Original Research
What Colors Do Charlotte HOAs Actually Allow?
We read 29 published HOA documents across the Charlotte metro and hunted down every publicly posted color palette we could open. The findings: only 5 of the 29 associations publish a named color list, not one document sets an LRV cap — and the phrase that keeps deciding approvals is "earth tones."
29
HOA documents reviewed
10
public palette documents opened
5/29
associations that publish named colors
0
documents with an LRV cap
What exterior colors do HOAs allow in Charlotte?
Most Charlotte-metro HOAs don't publish a color list at all — they approve colors one submission at a time against written standards. In the 29 published documents we reviewed, the recurring rules are: subdued or warm earth tones, colors harmonious with neighboring homes, no primary or bright colors, no highly reflective finishes, and no repeating a color already on a home in visual proximity. Only 5 of the 29 associations publish named approved colors, and none of the 29 sets an LRV (light reflectance value) cap. Sherwin-Williams is the brand behind 8 of the 10 public palette documents we could open.
- 23 of 29 documents: per-submission color approval, no fixed palette
- Recurring language: 'earth tones,' 'harmonious,' 'no primary colors'
- 0 of 29 documents cap LRV; one (Verdict Ridge) caps sheen instead
- 5 of 29 associations publish named colors; SW HOA Archive adds 5 more communities
How we built this
This page is second-order research built on our own Charlotte HOA painting rules index — 29 associations across Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Union, Iredell, Lincoln, Lancaster (SC), and York (SC) counties whose governing documents are published openly. On top of that, we hunted for every publicly posted approved-color palette in the metro: association sites, ARC portals, management-company sites, and the Sherwin-Williams HOA Color Archive. We opened 10 palette documents; for everything else, "no published palette found" is recorded as exactly that.
Collected August 2026. Palettes and guidelines change, boards amend documents, and some communities keep their full guidelines behind resident portals — always verify with your own association before buying paint. Nothing here is legal advice or a substitute for your ARC's written approval.
The color rules, community by community
Every row links to the community's own published document. Quotes are verbatim from those documents.
| Community | County | What the document says about color | Published palette? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highland Creek Community Association Per-submission Source document | Mecklenburg | The Design Guidelines require "soft, subdued earth tone paint colors" and prohibit "bold, primary or unusual colors." Brick must avoid orange and pink hues. The two documents conflict on garage doors: the Rules prefer light colors, the Design Plan prefers darker. | Rules only — no published color list |
| Davis Lake Community Association Per-submission Source document | Mecklenburg | Colors must be "harmonious" with the structure and neighborhood, and a house "may not be the same as color of houses immediately adjacent to it." Roofs are limited to a closed six-color list. All painting — even keeping the existing color — must be ARC-approved. | Published — ARC Color Wheel: ~110 Sherwin-Williams and ~130 Benjamin Moore body codes, grouped by color family |
| Skybrook (Historic Skybrook) HOA Per-submission Source document | Mecklenburg | No palette and no banned-color list; every exterior color or stain change goes to the ARB. Concrete driveways and pavers may not be painted; decorative metal fencing must be black; mulch is limited to brown tones. | Rules only — no published color list |
| Abbington of Cabarrus County HOA Per-submission Source document | Cabarrus | "Appropriate colors shall be used, and colors shall be used with restraint." Downpipes, roof vents, and exposed equipment must blend with the walls or roof they sit on. | Rules only — no published color list |
| University Heights & University Townes HOA Not stated Source document | Mecklenburg | For the townhomes, the association — not the owner — paints exteriors, including front doors. Owner-side rules fix details: storm-door trim colors, cedar-stain-only fences, and white window coverings on the front of the home. | No published palette found |
| Cambridge Grove Not stated Source document | Mecklenburg | No color rules on the published page at all — "Exterior Color Change" is simply listed among modifications requiring a Property Enhancement Request to the Architecture Team. | No published palette found |
| Mallard Trace HOA Not stated Source document | Mecklenburg | The published document states no color-approval requirement, palette, or banned colors — only a maintenance standard: painted surfaces kept free of peeling, chipping, and bare wood. | No published palette found |
