistake.

What do you people think?  
[![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/NWW8Osp.jpeg "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/NWW8Osp)

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**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-make-a-mistake-with-the-soffit-color/754613/2 "2016-05-12T16:11:04Z")

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I can’t see the soffits in that picture very well, and the angle of the roof makes it hard to tell what color that is. But… keep in mind that whatever color you pick is going to look dark, since it’s a horizontal surface, facing down. Personally, I like the soffits to be painted the same color as the trim. But it’s all a matter of taste.

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**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-make-a-mistake-with-the-soffit-color/754613/3 "2016-05-12T18:38:18Z")

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We have put it a lot of soffits, and no one has asked for anything other than white or off-white. That said, the next door neighbor’s house is a yellowish cream with all brown trim and soffits and it looks fine.

We repair porches, and many of the older ones that have tongue and groove ceilings have them stained dark.

Den

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**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-make-a-mistake-with-the-soffit-color/754613/4 "2016-05-12T19:06:58Z")

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My parents’ house has dark brown soffits and always has. But it matched the trim. The window casings were white but the faux shutters are the same brown as are the front overhang posts and a small strip around the garage door. The house color is tan.

I think brown is fine, you will just want to paint the trim to match.

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**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-make-a-mistake-with-the-soffit-color/754613/5 "2016-05-13T03:37:18Z")

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No, I think they look fine dark.