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Picking the perfect shingles for your new roof involves a lot of decisions, including picking the perfect color for your home. And while it’s easy to treat this as an afterthought, given the myriad other decisions you must make, it is quite important and deserves plenty of consideration.
We’ll try to help you do exactly that below, by sharing the color lineup for one of the world’s leading asphalt shingle manufacturers: Atlas. We’ll also explain a few of the things you’ll want to keep in mind when picking your shingle color to help ensure you’ll be happy with your final decision.
Color-Selection Considerations: Things to Think About When Picking a Shingle Color for Your Home
Picking a shingle color is actually a surprisingly nuanced decision – you don’t want to just scroll through a bunch of colors and choose the one you think is prettiest. Instead, you’ll want to consider the following things when making your choice to help you narrow down your options.
Your Home’s Exterior Colors
In most cases, you’ll want to match the colors of your home’s siding, gutters, trim, and any brick or stone that are present. You don’t necessarily want to choose the same color as these features, but you will want to select a shingle color that is compatible with them.
If, for example, your home is clad in light brown siding, you may want to pair it with shingles that are dark brown. If your home has a number of different colors (such as homes with a lot of multi-colored stonework), it’s often helpful to match the color of the most dominant stone color.
Your Local Climate
You should always consider your climate when picking shingle colors, as different shades tend to work better in different areas. For example, if you live in a warm climate, you’ll want to opt for relatively light colors, as they’ll reflect more sunlight and keep your home cooler. Those living in cool climates should do the opposite, and select darker colors, which will warm up in the sun and help reduce home heating costs.
Most Michigan-area homes will experience the same basic climate, consisting of both cold winters and hot summers. This can make it a bit of a coin-flip situation – darker shingles will help in the winter, but lighter colors will help in the summer.
To help make your decision, consider the specific location of your home (as well as how much insulation you have installed). For example, if your home is well-shaded by trees, you may want to opt for darker colors to enjoy the warming benefits they’ll provide in the winter. On the other hand, a home that receives little to no shade may be a better candidate for light-colored shingles.
Potential Resale Implications
If you’re not planning on selling your home in the next 15 to 20 years, you can select any color you like. But if you plan to sell your home in the near future, it’s wise to at least consider the implications your shingle color will have on your home’s sale price.
Typically, neutral and traditional shingle colors won’t affect a home’s price very much (though new shingles will almost always increase the value of your home). But unusual shingle colors or exceptionally bold hues may not be as popular with potential buyers, which means you may have to lower your asking price slightly.
Your Roof’s Visibility
Your roof’s visibility from the ground is definitely something you’ll want to consider when picking a shingle color. If you can see your roof easily from the street, you’ll want to put in the time to select a color that provides the most aesthetic appeal. Conversely, if your home’s roof is not really visible, you can primarily select a color based on things like your local climate.
Stain Appearance
While many Atlas shingle lines (including all of the StormMaster and Pinnacle series shingles) come with 3M Scotchgard Protector that prevents streaking, some of their more affordable product lines lack this kind of protection.
Accordingly, if you’re opting for one of Atlas’ economical lines (such as ProLam or Briarwood Pro shingles), you may want to factor in the potential for dark streaks and algae when selecting a color. Generally speaking, darker shingle colors will hide dirt, algae, mold growth, and streaking better than light colors.
Your Home’s Architectural Style
Various architectural styles tend to look best with shingles of different colors. For example, traditional houses often look best with classic shingle colors or earth tones. By contrast, ultra-modern homes often look best when outfitted with bold, eye-catching shingles (they can also look beautiful with jet black shingles).
And while Mediterranean homes are not especially common in the Michigan area, homes with this kind of styling often look best with terracotta or warm-toned shingles.
HOA Rules and Community Norms
It is always important to check your homeowner’s association bylaws or regulations before selecting a shingle color. Some associations enforce very strict rules with regard to shingle color; breaking these rules may not only result in hefty fines, but you may also need to pay to have the shingles replaced.