| Millbridge Per-submission Source document | Union | Colors must be "harmonious and complimentary" with nearby homes; "highly reflective and bright colors shall be avoided"; owners may not repeat a color already used in close proximity. No red, orange, or white-looking brick — and brick may not be painted at all. | Rules only — no published color list |
| Skyecroft Pre-approved palette Source document | Union | "Exterior colors are limited to warm earth tones. No pure whites or primary colors may be used." No wall colors matching homes in visual proximity. A separate published palette file lists roughly 110 approved colors across Field, Off-White, Trim, and Accent categories. | Published — approved color palette spreadsheet (~110 colors, primarily Benjamin Moore) |
| Lawson Per-submission Source document | Union | All color changes need ACC approval; trim must be white or a contrasting color from the siding; the proposed color is displayed on a 3 x 4-foot test patch on an inconspicuous rear surface. A same-color repaint is exempt. | Rules only — no published color list |
| Weddington Ridge Per-submission Source document | Union | Exterior colors must conform to the builder's original scheme. Appendix B publishes 17 approved color options with exact Sherwin-Williams matches; white and bright white are approved for trim only, leaving 15 usable on shutters and doors; garage doors must be white. | Published — Appendix B: 17 approved color options with Sherwin-Williams equivalents (15 usable for shutters/doors) |
| Weddington Acres Per-submission Source document | Union | Colors "must blend well with one another and not be a primary color," and no wall colors matching homes in visual proximity are permitted. Metal surfaces must match approved trim colors. | Rules only — no published color list |
| Stratford on Providence Per-submission Source document | Union | "Exterior colors are limited to warm earth tones. No pure whites or primary colors may be used." Digital photos of samples of every exterior surface — color, tone, and texture — must accompany the submission. | Rules only — no published color list |
| Brandon Oaks Per-submission Source document | Union | The Gardens section must keep the builder's original color scheme. Community-wide: gutters and downspouts "are to be white, colors such as black are not permitted"; decorative metal fences must be black; sidewalk stain may only match the foundation brick color. | Rules only — no published color list |
| Sheridan Per-submission Source document | Union | Board approval covers "the composition and color of all materials used on the exterior." Roof penetrations are painted to blend with the shingles; downpipes must avoid "conspicuous contrast" with the wall color. | Rules only — no published color list |
| Providence Crossing Per-submission Source document | Mecklenburg | The ACC reviews "exterior color combinations"; no reflective finishes are permitted; roof metals are painted to match approved roof colors. The document even warns that previously approved colors "might in the future be found to be inappropriate." | Rules only — no published color list |
| Sardis Cove Per-submission Source document | Mecklenburg | The association maintains exterior building surfaces itself (siding, trim, gutters). Owner-facing color rules fix the details: new fences white, storm doors white, awnings solid green canvas or an approved neutral. | Rules only — no published color list |
| Creekshire Per-submission Source document | Mecklenburg | A different exterior color "will only be approved on a case-by-case basis," and even repainting the same color requires prior written ARC approval. Decks must stay a natural wood color. | Rules only — no published color list |
| The Palisades Per-submission Source document | Mecklenburg | Repainting requires ACC approval, and finishes must match or complement the existing house "as determined by the ACC." The design guidelines add: roof and wall colors must blend with the natural vegetation as seen from a distance, and bright primary colors are prohibited. | Rules only — no published color list |
| Wynfield Per-submission Source document | Mecklenburg | No written color restrictions appear on the published page — but the submission list includes "Paint House – Color Sample Required," so a physical sample rides along with every request. | No published palette found |
| Morrison Plantation Per-submission Source document | Iredell | Publishes a 15-color pre-approved house palette that needs no ARC approval. Any color not on the palette — and any trim color other than white — requires approval before painting. Repainting an unchanged color is exempt. | Published — House Color Palette page: 15 pre-approved colors with swatches (no brand codes printed) |
