Color

What is a fixed feature? When I refer to a fixed feature, I am talking about any element on the exterior of the home that is not likely to change or at least not anytime soon. These are what most homeowners consider the permanent parts of their home and include the foundation, stone, brick, partial stone or brick facades, pathways, retaining walls and of course the roof.

Fixed Feature = Permanent Design Element

Each of the fixed features may be a different material but will usually have a common color or color cast. This is what allows these elements to work together and gives the home a cohesive look.

Once you identify the common color, you can use that color to find colors for siding, trim, shingles and front door that will work well for your home. Let me give you a few examples so you can see why it is important to consider the fixed features when choosing your color scheme.

When you are selecting a new green roofing option for a home that has stone details, make sure to find a color that pairs well with the colors in the stone without competing for attention. By pairing the colors of these two important permanent features you will have more options for the colors you use on the siding and trim.

Above you see four great color options for DaVinci shake tiles that would blend beautifully with the color of the stone. A neutral siding will work but so will a stronger hue because when the colors of the fixed features work together you don't have to find a color that brings together two mismatched permanent elements

Even when the color works, a home having the fixed features all in the same color range is a better solution. For example, on the home below the black roof works but a using a charcoal, or gray closer to the color of the grout, would give the homeowners more options for changing the main and accent colors of the home later on.

So, as you consider your color scheme, always remember to look first at the fixed features of your home. If the colors of those elements harmonize, the task of finding other colors will be a breeze. If not, then the task isn't as easy because you will need to find a color that works with one or more permanent colors. This is not always easy and you may want to consider asking a professional color consultant to help you.

If you need assistance in choosing the perfect color for your new roof, you can download copy of my free color guide FRESH Home Exterior Colors: 5 Steps for Finding the Perfect Hues for Your Home. This step-by-step guide shows you exactly what you need to know in order to create a cohesive look and achieve maximum curb appeal. As well, you can always submit your photo along with a request for help to me at "Ask the Color Expert". I'll guide you in choosing a color roofing that blends with the fixed features of your home so picking the rest of your colors is a breeze.

Literally green (as in the color) roofing options are available here at DaVinci Roofscapes! Check out these brand new pictures that came in yesterday of a custom color Bellaforté roof for the Jupiter Ocean Grand luxury condo complex in Jupiter, Florida. Look for more details coming up in a featured project here on the blog!

 

 

I am seriously considering your product, but unsure about the color. I have attached a photo of our home. As you can see we currently have wood shake. We are considering either the Weathered Gray Blend or perhaps the Mountain Blend. What we are trying to achieve is the look of real shake from the curb.

Thoughts please!

Thanks,

Name: Jared
Product: Shake

******************************************************************************************************************

Hi Jared,

The two blends you are considering would both work to achieve that look of real shake you are after.

I think that the Mountain Blend might work a bit better with the main color of your home but the Weathered Gray would be a good choice too as long as you would like a roof that is a bit lighter than what is currently on your home.

With the Mountain Blend the roof will be slightly darker than the siding, with Weathered Gray a bit lighter. From the way the colors look in your photos I believe either will work with the elements I can see on and around your home. The choice really depends on the overall look you prefer.

I hope that helps.

Sincerely,

Kate Smith

When you think style do you think top design and top quality? Most people do.

The 2011 DaVinci Roofscapes' Homeowners Exterior Preferences Study revealed that for many  homeowners when they think style they also think top of their home.

This was especially true of homeowners in the Northeast and Midwest who said that when replacing their roofs they placed a high value on style. So, how do you find just the right roofing profile to add the style you crave? Begin with the profile of your home, think about what roofing tiles will compliment the profile and then add in your individual sense of style with a blend of colors that makes it your own.

For homes that have a historic silhouette, often the best choice is to follow the look of the roof that was originally on that style home using a technically advanced roofing material and installation system.

Tudor style homes look great with imitation slate in subtle blends or different tones of the same or similar colors.