Even if you don’t have an HOA, it is wise to consider the norms in your community. That doesn’t mean you have to follow the trends your neighbors follow, but we find that many homeowners are ultimately happier when their roof matches those of their neighbors.
The Local Surroundings
One final factor you may want to consider relates to the things around your home. Shingle colors that match the local environment often look better than those that compete with it. This means greens, browns, and other earth tones are often the best choice for homes in forested areas, while those in more developed areas may work better with shingles in grey, blue, or black shades.
Once you’ve whittled down the list to a few options, you can then just pick the one that feels best. But if you’re stumped, it can be helpful to discuss your choice with your Schoenherr Roofing representative. Our team has helped thousands of other local homeowners select shingle colors in the past, and we can share some of the lessons we’ve learned over that time.
Atlas Shingle Colors By Product Line
Atlas offers a variety of shingle styles, which are organized into several different product lines. And because the different product lines all provide varying features, most homeowners will start by selecting the shingle line they’d like and then opt for a color available in that line.
To help homeowners in this situation, we’ll break down the colors available in each of the seven primary Atlas product lines, so that you can identify the perfect shingle color for your house and maximize your home’s curb appeal.
Atlas StormMaster Shake
Atlas Roofing’s top-of-the-line option, StormMaster Shake shingles, are thick, attractive architectural shingles, designed to withstand extreme weather conditions. They’re available in your choice of 10 colors:
- Moonlight Beach
- Midnight Lake
- Grand Teton
- Aspen Grove
- Black Shadow
- Pewter
- Chestnut
- Weathered Wood
- Copper Canyon
- Morning Harvest
Atlas Pinnacle Impact
Another one of Atlas Roofing’s leading product lines, Pinnacle Impact shingles provide a great combination of aesthetic appeal, algae-resistance, and durability. Pinnacle Impact shingles are available in six colors:
- Heather IR
- Desert Shake IR
- Hearthstone IR
- Pewter IR
- Black Shadow IR
- Weathered Wood IR
Atlas Pinnacle Sun
Featuring built-in 3M Cool Roofing Granules, Pinnacle Sun shingles work exceptionally well for homes in warm climates and those that are blasted by the sun. These shingles are available in your choice of six colors:
- Cool Driftwood
- Cool Surf
- Cool Sand
- Cool Moonlight Beach
- Cool Coral Canyon
- Cool Coastal Cliffs
Atlas Pinnacle Pristine
While Pinnacle Pristine shingles are high-quality products that provide a number of tangible benefits, including Class 3 impact-resistance and 3M ScotchGard algae-resistance, they’re designed to help provide unmatched aesthetic appeal. These attractive shingles are available in your choice of 16 colors:
- Black Shadow
- Coastal Granite
- Hearthstone
- Pewter
- Copper Canyon
- Summer Storm
- Oyster Shell
- Heatherblend
- Burnt Hickory
- Majestic Shake
- Weathered Wood
- Weathered Shadow
- Morning Harvest
- Tan Mist
- Woodland Green
- Sunset
Atlas ProLam
One of Atlas Roofing’s most budget-friendly product lines, ProLam shingles are designed to provide a great combination of durability and aesthetic appeal, thanks to things like shadow lines. These roofing shingles are available in seven colors:
- Black Shadow
- Hearthstone
- Pewter
- Hickory
- Weathered Wood
- Weathered Shadow
- Desert Shake
Atlas Briarwood Pro
Briarwood Pro shingles are another one of Atlas’ economical shingle lines, but they still provide fantastic durability, feature ARS algae resistance, and look great. They’re available in your choice of seven colors:
- Midnight Lake
- Summer Storm
- Copper Canyon
- Blackstone
- Chestnut
- Granite
- Majestic
Atlas Castlebrook
One of Atlas’ mid-tier product lines, Castlebrook shingles provide the architectural look many homeowners love, while still being more affordable than some of the other dimensional shingles on the market. These shingles are available in seven colors:
- Black Shadow
- Burnt Sienna
- Desert Shake
- Dove Gray
- Hearthstone
- Pewter
- Weathered Wood
Atlas Shingle Colors by Color Group
While most homeowners like to select a shingle type before moving on to color selection, others prefer the opposite approach. They’d rather select a color and then determine which product lines were available with that color. So, we’ll share all of the Atlas shingle colors below, grouped by the basic color family they belong to.