| Harbor Watch of Lake Norman Per-submission Source document | Iredell | Exterior materials and colors must be approved; a detached garage must match the main dwelling's roof color; the only fencing the ARC will approve is black aluminum. Vinyl siding is capped at 60% of exterior walls. | Rules only — no published color list |
| Falls Cove at Lake Norman Per-submission Source document | Iredell | "Appropriate colors shall be used, and colors shall be used with restraint," and "natural weathering of exterior wood materials is not desired." Even play equipment is limited to earth tones — dark greens, browns, tans. | Rules only — no published color list |
| Verdict Ridge Per-submission Source document | Lincoln | No LRV cap — but a sheen cap: paint "must be flat or low luster," with an approved angular sheen of 0–25 degrees. "In general, soft, earth tones and non-stark or bold colors will be approved." New colors must be painted directly onto the house for review; brick and stone may not be painted. | Rules only — no published color list |
| Lake Norman Community Association Per-submission Source document | Lincoln | No painting section, palette, or LRV cap — only match-existing rules: shingles, siding, soffits, gutters, and downspouts on additions must match the original house in color and style. | Rules only — no published color list |
| The Sanctuary at Lake Wylie Per-submission Source document | Mecklenburg | Directional ranges instead of a palette: colors are to be "subdued, recessive," stains and paints "should generally be of a darker value than tree bark," and for walls, "generally, the darker the wall color, the better." Shiny or reflective finishes are banned. | Rules only — no published color list |
| Sun City Carolina Lakes Pre-approved palette Source document | Lancaster (SC) | Appendix G publishes 8 approved front-door colors as Sherwin-Williams chips ("any vendor equivalent is acceptable"). Shutters draw from the same list — except Snowbound, which is banned for shutters. Body and trim schemes live in an offline Color Collection binder at the Lake House front desk. | Published — Design Guidelines Appendix G: 8 approved front-door colors (Sherwin-Williams-numbered) |
| Regent Park Per-submission Source document | York (SC) | Repainting the existing color is pre-approved. Any color change requires ARB approval with color chips or siding samples. No approved list, no banned colors, no LRV cap. | Rules only — no published color list |
| Bailiwyck Not stated Source document | York (SC) | Changing the color of house, trim, shutters, or roof requires ARC approval with paint samples or brochures. Outdoor bulbs must be neutral/white. No approved palette, banned-color list, or LRV cap published. | No published palette found |
Regime labels: "Per-submission" = colors are approved case by case against written standards; "Pre-approved palette" = the association publishes a list to pick from; "Not stated" = the published document doesn't say.
The 10 palettes you can actually open
Five belong to associations in our rules index; five more surfaced only through the Sherwin-Williams HOA Color Archive. The archive itself notes its schemes were community-approved but homeowners must confirm with the HOA manager before painting — the same caveat applies to every document below.
Hazel Ridge HOA (Charlotte)
Sherwin-Williams HOA Color Archive: 13 lot-specific schemes, each a fixed Body/Trim/Accent/Door combo (some add shutters). Example combos listed: Retreat body with Divine White trim and Tricorn Black door; Needlepoint Navy body with Toque White trim.
Brand: Sherwin-Williams
Open the palette documentOberbeck Village (Charlotte)
SW HOA Color Archive: 13 palettes — one fixed body color each (Debonair, Blustery Sky, Garden Sage, Kilim Beige…), plus up to 3 trim, door, and shutter options the owner chooses among. Door accents repeat across palettes: Rembrandt Ruby, Iron Ore, Tricorn Black, Urbane Bronze.
Brand: Sherwin-Williams
Open the palette documentBriarcrest (Waxhaw)
The largest archive entry we found in the metro: 33 approved palettes, each a fixed Body/Trim/Shake/Accent combo. Earth-tone driven — bodies like Downing Earth, Chelsea Gray, Burlap, Virtual Taupe; accents in dark browns and blacks (Black Fox, Tricorn Black, Iron Ore).
Brand: Sherwin-Williams
Open the palette documentArbor Croft HOA (Huntersville)
SW HOA Color Archive: 12 schemes, each a fixed body with 1–3 trim and 2–3 door options. The set nearly mirrors Oberbeck Village — same builder-era palette family.
Brand: Sherwin-Williams
Open the palette documentReserve at Gold Hill (Fort Mill, SC)
A different structure: two pick-lists instead of whole-house schemes — 16 approved front-door/shutter colors (skewing dark and saturated: blacks, bronzes, deep greens, navies, reds) and 3 approved garage-door/trim colors (Aged White, Westhighland White, Antique White).
