Choosing the right roof for your Asheville home goes far beyond simply picking a durable material. The color and style of your roof play a crucial role in your home’s overall aesthetic appeal, energy efficiency, and even its resale value. As Western North Carolina’s weather patterns and architectural styles have unique characteristics, making thoughtful roofing decisions becomes even more important.
Here in the Blue Ridge Mountains, homes range from historic craftsman bungalows to modern mountain retreats. As we drive through neighborhoods from Montford to Biltmore Village or the winding roads of Black Mountain, we see how roof designs directly impact a home’s character. At Lane Roofing and Restoration, we’ve guided countless Asheville homeowners through selecting roof colors and styles that not only protect their investments but also enhance their homes’ natural beauty against our stunning mountain backdrop.
This guide will help you understand how to choose roofing elements that perfectly complement your home’s architectural style while considering our local climate and aesthetic traditions.
Understanding Your Home’s Architectural Style
Before selecting roof colors and styles, it’s essential to identify your home’s architectural design. Asheville’s housing landscape features several distinct styles, each with traditional roofing approaches:
Craftsman Bungalows: Common throughout neighborhoods like Montford and West Asheville, these homes typically feature low-pitched roofs with wide eaves. Earth tones like deep greens, browns, and grays complement their natural materials and handcrafted details.
Victorian Homes: Found in historic districts, Victorian homes often have steep, complex roof lines with decorative elements. Slate-look shingles in deep colors like burgundy, forest green, or charcoal enhance their ornate character.
Modern Mountain: These contemporary designs often feature dramatic roof lines with mixed materials. Metal roofing in dark bronze, charcoal, or matte black creates a striking look against our mountain backdrop.
Ranch Styles: Popular in many Asheville neighborhoods, ranch homes benefit from dimensional shingles that add visual interest to their horizontal profiles. Mid-tone browns, grays with subtle blue undertones, or warm tans work well with their simple lines.
Colonial Revival: These symmetrical homes often have medium-pitched roofs. Traditional colors like weathered wood, soft blacks, or slate blues maintain their classic appeal.
Not sure about your home’s architectural style? During our free consultations, our team can help identify your home’s design elements and recommend complementary roofing options.
The Psychology of Roof Colors
Your roof color choice affects more than just appearance—it influences how people perceive your home’s size, character, and even its apparent age. Here’s how different color families impact your home’s overall look:
Dark Colors (Deep Charcoals, Blacks, Dark Browns): These colors make a roof appear to recede, potentially making your home seem smaller. They create a solid, grounded appearance and effectively hide dirt and stains—an important consideration in Asheville where pollen and organic matter from surrounding trees can settle on roofs.
Light Colors (Tans, Light Grays, Pale Blues): These shades make a roof appear larger and can lift a home visually. They reflect more sunlight, potentially reducing cooling costs during our humid Asheville summers. However, they may show staining more readily.
Mid-tones (Medium Browns, Weathered Woods, Slate Blues): These versatile options provide balance and complement most exterior colors. They work particularly well with the natural mountain aesthetic prevalent throughout Western North Carolina.
Blended Colors: Multi-toned shingles add dimension and can help tie together various elements of your home’s exterior palette. They’re particularly effective for homes with stone or brick elements in multiple shades.
During our years serving the Asheville community, we’ve noticed homeowners increasingly choosing roof colors that complement our natural surroundings. Earth tones that echo the Blue Ridge Mountains or forest-inspired greens create harmony between built structures and our breathtaking natural environment.
Coordinating with Exterior Elements
Your roof should work in concert with other exterior elements to create a cohesive look. Here’s how to coordinate with key features:
Siding or Exterior Walls: For homes with bold or dark siding, consider a neutral roof that doesn’t compete for attention. For neutral siding, either a complementary neutral roof or a contrasting bolder roof can work well. Many Asheville homeowners with natural wood siding choose roofing in similar earthy tones for a harmonious look.
Stone or Brick Elements: If your home features stone or brick, select a roof color that picks up undertones from these materials. Many mountain homes in our region incorporate local stone with roofing in complementary grays or browns.
Trim and Accents: Your roof doesn’t need to match trim exactly, but they should exist in the same color family or offer pleasing contrast. Black metal roofing, for instance, pairs beautifully with white trim on many Asheville craftsman homes.
Neighborhood Context: While expressing your style is important, consider how your home fits within your neighborhood. In historic districts like Montford or Biltmore Village, certain roof colors and styles may better maintain the area’s character and potentially your property value.
One approach we often recommend to our clients is taking photos of your home and testing different roof colors using digital visualization tools. This helps prevent costly mistakes and ensures satisfaction with the final result.
Roof Styles and Profiles
Beyond color, the profile and texture of your roofing material significantly impact your home’s appearance. Here are common options and how they enhance different architectural styles:
Dimensional Shingles: These create shadow lines and depth, adding visual interest to simple roof planes. They work well on most Asheville homes and come in various thickness profiles—heavier profiles create more dramatic shadows and can make a statement on homes with simple lines.
