Where to find your HOA's approved exterior paint colors in the Valley

Most Valley HOA paint palettes are published in one of two places: the Dunn-Edwards Color-Ark Pro library, which listed 4,305 communities and properties across Arizona, California, Nevada and New Mexico when we read it on October 21, 2026, and the Sherwin-Williams HOA Color Archive, with more than 3,000 Arizona listings. If your community is in neither, the sheet sits in the design guidelines attached to your CC&Rs, and A.R.S. § 33-1805 lets you examine the association's records within ten business days.

The HOA is the homeowners association, the CC&Rs are its recorded rules, and the architectural committee approves repaints. Find the palette first and the rest of your exterior house painting in Phoenix gets simpler, because the color decision shrinks to a scheme number.

Where does my HOA keep its approved paint colors?

Check four places, in this order: the design guidelines attached to your CC&Rs, the management company's resident portal, your community's page on Dunn-Edwards Color-Ark Pro, and the Sherwin-Williams HOA Color Archive. When two disagree, the committee's current sheet wins.

The guidelines are the rule; the archives are the catalog. Arizona's Planned Communities Act defines "community documents" as the declaration, bylaws, articles of incorporation and rules, and § 33-1805(A) says association records "shall be made reasonably available for examination by any member," within "ten business days." Community sites often hold both the form and the palette: The Highlands at Arrowhead Ranch says they "can be viewed in the document section of the community website," and Power Ranch's guidelines send owners to mypowerranch.com for "all available color palette choices."

Then open the two brand archives, both free and both printed with a warning that the committee has the last word.

How do I find my community on Dunn-Edwards Color-Ark Pro?

Go to Dunn-Edwards Color-Ark Pro, search by ZIP code, city or the community's name, and pick your association from the results. The hub covers communities "originally painted, or re-painted, with Dunn-Edwards paint."

Each result opens a page of numbered schemes, with color chips by mail or a PDF that adds application notes and maps to the three closest Dunn-Edwards stores. The pages carry their own dates, and they vary a lot: Arizona Traditions is headed "Schemes Approved 2024" with 57 schemes; Arrowhead Sunrise I and II in Glendale is "Approved Paint Palette 12/8/15" with 15 body and trim pairs; The Highlands at Arrowhead Ranch is "Approved February 15, 2022" with 18; Village Fairways in Phoenix prints 15 and no date.

Every page we read ends with "Please verify your final color choices with your community's governing body before undertaking any exterior painting project." A 2015 page is a starting point, not an approval.

How does the Sherwin-Williams HOA Color Archive work?

The Sherwin-Williams HOA Color Archive runs on three dropdowns: State, City and HOA Community. On October 22, 2026 the Arizona list held more than 3,000 entries: 512 under Phoenix, 348 under Scottsdale, 222 under Chandler, 184 under Mesa, 181 under Gilbert and 159 under Peoria. Many entries are one parcel or one builder's plan series inside a master community, so check more than the first match.

Each scheme page prints two warnings, "Actual color may vary from on-screen representation" and a Color Usage Advisory that "color standards can change over time," and the hub tells owners of unlisted communities to ask the community manager to have the schemes uploaded.

Some communities sit in both archives in two brands: Arrowhead Sunrise I and II has 15 Dunn-Edwards schemes on Color-Ark Pro and 15 Sherwin-Williams schemes here (Scheme 1: body Ginger Root SW 9095, trim Rookwood Clay SW 2823). Which brand your documents require is answered below.

What does an HOA color scheme sheet list?

A scheme is a set of roles, not one color. Marisol's sheet is the clearest example. Scheme 1 for the "A" Elevation Spanish plan reads: Body Stucco DET670 Vintage Ephemera, Stucco Foam Trim DE6144 Graham Cracker, Fascia, Eaves and Garage Door DEC756 Weathered Brown, Front Door and Shutters DET634 Downing to Earth, Wrought Iron DEC756 Weathered Brown, Clay Pipe DE6055 Wild West. Twenty-one schemes, seven each for the Spanish, Cottage and Craftsman elevations.