Brand: Sherwin-Williams
Open the palette documentDavis Lake (Charlotte)
The official ARC 'Color Wheel listing' PDF: parallel columns of roughly 110 Sherwin-Williams and 130 Benjamin Moore body codes approved for the house body, organized by color family (Tan and Browns; Gray and Blue Gray; Blue; Green; Yellow; Whites and Taupes). Codes only — no names printed. An ARC request is still required before painting.
Brand: Sherwin-Williams / Benjamin Moore
Open the palette documentMorrison Plantation (Mooresville)
An official 'House Color Palette' page: 15 pre-approved house colors shown as swatches, grouped roughly into neutrals/beiges, grays, and blues — Arctic White through Iron Gray, Boothbay Blue, Evening Blue, Deep Ocean. No brand codes printed; the names match the James Hardie ColorPlus siding palette. Colors on the list need no ARC approval.
Brand: No brand codes printed
Open the palette documentSkyecroft (Waxhaw)
A full approved palette published as a spreadsheet: about 110 named colors in four categories — Field (~27), Off Whites (~19), Fascia and Trim (~34), Accents (~31) — nearly all Benjamin Moore codes (Berkshire Beige, Lenox Tan, White Dove, Hale Navy…) plus at least one Sherwin-Williams (Gossamer Veil).
Brand: Benjamin Moore (primary), Sherwin-Williams equivalents allowed
Open the palette documentWeddington Ridge (Union County)
Appendix B of the ARC guidelines: 17 approved color options, each with an exact Sherwin-Williams match — from Black (SW 6258 Tricorn Black) to Forest Green (SW 2847 Roycroft Bottle Green) and Wineberry (SW 6307 Fine Wine). White (SW 7012 Creamy) and Bright White are trim-only, leaving 15 options for shutters and doors. If door and shutters differ, one of the two must be Black or Tuxedo Grey.
Brand: Sherwin-Williams
Open the palette documentSun City Carolina Lakes (Indian Land, SC)
Design Guidelines Appendix G: 8 approved front-door colors as Sherwin-Williams chips — Jasper, Turkish Coffee, Peppercorn, Urbane Bronze, Naval, Black Magic, Sun Dried Tomato, Snowbound — with 'any vendor equivalent is acceptable.' Snowbound is allowed on doors but explicitly banned for shutters.
Brand: Sherwin-Williams
Open the palette documentWhat the Sherwin-Williams HOA Archive doesn't have
The archive's coverage of this market is thin: Charlotte proper has only two entries (Oberbeck Village and Hazel Ridge), Waxhaw only Briarcrest, and Fort Mill only Reserve at Gold Hill. We checked for Highland Creek, Davis Lake, Berewick, Baxter Village, Sun City Carolina Lakes, Millbridge, Skyecroft, and Ballantyne-area associations — none are listed. If your community isn't in the archive, its palette (if one exists) lives in its own governing documents or behind the resident portal.
Patterns across all 29 documents
The words that decide approvals
- "Earth tones." At least seven communities in our set reach for this exact phrase — Highland Creek ("soft, subdued earth tone"), Skyecroft and Stratford on Providence ("warm earth tones" only), Verdict Ridge ("soft, earth tones"), The Sanctuary ("subdued earth tones"), Falls Cove (even for play equipment), and Reflection Pointe in nearby Belmont.
- "Harmonious" / "complement." Davis Lake, Millbridge, Lawson, and Abbington all condition approval on harmony with the house and the neighborhood rather than naming colors.
- "No primary colors." Explicit in Skyecroft, Stratford on Providence, Weddington Acres, Highland Creek, and The Palisades' design guidelines.
- Don't match the neighbors. Davis Lake, Millbridge, Skyecroft, Weddington Acres, and Highland Creek all bar repeating a color already on a home adjacent or in visual proximity — the opposite instinct from "blend in."
What no document does
- Zero LRV caps. Light-reflectance-value limits are common in some Sun Belt markets; not one of the 29 documents we read uses one. Charlotte associations regulate with adjectives, not reflectance numbers.
- One sheen cap instead. Verdict Ridge is the only document that regulates finish numerically: flat or low luster, angular sheen 0–25 degrees.
- Almost nobody names banned house colors. The bans that do exist are categorical (primary, bright, reflective, pure white) rather than lists of specific colors.