The elaborate details on a Victorian home are well suited to polymer slate. The amount of color and pattern will vary depending on what looks best with the many other details of the home.

Simulated shake roofing puts style on top of a salt box shaped home or traditional Cape Cod. They are also a natural choice for an A-frame, chalet, or any rustic frame construction.

If a home has modern, clean lines then single-width Valoré slate could be a good fit.

For an adorable smaller home, a fancy shake can bring a storybook cottage to life.

Whatever type of home you will enjoy the way it looks when you select a roofing system that carries your style all the way to the top!

"What color would you use on this home?" Decisions, decisions! I admit, I am guilty of playing it probably too safe when it comes to the exterior of my home, and I think most homeowners do the same. To aid you in your decision making, we have had color expert, Kate Smith, write us a book on using her F R E S H approach to aid you in choosing exterior colors. It is free and you can download it from our website!

Also available to design professionals is our Color Designer, which will help you create those custom blends.

Happy Friday, Architects!

When it comes to your home exterior, a good rule of thumb is to "stand out while still fitting in" but how far does your neighborhood association (HOA) go to make sure your idea of fitting in aligns with theirs?

One in four homeowners report that they are restricted from freely selecting their exterior colors by rules imposed by their homeowners association. In some cases, the homeowners association limits the choices to a handful of colors preselected to maintain unity in the community.

One example of how a variety of colors can work well within the same neighborhood while
still giving the homeowner freedom to create a look they love is seen above with colors
from Sherwin-Williams Northern Shores & Seaports Palette

It is understandable that in order to maintain property values and goodwill within the community you don't want to have "that house" in your neighborhood. The one that clashes with everyone else's home and stands out like a sore thumb, causing neighbors to be concerned that this one house will bring down the image of the neighborhood and thus the value of their own homes. To ease homeowners' concern about this happening in their neighborhood, homeowner's associations have imposed color restrictions.

While this could be a good solution, most HOA's have limited the colors to such a small selection that they are keeping their residents from creating a home with colors they love. The covenants imposed by some homeowner’s organization are holding colors hostage in an effort to create conformity rather than individuality.

Another example of how different colors and neutrals can blend within the same neighborhood
to create a harmonious scheme from Sherwin-Williams Southern Shores and Beaches

This is unfortunate since having a home with a striking exterior can be both an asset and source of pride for its owners. Anyone that understands color knows that just about any color can work in any community. The key is finding a version of the color that blends with the neighborhood or stands out in a subtle, unobtrusive manner. Rather than offer three to 6 exterior siding color choices as is common with many HOA's they could offer an entire rainbow of colors of similar value and intensity that all work beautifully together. 

In many cases, I have found that homeowners who paint their homes in a color their neighbors consider too bright were actually going for a subtler look but didn't understand how much bolder the color would look when applied to their home. Once completed, it is unlikely anyone will repaint even if they are not completely happy with the results.

Rather than keep a homeowner from using the color they love the palette of approved colors could sever as guidance to help the homeowners choose colors that will work well on their homes. For example, if a homeowner wants yellow, the HOA guidelines could help them to choose a buttery yellow that fits in with the other home colors rather than a hue that will end up looking more like highlighter yellow and seem out of place in the community.

For many years, developers and HOA's have defaulted to a range of beiges and grays for the main exterior, trim, shutter and door colors, I believe, because they don't know how to offer more choices and still create a cohesive look. If this is the case in your neighborhood you will have to live with their limited color offering and bring your favorite colors in with your landscaping or outdoor decor.

If you your HOA is willing to review your color offering and expand the color selection, a skilled color consultant can help them to find an entire range of colors that will come together to create perfect color harmony in your community.

Some folks have the mistaken idea that just three or four colors are possible with slate roofs. That belief probably stems from only noticing such roofs in the same, expected shades of gray. In other words, some people only notice roofs like that because that is what they expect to see. However, as any roofer experienced with slate knows, slate materials come in a huge array of colors, especially when dealing with polymer products.