Note that you’ll see some colors listed under multiple color families. This is due to the subjective nature of color description and the fact that many shingle colors are actually made up of multiple colors. For example, the Midnight Lake shingle color features black shingles and brown shingles.
Black
- Midnight Lake (StormMaster Shake, Briarwood Pro)
- Black Shadow (StormMaster Shake, Pinnacle Pristine, ProLam, Castlebrook)
- Pewter IR (Pinnacle Impact)
- Black Shadow IR (Pinnacle Impact)
- Weathered Wood IR (Pinnacle Impact)
- Cool Driftwood (Pinnacle Sun)
- Cool Moonlight Beach (Pinnacle Sun)
- Coastal Granite (Pinnacle Pristine)
- Black Shadow (ProLam)
- Blackstone (Briarwood Pro)
- Granite (Briarwood Pro)
Brown
- Moonlight Beach (StormMaster Shake)
- Midnight Lake (StormMaster Shake, Briarwood Pro)
- Aspen Grove (StormMaster Shake)
- Chestnut (StormMaster Shake, Briarwood Pro)
- Weathered Wood (StormMaster Shake, ProLam)
- Copper Canyon (StormMaster Shake)
- Morning Harvest (StormMaster Shake)
- Heather IR (Pinnacle Impact)
- Weathered Wood IR (Pinnacle Impact)
- Cool Driftwood (Pinnacle Sun)
- Cool Sand (Pinnacle Sun)
- Cool Moonlight Beach (Pinnacle Sun)
- Cool Coral Canyon (Pinnacle Sun)
- Copper Canyon (Pinnacle Pristine, Briarwood Pro)
- Heatherblend (Pinnacle Pristine)
- Burnt Hickory (Pinnacle Pristine)
- Majestic Shake (Pinnacle Pristine)
- Weathered Wood (Pinnacle Pristine, Castlebrook)
- Weathered Shadow (Pinnacle Pristine, ProLam)
- Morning Harvest (Pinnacle Pristine)
- Hickory (ProLam)
- Desert Shake (ProLam, Castlebrook)
- Majestic (Briarwood Pro)
- Burnt Sienna (Castlebrook)
Gray
- Moonlight Beach (StormMaster Shake)
- Grand Teton (StormMaster Shake)
- Aspen Grove (StormMaster Shake)
- Pewter (StormMaster Shake, Pinnacle Pristine, ProLam, Castlebrook)
- Weathered Wood (StormMaster Shake, Castlebrook)
- Hearthstone IR (Pinnacle Impact)
- Pewter IR (Pinnacle Impact)
- Cool Surf (Pinnacle Sun)
- Cool Moonlight Beach (Pinnacle Sun)
- Cool Coastal Cliffs (Pinnacle Sun)
- Coastal Granite (Pinnacle Pristine)
- Hearthstone (Pinnacle Pristine, ProLam, Castlebrook)
- Summer Storm (Pinnacle Pristine)
- Oyster Shell (Pinnacle Pristine)
- Majestic Shake (Pinnacle Pristine)
- Weathered Shadow (ProLam)
- Summer Storm (Briarwood Pro)
- Granite (Briarwood Pro)
- Majestic (Briarwood Pro)
- Dove Gray (Castlebrook)
Tan
- Morning Harvest (StormMaster Shake)
- Heather IR (Pinnacle Impact)
- Desert Shake IR (Pinnacle Impact)
- Cool Sand (Pinnacle Sun)
- Morning Harvest (Pinnacle Pristine)
- Tan Mist (Pinnacle Pristine)
- Desert Shake (Castlebrook)
White
- Oyster Shell (Pinnacle Pristine)
- Dove Gray (Castlebrook)
Red
- Midnight Lake (StormMaster Shake)
- Summer Storm (Pinnacle Pristine, Briarwood Pro)
- Sunset (Pinnacle Pristine)
- Midnight Lake (Briarwood Pro)
- Burnt Sienna (Castlebrook)
Green
- Woodland Green (Pinnacle Pristine)
Blue
- Moonlight Beach (StormMaster Shake)
- Grand Teton (StormMaster Shake)
- Cool Surf (Pinnacle Sun)
Atlas Asphalt Shingles: Color of the Year
Each year, Atlas identifies a “color of the year” for several product lines, based on current trends. In 2025, Atlas recognized four different colors:
- StormMaster Shake — Midnight Lake: A deep, serene blue that was inspired by moonlit lakes.
