All Natural – A Metal Roofing and Siding Color Palette That Does It All

By AEP Span. 

Choosing natural colors for a home’s roofing and siding brings a versatile and modern element to the exterior’s aesthetic.  

It can be difficult to decide what color palettes to choose for metal roofing and siding, but selecting a natural color scheme can give the building a versatile look by combining elements inspired by the natural environment and different material textures. The team of metal experts at AEP Span share their color insights and how natural metal finishes can elevate any structure’s look.  

Color and metal 

Color’s purpose is to create sensory response. It plays an important role in the creation of mood and influences the way a structure is perceived. When selecting roofing and siding colors, the selection process can be challenging. Color selection must often balance multiple factors, including: 

• Integration with the building design and other materials  
• Contrasting or complimenting the surrounding environment 
• The need to create balanced color palettes and styles  
• Selecting durable, UV fade resistant colors 
• Color availability  

Natural colors 

Natural colors are those that work in unison with their landscapes to create harmonious color palettes. Their softer, less saturated tones improve integration with multiple elements, such as other natural materials, environmental features and diverse lighting conditions. A benefit of natural colors is their reduced intensity can produce broader appeal. Natural colors can also project warmth and positive appeal – think of the enjoyment natural landscapes with their balanced color often provide. 

Natural metal colors 

At first glance, the idea that metal roofing and siding finishes can feature natural color seems like an oxymoron. How can a color developed through chemistry and manufactured with high-tech machinery produce organic color? 

Traditional standard metal colors feature solid, vivid colors with moderate gloss. While this produces a distinct, clean and crisp color, it may not be suitable for all applications. By comparison, natural metal colors feature less saturated tones, dynamic interaction with light, and can recreate the warmth of weathered metal surfaces. 

AEP Span’s Eternal Collection and Vintage are examples of finishes with reduced color intensity and dynamic light interaction. These colors feature a translucent, tinted finish over the base steel substrate. As the finish does not feature a primer, the color is more restrained and subdued. The semi-transparent finish also provides a unique interaction with light that changes throughout the day, much like naturally occurring elements. Additionally, this finish features enhanced depth through its semi-translucent finish, which enables the texture of the metal underneath to be apparent. These elements combine to create a more dimensional finish, like naturally occurring elements, and work in unison with other finishes and materials to create balanced color palettes. 

Alternatively, colors such as AEP Span’s Rustic Series create natural color by recreating the effects of long-term natural weathering. Naturally, weathered finishes are often a desirable roofing or siding color due to the more varied color and the warm, earthy tones that ensue from the oxidization process and the creation of a varied patina. All the benefits of weathered materials with the durability and longevity of painted steel. Learn more about AEP Span’s rustic series.  

Natural metal color case studies 

AEP Span has done a series of case studies on various projects that have been completed using their natural color line in application. Here are a few examples:  

• Eternal collection: Kalama Eternal Collection Home case study; a Washington State homeowner selected Design Span® hp metal roofing system in 24ga Urban Slate to uplift the style of their home. The Urban Slate color is a semi-translucent finish which provides a deeper color that changes dynamically with daylight. Built in 1993, this home featured an original teal roof with outdated, inferior paint technology. 
• Vintage: Vintage School case study; This collaboratively developed school instills pride among teachers and students with its commanding yet memorable design. The design focuses on dynamic circulation, which creates student gathering spaces and provides students with a variety of pathways, both physically and academically. 
• Sedona Rust: Sedona Rust and Vintage® School case study; Situated in the sparse desert highlands at the base of the Eastern Sierra, sits this charismatic middle school. For this project, metal siding was selected to add depth and unique appeal to this expansive campus. AEP Span metal siding panels were the preferred product of choice for this facade due to their color versatility, long term durability and low maintenance qualities. 

Learn more about these case studies and other projects in the AEP Span Learning Center. 

Summary 

Natural colors offer an excellent color range to improve mixed material and environmental integration. While normally associated with organic elements, AEP Span offers a range of natural hues for metal roofing and siding surfaces. These natural metal colors truly are a win-win for architects and homeowners- they offer color flexibility without any performance or durability sacrifice. 

To explore AEP Span’s natural colors in more detail, visit our virtual color palette, download a color design guide or visualize natural colors on your project using our visualizer. 

Original article source: AEP Span