Although natural slate can be rather limited when it comes to color, tiles fabricated from beautiful, durable resins are available in so many colors that it can be tough to decide upon a shade or blend of colors to use. DaVinci Roofscapes helps in this regard by not only offering slate tiles and shakes in colors such as "green stone", "light violet", and "dark terracotta", but by also providing an easy tool for picking dozens of color blends. While you can certainly have a roof with just one color, blends suggested by the DaVinci color studio make it easy to turn the roof of your home or business into a strikingly beautiful, uniquely patterned structure.

To learn more about how DaVinci Roofscapes products blend durability with beauty, contact DaVinci Roofscapes by email or calling 1-800-328-4624 today.

Have you heard this one yet?

Bored with distributing traditional pastel-colored eggs, the Easter Bunny this year asked national color expert Kate Smith for assistance with decorating tips!

"Every year I hide the same pastel-colored eggs and this year I'd like to jazz it up a bit," says the Easter Bunny. "Last year I looked up at a roof while hiding eggs and saw this delightful blend of colored polymer tiles. I really want to capture those exciting colors on my eggs!"

After searching for the color leader in polymer roofing tiles, the Easter Bunny hopped over to Kate Smith, chief color maven and color expert for DaVinci Roofscapes. "I'm open to any-bunny who loves color," says Smith. "Turns out the Easter Bunny has seen the Vineyard blend on a steep slope roof and fell in love. That blend includes dark and medium tan, light and medium gray, dark stone, light and dark violet and dark amber."

During the consultation, Smith encouraged the Easter Bunny to try creating his own dream luxury roof color --- which can also be used to decorate eggs --- on DaVinci's "Color from the Top Down" online sweepstakes.

"We hippity-hopped over to my computer and 'liked' DaVinci on Facebook," says Smith. "The Easter Bunny created a stunning color combination that he named 'Scrambled Eggs" and submitted it online."

According to the Easter Bunny, 2012 Easter eggs will be more colorful thanks to DaVinci Roofscapes. "Why should roofs have all the fun?" asked the Easter Bunny. "Children's baskets will be overflowing this year with decorated eggs in DaVinci's colors of terracotta, autumn, purple and green. I'm so excited about these sensational colors that I may never go back to pale pastels again!"

The look of your exterior sets the tone for your entire home. Most people believe that what they see on the exterior reflects the style and condition of the home's interior. Maybe even more importantly, the results of the 2011 DaVinci Roofscapes' Homeowners Exterior Preferences Study indicate that most homeowners believe the outward appearance of their home reflects their personality.

Bellaforté Synthetic Slate in Cambridge blend

How do smart homeowners let their personality show through their homes? Most care for their homes with the same thought that they place on their personal appearance and style. They want their home to have the same nice look as they do.

Commonly called "curb appeal" the overall appearance of your home's exterior tells the world something about who you are. It is also what welcomes your friends and family inside. So how do you make sure your home truly reflects YOU? Here are a few things you can take a look at:

You won't walk about with a poor haircut or tattered clothing. Don't allow problem areas detract from the appearance of your home either. Stand across the street from your house and look at the front, the driveway and the sides with fresh eyes. 

• Are there any areas where painting, repairs or replacements is required?
• Are any of your bushes or trees overgrown?
• What is the condition of your yard? Is edging, raking, weeding, pruning or trash removal needed?
• Are there things that could be removed or hidden such as hoses, sprinklers, trash cans or toys?
• Last, is there anything from the inside showing through windows or doorways in through windows that are distracting.

Once you have identified areas that could be improved, you can then focus on the one or two items that will most enhance your home’s appearance and speak volumes about your style.