- Same-color repaint is a coin flip. Explicitly exempt in Lawson, Morrison Plantation, Verdict Ridge, Regent Park, and Sun City Carolina Lakes; explicitly requiring approval in Davis Lake and Creekshire; unaddressed in most others.
Garage doors get their own rules
- Weddington Ridge: "Garage doors shall be white in color." No discretion.
- Verdict Ridge: painted the base color of the house unless otherwise approved.
- Highland Creek: the two governing documents contradict each other — the homeowner Rules say "light colors are preferred," the Builder Design Plan says "darker colors are preferred over light colors." A submission is the only way to find out which wins.
- Davis Lake: "ABSOLUTELY NO DOOR MURALS/PAINTINGS" — capitalization theirs.
Brick has its own banned hues
- Highland Creek: brick in medium-to-dark earth tones; "orange and pink hues are not acceptable."
- Millbridge: "no red, orange, or white-looking brick, and no weeping or black mortar" — and brick and stone may not be painted to change their original coloring.
- Weddington Ridge: "very light or white colored, orange or Holiday Hills brick are not acceptable."
- Painting brick is banned outright in Verdict Ridge and Millbridge — worth knowing before pinning a limewashed-brick photo to the mood board.
The colors that keep showing up in published palettes
Across the palette documents that print named colors, a handful of Sherwin-Williams accents recur again and again: Tricorn Black SW 6258 appears in the Hazel Ridge, Oberbeck Village, Briarcrest, and Reserve at Gold Hill palettes and is Weddington Ridge's match for its approved "Black" shutter color; Iron Ore SW 7069 and Urbane Bronze SW 7048 each appear in four of the ten documents; Black Fox SW 7020 in three. If a dark, desaturated accent feels like the safe HOA choice, that's because — in the palettes that exist — it literally is the recurring choice. Whether any of these is approved for your house still depends on your association's own document.
How to pick a scheme that gets approved
- Pull your association's actual document. Our rules index links each one directly. If your community publishes a palette (see the 10 above), start there — it's the shortest path to a yes.
- Build the packet the document asks for. Most metro associations approve per submission: manufacturer chips with color numbers, photos, sometimes a physical test — Lawson wants a 3 x 4-foot patch on the rear siding, Verdict Ridge wants the new color painted directly onto the house.
- Lean where the language leans. Subdued, non-primary, earth-toned schemes that don't repeat an adjacent home's color match what these documents reward. Our guide to choosing colors within an HOA palette walks through building a body/trim/accent scheme inside those constraints.
- Don't forget sheen. At least one association (Verdict Ridge) regulates it numerically, and several ban reflective finishes. The paint sheen picker shows what flat, satin, and the rest actually look like per surface.
- Get a second pair of eyes on the combo. Carolina Renew Painting & Finishes offers a free color consultation — useful for translating "harmonious, subdued, earth tone" into an actual Sherwin-Williams or Benjamin Moore number before it goes in front of the ARC.
Frequently asked questions
What exterior colors do HOAs allow in Charlotte?
In the 29 published Charlotte-metro HOA documents we reviewed, the dominant pattern is language, not lists: subdued or warm earth tones, colors harmonious with neighboring homes, and explicit bans on primary, bright, or highly reflective colors. Only 5 of the 29 associations publish an actual named-color list; the rest approve colors one submission at a time. Every association's rules differ — verify with your own ARC before buying paint.
Do Charlotte HOAs publish approved paint color lists?
Mostly no. Of 29 associations whose documents we could read, only 5 publish named colors (Davis Lake, Skyecroft, Morrison Plantation, Weddington Ridge, Sun City Carolina Lakes). Separately, the Sherwin-Williams HOA Color Archive publishes palettes for 5 more metro communities — Hazel Ridge, Oberbeck Village, Briarcrest, Arbor Croft, and Reserve at Gold Hill. That makes 10 publicly openable palette documents in total across the market.
Do I need HOA approval to repaint my house the same color?
It depends on the association. In our set, Davis Lake and Creekshire explicitly require ARC approval even for a same-color repaint, while Lawson, Morrison Plantation, Verdict Ridge, Regent Park, and Sun City Carolina Lakes explicitly exempt it. Most documents don't address the question directly — which is itself a reason to ask before scheduling.
