21 trending colours to paint your fence
Painting your garden fence is a quick and easy way to update your outdoor space and this year, there’s no shortage of new shades to get excited about.
Outdoor paint allows for bolder, braver colour choices and more freedom for experimentation with different shades. You’ve heard about taking the inside of your home outdoors, right? Well, now we’re doing this in reverse, believes Marianne Shillingford, creative director and colour expert at Cuprinol, by using interior shades and styles to influence how we decorate our 'outdoor rooms'.
'When we throw our doors open to the garden, be that a balcony to a flat, or a sprawling lawn, they will look like a natural extension of our much-loved living spaces, workable to the nation's most-beloved interiors styles,' she says.
So what are the fence paint colour trends for 2024? The experts reveal all...
Trending 'Neutral' Fence Paint Colours
• Mellow Moss, Cuprinol Garden Shades
• Malted Barley, Cuprinol Garden Shades
• Forest Green, Ronseal One Coat Fence Life Plus
• Medium Oak, Ronseal One Coat Fence Life Plus
• Warm Stone, Ronseal One Coat Fence Life Plus
Opting for neutral shades to paint your garden fence can make your outdoor space seem larger. Softer shades provide the perfect backdrop if you enjoy colourful flowers, or for a sophisticated scheme with ferns and greenery.
Mellow Moss, a subtle green, and light and airy Malted Barley, both from Cuprinol’s Garden Shades range, are new gorgeous muted tones for both looks. 'To the lovers of greige, subtle colour schemes and sleek interiors, Malted Barley’s for you,' says Marianne. 'It’s a light and airy neutral to bring a softness to outdoor wood, brick and terracotta. And Mellow Moss combines the qualities of yellows and greens with the versatility of a neutral, it’s the perfect choice for creating a year-round feeling of spring.'
'Hygge is here to stay in 2024,' says Jimmy Englezos, senior product manager at Ronseal. 'The colours behind this trend are key to making it work cohesively in your outdoor space. Create a cosy, inviting atmosphere with warm, natural tones. Think earthy browns and calming greens like our One Coat Fence Life Plus Forest Green and Medium Oak, and muted beige such as Warm Stone. These shades evoke a sense of tranquility and pair beautifully with natural textures like wood and stone, perfect for achieving that "hygge" feeling of cosy contentment.'
Trending 'Bright' Fence Paint Colours
• Coral Splash, Cuprinol Garden Shades
• Emerald Stone, Cuprinol Garden Shades
• Hot Lips, Frenchic Al Fresco
• Apple of My Eye, Frenchic Al Fresco
• Steaming Green, Frenchic Al Fresco
• Ol’ Blue Eyes, Frenchic Al Fresco
• Yes Please, Frenchic Al Fresco
• Dive In!, Frenchic Al Fresco
A splash of vivid colour is an instant uplift and a great way to update your garden style without a full makeover. For a dopamine hit select a vibrant new bright such as Cuprinol's Coral Splash: 'It’s summer in a paint can, reminiscent of beach huts, sorbet and joyful florals,' says Marianne. Then pair it with a darker tone, like Emerald Stone (see 'darks' below) or a soothing neutral like Malted Barley, and you’ve got a super-modern seaside-inspired scheme that will make you smile even when it rains.
'We might just see this year’s interior trend for "unexpected red" to transition to outside,' says Mandy Rippon, paint product manager for Frenchic Paint, with its Al Fresco range of water-based, durable, weatherproof and UV-resistant chalk and mineral paint.
'A pop of red to brighten any space is always uplifting, even if it’s a small area of fencing on a balcony. I’d recommend Frenchic Al Fresco’s vivid Hot Lips to pick up on this trend.'
Meanwhile, Mandy says that vibrant greens and blues never go out of style for garden fence paint: 'These reference the natural world and complement summer flowering plants whilst providing interest during the cooler months of the year. For greens, I’d recommend cheerful and crisp Apple of My Eye, soft heritage-toned Matcha, and dark and smoky Steaming Green. For blues, look at Ol’ Blue Eyes, a dreamy, denim blue, turquoise-toned Yes Please and elegant Dive In.'
Trending 'Dark' Fence Paint Colours
• Blackjack, Frenchic Al Fresco
• Hornblower, Frenchic Al Fresco
• After Midnight, Frenchic Al Fresco
• Emerald Stone, Cuprinol Garden Shades
• Winters Well, Cuprinol Garden Shades
• Blue Slate, Cuprinol Garden Shade
Paint your fence a deep dramatic shade and add instant drama. Dark hues are the perfect foil for pops of bright flowers too, and also an excellent atmospheric choice if you enjoy spending summer evenings in the garden.
'This year we are going to see dark tones becoming more prevalent, from black (Blackjack) to charcoal (Smudge) through to dark blues (Hornblower) and teals (After Midnight),' says Mandy. 'These colours are fantastic backdrops for all kinds of plants, whether flowering perennials or simple shrubs. The darker the colour, the more the plants stand out.'
Black paint is something garden designer Andrew Duff has previously championed: 'The depth this colour gives is magical for garden designers; paint a fence black and it disappears, a shed becomes less of an eyesore and that old bench suddenly becomes a chic focal point. The brilliant thing about this underused shade is that it proves a brilliant backdrop to a verdant garden of lush foliage and jewel-coloured flowers.'
Other deep shades to look out for include Cuprinol's Emerald Stone, a rich green, which Marianne says, 'adds the essence of nature to gardens lacking in plant life'. She recommends teaming Emerald Stone with the intense blue of Winters Well to create 'the ultimate urban jungle experience'.
Marianne also likes Cuprinol’s versatile new shade, Blue Slate, a gravelly blue-grey hue she describes as a 'modern take on the Suffolk boat house' that looks equally as good in a city or country setting.
Follow House Beautiful on TikTok and Instagram.
You Might Also Like