• Is a new roof is in your future? The roof defines your home the same way your haircut adds to your good looks. I'd recommend purchasing one that upgrades the look of your home, last a lifetime and is environmentally friendly -- all qualities inherent in the DaVinci Roofscapes products.
• Need to freshen up your paint? A new color for siding or trim can give your home an entirely different look. Just as we choose colors that match our skin tone some colors are just more flattering on your home than others.
• What about those windows? Are they aging your home? Give your home a facelift by replacing with newer, energy efficient windows and don't forget to consider color for the window frames.
• Need more confidence in making color choices. Get a free copy of FRESH Home Exterior Colors: 5 Steps for Finding the Perfect Hues for Your Home. It will walk you through the process step-by-step.

Even with a limited budget, you can always add a new pair of shoes or piece of jewelry to update your look. The same can be true for your home. Small investments can improve your home’s visual appeal if you focus on a few key Items:

• Installing a new door with pretty details or glass inserts.
• Place a fun welcome mat, bench or grouping of plants at the entrance.
• Adding more lighting around the entrance or along your driveway or sidewalk.
• Put up new house numbers or a mailbox.
• Even planting a few colorful seasonal plants in the existing flower beds can give your home a happy feeling.

What changes can you make so that your home's exterior is more YOU?

 

Have you wanted to change the color of your roof since the day you bought your home? Are you building a house and want a roof with just the right color combination? If  "yes" was the answer to either of those questions, DaVinci Roofscapes has everything you need for the roof of your dreams. The beautiful resin tiles and shakes developed by DaVinci don't just come in a few colors. Unlike many natural stone or wooden materials, the carefully engineered products offered by DaVinci come in 49 different shades.

You can also custom blend these colors for materials with anywhere from two to five color combinations. If you have trouble picking out the right color combination, you can also stick with one of our recommended blends such as Autumn, Tahoe, or Weathered Gray in our shake line. You don't have to wait for DaVinci samples to look through the different colors and any of the five profiles. Just play with the color designer in the online DaVinci color studio and you should find the perfect combination for your dream roof.

Do you have a dream roof made with DaVinci products? Tell us about it in the comments!

Learn more about creating a dream roof by emailing or calling DaVinci Roofscapes at 1-800-328-4624.

 

 

Research shows that in 2011, more than 30% of DaVinci's Valoré Slate products came from custom blends compared to just 7% in 2010. Why the dramatic increase? The addition of new color blend options in 2011 of Castle Gray, Milano, Evergreen and Sabino accounted for more than 30% of the sales for the year of the popular eco friendly roofing product line.

"This comes down to DaVinci offering more colors in 2011 and people responding by embracing the color options for their lightweight roofing systems," says Ray Rosewall, CEO and president of DaVinci Roofscapes. "We've seen escalating numbers in all our product lines this past year as people seek out and purchase more colorful lightweight roofing solutions."

According to national color expert Kate Smith, DaVinci's strategy of offering an abundance of roofing colors perfectly matches consumer's current "color empowerment" mind frame.

"My latest color trends report clearly shows that self expression through colors is a popular way for people to project their personalities," says Smith, chief color maven at Sensational Color. "Today's consumers embrace the idea of experimenting with color combinations and rely on the colors on their home's exterior to express their sense of style".

"This doesn't mean the combinations of colors they're choosing are bright or outrageous. It simply means that these consumers want to have the ability to choose from a variety of color options or have a hand in customizing the final look of their home's exterior."

Visit the DaVinci Color Studio for free step-by-step guidance in selecting colors for the exterior of the home.

 

Homes aren't one-size-fits-all. The styles shown above are only six of 24 styles shown on HGTV's website

If you're like most homeowners, you believe your home reflects your personality. Results of the 2011 DaVinci Roofscapes' Homeowners Exterior Preferences Study indicate more than seven in ten homeowners believe the outward appearance of their home reflects their personality.