Metal Roofing: Increasingly popular in Western North Carolina due to its durability against our occasional severe weather, metal roofing comes in several styles:
• Standing seam creates clean, contemporary lines perfect for modern mountain homes
• Metal shingles can mimic the look of other materials while providing metal’s durability
• Corrugated panels offer a rustic or industrial look that complements some farmhouse styles
Slate-Look Materials: These provide the elegant appearance of natural slate without the extreme weight and cost. They work beautifully on Victorian or Tudor homes throughout Asheville’s historic neighborhoods.
Shake-Look Options: These recreate the rustic texture of wood shakes but offer better fire resistance and longevity—important considerations in our mountain environment where wildfire awareness is growing.
For many historic homes in Asheville, maintaining period-appropriate roofing styles significantly preserves their character. For newer construction, these elements can be mixed more freely to create distinctive looks.
Climate Considerations in Western North Carolina
Asheville’s unique climate should influence your roofing decisions. Our mountain weather includes hot summers, cold winters with occasional snow, and significant rainfall throughout the year.
Energy Efficiency: Lighter-colored roofing materials reflect more sunlight, potentially reducing cooling costs during summer. However, darker roofs can help melt snow more quickly in winter—a consideration for higher-elevation homes in areas like Weaverville or Black Mountain.
Weather Resistance: Our region experiences occasional severe storms with high winds. Wind-rated shingles or metal roofing provide better protection against these events. The increasing popularity of metal roofing throughout Western North Carolina speaks to its practical benefits in our climate.
Algae and Moss Resistance: Asheville’s humidity can promote algae and moss growth on roofs, particularly on north-facing slopes or homes shaded by our abundant trees. Many quality shingles now include copper or zinc particles that inhibit organic growth, preserving your roof’s appearance and function longer.
UV Resistance: Our higher elevation means more intense UV exposure, which can cause roofing materials to fade or deteriorate more quickly. Quality materials with good UV resistance are worth the investment in our mountain environment.
Having served Asheville homeowners through all seasons, we’ve seen firsthand how different roofing choices perform in our local conditions. This practical experience informs our recommendations beyond purely aesthetic considerations.
Bringing It All Together: Practical Tips
When making your final decision on roof color and style, consider these practical approaches:
Collect Inspiration: Drive through neighborhoods with homes similar to yours and note roofing combinations you find appealing. Montford, Kenilworth, and North Asheville offer excellent examples of various architectural styles with thoughtful roofing choices.
Use Samples: View actual material samples at different times of day to see how lighting changes their appearance. What looks perfect in morning light might appear completely different in afternoon sun—a significant consideration given Asheville’s varied terrain and how homes receive light.
Consider Longevity: Remember that roofing is a long-term decision. While trendy colors might appeal today, classic choices that complement your home’s architecture typically offer better aesthetic longevity.
Think About Resale: If you might sell your home in the future, extremely unconventional choices could limit your buyer pool. The Asheville real estate market appreciates distinctive homes, but roofing that harmonizes with a home’s architecture typically maintains broader appeal.
Consult Professionals: Local roofing experts familiar with Asheville’s architecture and climate can provide valuable guidance. At Lane Roofing, we bring our understanding of both aesthetic traditions and practical performance requirements to every consultation.
The Lane Roofing Approach
As your neighbors in Western North Carolina, we understand that roofing decisions impact not just your home’s protection but also its character and your satisfaction with its appearance for years to come.
We take pride in guiding homeowners through this important decision with a thoughtful approach. During our consultations, we’ll discuss your home’s architectural style, your aesthetic preferences, and practical considerations like sun exposure and surrounding tree cover.
Our team can provide sample boards, digital visualizations, and references to similar local projects to help you envision different options. We believe informed decisions lead to lasting satisfaction.
Whether you’re restoring a historic Montford craftsman, updating a West Asheville bungalow, or putting the finishing touches on a contemporary mountain home, the right roof color and style will enhance your home’s natural character while providing the protection your investment deserves.
Your Home, Your Choice
While we’ve provided guidelines based on architectural traditions and practical considerations, remember that your personal preference matters. Your home should reflect your taste and lifestyle while respecting its inherent architectural character.
The most successful roofing projects we’ve completed throughout Asheville and Western North Carolina strike this balance—honoring the home’s design heritage while incorporating the homeowner’s vision.
We invite you to contact our team for a personalized consultation where we can discuss specific options for your unique home. Together, we’ll find the perfect roof color and style to protect your home while enhancing its natural beauty against our stunning mountain backdrop.
Ready to explore roof color and style options for your Asheville home? Contact Lane Roofing and Restoration at 828-490-1830 to schedule your free consultation. As your local roofing experts, we’re here to help you make choices you’ll be happy with for years to come.