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Closeup photo of shingle granules in brown, gray, green, and tan colors
Roof Color

Colors of Roof Shingle Granules

Written By Owens Corning Roofing

Homeowner Question: What colors are the granules on a shingle? Do I need to match them exactly?

Chad’s Answer: While some roofing shingles may look like a solid color with only one color of granule, they are usually a mixture of a few granule colors that just look like a solid color when you view it from a distance.

Architectural shingles are typically covered in various, more intense roofing granule colors that blend together to create an overall illusion of color and dimension.

Summer Harvest shingle swatch featuring multiple granule colors mixed to become blue, red, yellow, and black tabs
Yellow sided house with Summer Harvest shingles, side by side with a closeup image showing the detail of the Summer Harvest granules

Essentially, the mix of granule colors on roofing shingles are like the brush strokes in impressionist paintings – you need to stand several feet away to get a better sense of the overall color and understand how they will play with the other exterior design elements of your home.

In the Owens Corning® TruDefinition® Duration® Designer line, for example, the roof shingle color Merlot looks like it has some purple tones when it’s really a mixture of red and blue granules in a specific ratio to make it look like purple.

Red, blue, and black granules mixed to make purple tabs on this shingle in the color Merlot

Depending on the color of your home and natural lighting, however, certain colors of the roof may be pulled out more than others. Merlot on a red brick house may look redder, when it may seem bluer on a house with navy siding.

As a tip, go to a paint store and request a paint color deck—they may charge you a minimal amount, but this is like having the entire wall of paint chips in the palm of your hand, whether you are painting or not.

Color swatches book. Rainbow sample colors catalogue.

The point would be to use the paint deck to isolate granule colors, if you want to be precise. However, you really can match a roofing shingle by color ranges, as shown below. And, as you start referencing the paint deck more and more, you will train your eyes to see the differences between ‘cool’ and ‘warm’ tones in each color (see my other blog on this).

Taupe paint swatch layered over top of a Black Sable swatch to show that it pairs well with a variety of colors

If you found a roof color you love, and you want to change other colors on your home’s exterior, you can pick colors that match exact granules or that match the overall color when you look from a distance.

More from Chad Esslinger

Illustration of a house with the text "Roof Color Q&A" layered over top of the graphic

Chad answers homeowners’ questions about their roofs and home exterior design.

Roof Color Q&A with Chad Esslinger, Designer Small right arrow.
Style board graphic featuring Aged Copper swatch and color palette with the text “Aged Copper Style Board” layered over top of the visual

Chad shares his thoughts and style board for our 2021 Shingle Color of the Year, Aged Copper

Chad's thoughts on Aged Copper Small right arrow.

Design Inspiration from Owens Corning

Looking for design inspiration? Explore the many tools and content Owens Corning has to offer:

Montage image with a wooden boat in a lake with a scenic wooded landscape behind. Wooden oars and deep green furs also composited for a very earthy, nature-inspired visual.

Learn more about our 2021 Shingle Color of the Year, Aged Copper

Learn more about Aged Copper Small right arrow.
Style board graphic with text "Shingle Style Boards" in the upper corner

Not sure what color shingle will work with your roof? Explore our Style Boards

Explore style boards Small right arrow.
Owens Corning Design EyeQ® displayed on a laptop, tablet, and mobile phone

Upload a picture of your home and “try on” shingles with Design EyeQ®

Try Design EyeQ® Small right arrow.
Screenshot of Owens Corning Pick Your Shingles web page with text "Pick Your Shingles" in top right corner

Explore the many shingle color options from Owens Corning with Pick Your Shingles

Pick Your Shingles Small right arrow.

About Chad Esslinger Design

A photo of Chad Esslinger on the left with a logo on the right with the text "Chad Esslinger Design"

Chad Esslinger Design is a full-service design company focusing on residential interior design, decorating and remodeling. Chad loves partnering with homeowners to create beautiful and functional living spaces.

Chad Esslinger Design is committed to beautiful and creative design as well as unparalleled service. Chad believes that great design is contemporary but timeless, simple but elegant. The goal of any project is to create breathtaking beauty, innovative functionality, and a truly enjoyable design process. Learn more about Chad.

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