- Pinnacle Sun — Cool Surf: A coastal-inspired, soft blue color.
- Pinnacle Impact — Hearthstone: A warm combination of gray and brown tones that resemble natural stone.
- Pinnacle Pristine — Majestic Shake: A rich blend of brown and gray tones.
Choosing the Right Shingle Colors: FAQ
Still have questions about shingle colors or the specific colors available from Atlas? We’ve rounded up some of the most common questions below!
What is the most popular Atlas shingle color?
The most popular shingle colors tend to change over time in response to new colors being released and shifting home décor trends. However, Pewter, Black Shadow, Weathered Wood, and Copper Canyon have been a few of the most popular Atlas shingle colors over the last few years.
What color roof is best for resale?
Generally speaking, neutral tones are best for home resale. So, lean towards tans, browns, grays, and black if you plan on selling your home in the next few years.
Should the roof be darker or lighter than the house?
Both approaches have their merits. Dark roof colors tend to make light-colored homes “pop” and help draw attention to their architectural features, while light roofs can help “soften” dark-colored homes and help provide aesthetic balance.
What color shingles are the most energy-efficient?
It’s difficult to identify a shingle color that is most energy efficient, as dark colors help to reduce heating costs in the winter, while light colored shingles help lower power bills in the summer. Ideally, you’ll identify which season your power bills are highest in (summer or winter) and then make your choice accordingly. For example, if you’d rather lower your AC bills in the summer, opt for light-colored shingles (just be aware that your power bills in the winter may climb slightly).
Does a black roof raise your electricity bill?
Changing to a black roof will likely raise your electricity bill during the summer, as the black shingles will absorb more of the sun’s heat. However, they’ll also absorb more of the sun’s heat in the winter, which means they will reduce your power bills when it is cold. Ultimately, you’ll simply have to consider your typical energy expenditures and try to select a roof shingle color based on the most expensive time of year.
What color shingles make a house look bigger?
Because they reflect more light, light-colored shingles tend to make a home appear larger.
What color roof keeps your house cooler?
Light-colored shingles will help keep your home cooler during the summer. But it is important to note that they’ll also keep your home cooler during the winter, potentially increasing your home heating costs.
How do you pick a home shingle color?
Selecting the ideal shingle color requires that you consider a variety of factors, including your home’s architectural style and color, the prevailing neighborhood trends, your home’s climate, and the specific product line you’d like — some shingle colors are only available in some product lines.
No Matter the Shingle Color You Choose, Trust Schoenherr Roofing for Installation
It would be heartbreaking to put in the time and effort picking out the ideal shingles for your home in the perfect color, only to have them installed poorly. This will not only keep your roof (and overall home) from looking its best, but it may also reduce the lifespan of your shingles and necessitate future repairs.
But you don’t have to worry about that when you rely on the professionals at Schoenherr Roofing. Our roofing experts have the knowledge, skill, and experience to install any type of roofing material you’d like, but we’re especially well-qualified to install Atlas shingles. In fact, we’re one of the country’s few Atlas Pro+ Platinum Select Contractors.
Contact us today to discuss your roof replacement or installation needs, or simply request a free estimate now.
Resources
- Choose Your Shingles – Atlas Roofing. https://www.atlasroofing.com/choose-your-shingles
- Pinnacle Pristine 2025 Color of the Year – Atlas Roofing. https://www.atlasroofing.com/asphalt-life/pinnacle-pristine-2025-color-of-the-year