“This part of the national study tells us that a majority of homeowners see a relationship between their personalities and their home exteriors,” says Ray Rosewall, CEO and president of DaVinci Roofscapes. “This helps us understand why roofing color options are important to homeowners. They see their home’s exterior --- including the colors on the exterior --- as a positive reflection of who they are.

This explains why we’ve seen soaring sales of personalized color configurations of our roofing products in the past several years and an overall increase in color blends by our customers. People are sharing their personality through their home’s exterior!”

Wondering what your home style says about your personality? Here are a few home styles and what they might say about you.

• Contemporary: You have a need to contact with nature, right down to what your homes is made of. Recycled and nontoxic materials including countertops, flooring and roofing made of composite materials are hot, as are low-emission paints and carpeting.
   
• Victorian: You love surrounding yourself with things that are beautiful even if they aren't practical. The details of the elaborate Gothic style, appeal to your dreamy side and sentimental nature.
   
• Cape Cod: A cozy nest is just right for your warm and nurturing nature. You are often as relaxed as the seaside towns where this style was born making this unpretentious style perfect for you.
   
• Colonial: Your large circle of family and friends are often invited to enjoy your home that blends your appreciation of tradition with your desire to be seen as a successful member of your community. The nuances of your personality are reflected in the particular style of colonial you are attracted to -- Georgian Colonial, Spanish Colonial, German Colonial, French Colonial, Dutch Colonial, or Federal.

Not sure which architecture style best fits you and your personality? Take a fun little quiz at HGTV to help you decide.

I took the quiz and here are my results. Of the many homes I've owned none have been a Spanish Colonial but I think that what that architecture says about my personality is spot on.

You're a lively Spanish Colonial!

Like a Spanish Colonial home, you are warm with an eye toward the romance of living. While you are traditional and can be a little introverted, you are also enlivened with impulsive flairs of color that amuse and energize your friends and family. Spanish Colonial homes take a simple construction style and add artistic details like painted tiles, iron fixtures, and huge carved doors denoting, like you, a love of art and individuality. Your combination of down-to-earth fun and elegance puts everyone at ease.

 

Are you familiar with our Bellaforté slate product line?  It's one of our most impressive products because of the technology and engineering behind the shingles themselves.

Bellaforté is an interlocking system that allows for greater wind resistance and this snap-fit tile even has built-in rain gutter - FANCY!

Our Bellaforté line consists of 12" wide tiles that also are 1/2" thick at the tile's butt end.

Right now, Bellaforte comes in the following color blends:

• Cambridge
• Milano
• Sabino
• Sedona
• Slate Black
• Slate Gray
• Verde
• Villa

However, as you might have come to expect with DaVinci, the possibilities when it comes to color, are virtually endless.

Bellaforté utilizes our proprietary VariBlend™ technology to form varying shades from tile to tile, creating an infinite number of color shades.  And you can always come up with your own color blend by using our custom color tool.

Looking to be green and save on energy costs at the same time?  You'll love that our Bellaforté roofing tiles are also available in EcoBlend™ cool roof colors.  Such colors help reduce heating and cooling costs and meet LEED-NC and initial ENERGY STAR® qualifications.

Do you have a Bellaforté roof?  Which color did you choose?  We want to see photos!  Please submit a photo of your Bellaforté roof!
 

Recently, I sat down to talk with Shawn Bellis of Epic Exteriors in Kansas City to ask him about his experience as a Masterpiece Contractor and installing DaVinci products.

Thank you to Shawn for taking the time to do this interview. These interviews allow us to learn more about the installation side of our products and gain insight from the contractors that work with the home and building owners.

How'd you first discover DaVinci?

I discovered DaVinci through a contractor trade show in 2000. What caught my eye was the thickness of the product. Everyone likes the idea of a synthetic product because of durability - but when the thickness of DaVinci came out - it really met the expectations of the customer.

Also, DaVinci solved all the issues that we had with other products. The previous products had to be pre-blended and pre-collated. It was a mess and super time consuming.