Do Charlotte HOAs use LRV (light reflectance value) caps?
Not in anything we could find. Zero of the 29 published documents we reviewed set an LRV cap. The closest thing is Verdict Ridge, which caps sheen instead — paint must be flat or low luster with an angular sheen of 0–25 degrees. Restrictions in this market are written in words ('earth tones,' 'no primary colors,' 'harmonious'), not reflectance numbers.
What paint colors do Charlotte-area HOAs ban?
The recurring bans in the documents: primary colors (Skyecroft, Stratford on Providence, Weddington Acres, Highland Creek, The Palisades), pure or bright whites on the body (Skyecroft, Stratford; Weddington Ridge limits white to trim), highly reflective or bright colors (Millbridge, Providence Crossing, The Sanctuary), and repeating the color of a home in visual proximity (Davis Lake, Millbridge, Skyecroft, Weddington Acres). Several also ban painting brick outright.
Which paint brands do the published HOA palettes use?
Sherwin-Williams dominates: 8 of the 10 published palette documents we opened are SW-numbered. Skyecroft is the one palette built primarily on Benjamin Moore codes, Davis Lake lists both brands in parallel, and Morrison Plantation prints color names without brand codes. Several documents state vendor equivalents are acceptable — Sun City Carolina Lakes says so explicitly.
Free to cite for newsletters, boards, and neighborhood pages
HOA boards, community managers, Realtors, and neighborhood resource pages are welcome to reference this research. Every claim about a community links to that community's own published document, and the counts (29 documents, 10 palettes, 5 of 29 publishing named colors, 0 LRV caps) reflect exactly what was publicly available in August 2026.
Suggested citation: https://carolinarenew.com/resources/charlotte-hoa-approved-colors/
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Sources
Every community row above also links its source inline. Full list:
- Highland Creek — Rules and Guidelines (PDF)
- Highland Creek — Design Guidelines (PDF)
- Davis Lake — ARC Standards (PDF)
- Davis Lake — ARC Color Wheel Listing (PDF)
- Skybrook — Community Rules and Regulations Guidebook
- Abbington — Guidelines (PDF)
- University Heights & University Townes — Rules & Regulations
- Cambridge Grove — Architecture Team
- Mallard Trace — Community Documents
- Millbridge — ARC Guidelines (PDF)
- Skyecroft — Architectural Guidelines 2022 (PDF)
- Skyecroft — Approved Color Palette (XLSX)
- Lawson — ACC Handbook 2021 (PDF)
- Weddington Ridge — Rules & ARC Guidelines 2023 (PDF)
- Weddington Acres — ARC Guidelines (PDF)
- Stratford on Providence — ARC Guidelines (PDF)
- Brandon Oaks — Rules and Regulations (PDF)
- Sheridan — DCCRs (PDF)
- Providence Crossing — ACC Guidelines (PDF)
- Sardis Cove — Handbook, January 2024 (PDF)
- Creekshire — Rules and Regulations (PDF)
- The Palisades — ARC Guidelines (PDF)
- The Palisades — Architectural Design Guidelines (PDF)
- Wynfield — Architectural Modification Request
- Morrison Plantation — ARC Guidelines Rev. 10/2024 (PDF)
- Morrison Plantation — House Color Palette
- Harbor Watch of Lake Norman — Guidelines (PDF)
- Falls Cove at Lake Norman — ACC Guidelines (PDF)
- Verdict Ridge — Residential Improvement Guidelines (PDF)
- Lake Norman Community Association — Design Guidelines (PDF)
- The Sanctuary at Lake Wylie — ACC Guidelines (PDF)
- Sun City Carolina Lakes — Design Guidelines Vol. 8.3 (PDF)
- Regent Park — ARB Guide (PDF)
- Bailiwyck — ARC Information
- Reflection Pointe — ACC Guidelines (PDF)
- Sherwin-Williams HOA Color Archive — Hazel Ridge HOA
- Sherwin-Williams HOA Color Archive — Oberbeck Village
- Sherwin-Williams HOA Color Archive — Briarcrest
- Sherwin-Williams HOA Color Archive — Arbor Croft HOA
- Sherwin-Williams HOA Color Archive — Reserve at Gold Hill