I love that with DaVinci the factory does the collating and sorting - at the time I discovered it, and still today, it just blew everything else away. It also helped that it was local.

What do you like about DaVinci? Color blends? Shape of tiles? Performance?

All of the above and being local!  When your sole business is synthetic, like DaVinci and unlike other roofing manufacturers, you can really focus on making it the best product on the market by solving all the issues that the other products have. DaVinci is the best product.

As asphalt products continue to go up in price, it makes the sale of the DaVinci all the easier. In fact, I think that Bellaforté is going to make the asphalt market merge into the synthetic. 

When it comes to the color blends, there is nothing better. DaVinci has simplified the color collation process for the contractor. With other synthetic products, the contractor has to work with the homeowner and figure it out  how to collate the product, and sometimes that takes forever. Furthermore, with other roofing products, when you do have to pre-blend and sort the roof, it takes a lot of extra time on the job site too. 

I appreciate the care and service that is put into the delivery of the DaVinci product. The product collation and how it is shipped is all done with care.  

When it comes to the color blends, I love the selection. I'm not interested in being a designer and neither is the homeowner. I say leave the color stuff to the professionals at DaVinci, they are the experts at the color blends. If you start to complicate it then the job drags on. By streamlining the process for the homeowner, DaVinci gives the homeowner the right amount of choices.

I also love that it is Class A fire rated and the thickness of the material.

What's the biggest thing that homeowners say to you about DaVinci?

They love the way it looks.  Some people think that a DaVinci roof is a finishing touch to their home. In other words, DaVinci makes their home look they want it to look.

Why do you like DaVinci? 

They have the most authentic slate appearance among the synthetic varieties.  Other things I like about DaVinci include:

• Pre collated bundles
• Color blends already decided
• Ease of installation
• Final look and appearance
• Being local - we take advantage of DaVinci's recycling effort frequently.

Are there homeowners that you wouldn't recommend DaVinci to?

Yes, homeowners who are looking for the least expensive route. Homeowners that are going to move, sometimes don't want to spend the money, but that really depends on the price point of the home.  There are homeowners that know DaVinci will help sell their home, so they go for it.

What DaVinci products have you worked with? 

Valoré and Classic in both Slate and Shake.  I've been to jobs and seen Bellaforté go on, but have not worked with the product yet.  I really like the multi-width product.  I don't see a difference between if the multi-width is laid straight or staggered, it just depends on the look of the house.  The staggered application is more expensive, so homeowners tend to go with the straight for pricing purposes.

Which DaVinci products do you like? Do you have a favorite color blend?

I like the multi width the best.  I like the Mountain and Tahoe in the Shake color blends and the Aberdeen and Weathered Green in the slate color blends. Aberdeen is really period authentic - it most encompasses the turn of the century slate roof. In fact, I refer to Aberdeen as the pinnacle DaVinci application.

What other roofing products do you install?

Custom wood shakes, high-end custom asphalt re-decks.  All the traditional roof styles that you can think of.  We pride ourselves on premium applications. 

How long have you been in the roofing  business? 

17 years

Do you have a favorite DaVinci job? 

My favorite DaVinci job is a DaVinci Shake job we did in Overland Park, KS – the whole job just came together great and looks awesome on thes home! Many people have drooled over the look of the roof.  It's in a neighborhood that has all natural shake, so it keeps up with the look of the area.

The homeowner is an engineer and he has American Family Insurance - which is part of the reason he went with DaVinci. American Family said that if he went with a Class 4 impact rated roof, he could waive his deductible. 

College basketball fans rejoice, March is here! It is a sports fan's dream come true; a never ending line up of conference tournament games all leading up to the BIG tournament that brings in 68 hopeful teams and whittles it down to one champion.

I suppose I could draw some sort of analogy between the NCAA Tournament and an architect choosing the right products for their projects, but that seems a bit obvious. Instead, I think I'll just show off some of my featured university projects that have used our steep slope roofing products:

• Heritage Hall and Rushton Hall at SUNY - Canton, NY      
• Villa Madonna at Mount St. Mary College in Newburgh, NY   (pictured)               
• The new Special Collections Library at the University of Georgia
• The Mohawk and Smith Dorms at SUNY - Canton, NY
• Administrative building at the University of Nebraska at Omaha

Of course, not every installation located on a college or university campus has made it onto the blog (yet!), so if you were involved with one and wish to see it featured, be sure to share your masterpiece with us.

Good luck to your team of choice in the Tournament this year! And remember, DaVinci Roofscapes can customize any color that you want, so if you have always dreamed of matching your alma mater's colors and making a roof out of it, we are here for you.

Have a great weekend, Architects!

 

 

What does the outside of your house say about you? If you're like most people, you believe your home's exterior reflects your personality.

According to the 2011 DaVinci Roofscapes' Homeowners Exterior Preferences Study, more than seven in ten homeowners (71 %) believe the outward appearance of their home reflects their personality.

Listen to what surveyed people say about how their personality ties in with their home's exterior:

• "It's bold and different like me."
• "I am a contemporary person; the house is contemporary."
• "It looks simple and unpretentious ... which is how I think of myself."
• "The exterior of my home is conservative in appearance, which is the same as my personality."

“This part of the national study tells us that a majority of homeowners see a relationship between their personalities and their home exteriors,” says Ray Rosewall, CEO and president of DaVinci Roofscapes. “This helps us understand why roofing color options are important to homeowners.

"They see their home’s exterior --- including the colors on the exterior --- as a positive reflection of who they are. This explains why we’ve seen soaring sales of personalized color configurations of our roofing products in the past several years and an overall increase in color blends by our customers. People are sharing their personality through their home’s exterior!”

           

 

 

 

In a world filled with "make-your-own" opportunities for everything from ice cream concoctions to custom-creations for morning coffee, people are now embracing the idea of personalizing their synthetic roofs with custom color blends.

Research at DaVinci Roofscapes shows a dramatic increase in the amount of custom blend roofing color combinations ordered in 2011 over 2010. While all the company's polymer product lines saw advancement in color combination requests, the company's Bellaforté product line saw the most substantial increase as requests for custom color rose from 4% in 2010 to 38.7% of its sales in 2011.

"One large order for a green roofing option of Bellaforté in Bali involved a custom blend of Light Clay, Medium Terra Cotta and Dark Terra Cotta, which significantly increased these numbers," says Ray Rosewall, CEO and president of DaVinci Roofscapes. "But we've seen strong sales growth within the past year in virtually all of our color blend options.

"Once we added in our eight new colors and eight additional color blend options in early 2011, we saw color selections start to skyrocket!"

Rosewall feels that people are gaining confidence in adding colors to their fake cedar shake and slate roofs to reflect their personalities and accent the entire home structure. "It's a matter of people becoming more educated on roofing color options and feeling more empowered to make personal design statements on their home's exterior."

Feeling colorful? Then try your hand at creating a dream roof color in the "Color from the Top Down" on-line sweepstakes sponsored by DaVinci Roofscapes!

To participate, Facebook users who "like" DaVinci Roofscapes on Facebook can access the sweepstakes. You can create your own dream roof color combination and submit a form to enter your name in the drawing. There will be two winners named of Apple(R) iPad2(R) that are randomly selected on May 15, 2012!

"This is the easiest and most colorful roofing promotion imaginable," according to Wendy Bruch, marketing manager for DaVinci Roofscapes. "Start by selecting your ideal roof tile profile, the number of colors your want to mix and match, and then create your dream roof color blend."

DaVinci has 49 standard colors available for its polymer slate and synthetic shake roofing tiles, so you're limited only by your imagination! Need extra color inspiration? Then visit the free on-line DaVinci Color Studio for a free downloadable Color Guide and lots of colorful information!