Other sheets group roles differently. The Sherwin-Williams sheet for Power Ranch in Gilbert gives 43 schemes with body, fascia and trim, pop-outs, two garage door options, front door, shutters, iron and metal railing. Anthem Country Club's 18 schemes give one body and up to four trim choices: "Select one Trim Color for trim, pop-outs, and/or garage door." Copy codes exactly as printed, RL number included.

Which color does the garage door take?

The garage door is where sheets disagree most. Arizona Traditions groups it with the body on one line, "Body/Soffits/Downspouts/Pop-out's/Garage Door," and puts "Fascia/Gutters/Shutters/Front-Security Door" on the next. On one of our whole-home repaints in Phoenix the garage door went the trim color, and it reads clean from the street. In The Highlands at Arrowhead Ranch that same choice breaks rule 2: "The body and garage door must be painted the stated body color and not a trim color." Read your sheet before you decide which looks better.

Sources: Dunn-Edwards Color-Ark Pro and the Sherwin-Williams HOA Color Archive (read October 21 and 22, 2026); A.R.S. § 33-1805 (azleg.gov); Power Ranch 2026 Design Guidelines; DC Ranch; Dunn-Edwards online shop. Each community figure is that community's own, not a Valley average.

Why does the Perfect Palette conversion matter when I buy the paint?

Because an older sheet's color may not be the exact color in the can anymore. Dunn-Edwards prints this on Marisol, Whisper View and the Power Ranch sheets: "These colors have been updated to Dunn-Edwards Perfect Palette color system. Colors may not be an exact match and should not be used for touch-up purposes. Dunn-Edwards recommends that samples be applied before final approval." The Power Ranch PDF adds: "Application of the paint constitutes acceptance of the color."

Brush out samples before the form goes in. A Dunn-Edwards 8 oz sample (an interior velvet sample) was $5.99 online on October 22, 2026. Put body and trim side by side on the wall that takes the afternoon sun, not in the shade or on a screen; The Highlands sheet sends owners to a store "because of variations between color monitors and home printers." The west wall also shows how dark a scheme runs; see how exterior color affects how hot the walls get.

Can I switch brands and have the store match the code?

That is a rule question before it is a store question, and the committee decides it, not the counter. Power Ranch's 2026 guidelines say "Substituting paint brands for colors approved by a different supplier is not permitted unless approved by the DRC," while Village Fairways names its approved lines on the sheet: "Evershield Flat (Ultra-Premium), Spartashield Flat (Premium), Acri-Hues Flat (Professional)." Power Ranch itself publishes schemes in four brands. Ask before you buy, and keep the answer with the approval.

How long does HOA color approval take in the Valley, and what does it cost?

Arizona law sets no deadline for a paint decision, so the clock lives in your community's documents. A.R.S. § 33-1817 puts a board member in the chair of the architectural committee and says approval of a construction project's designs and plans "shall not unreasonably be withheld." Nothing in Title 33, Chapter 16 turns a silent committee into a yes. Public information, not legal advice.

Power Ranch's design guidelines, effective May 1, 2026, say "Within 45 days of receipt of a completed application, the DRC will respond to the owner"; its website says "Please allow seven business days," and the dated guidelines govern. DC Ranch in Scottsdale says a paint review "can take up to 10 days." Power Ranch's fees are paid at the time of request and are non-refundable.

The Highlands sheet: form before paint, and "Work should not begin until the homeowner receives approval from the board." The application itself is in how to get HOA approval to repaint.

What if my palette is from 2015 or a color was discontinued?

Use the committee's current sheet, in writing. Color-Ark Pro keeps older palettes online, some under an archive address, so the page a search turned up may not be the committee's current one. Arrowhead Sunrise's 12/8/15 page adds: "Must submit for approval to your HOA before applying." Eastmark in Mesa labels its builder schemes "for reference only"; changing them "will require design approval from the HOA."

A discontinued name is not a dead end: take the code to the store and ask whether the current sheet still lists it. Dunn-Edwards' note rules a converted color out for touch-ups, and timing matters too; see how often stucco needs repainting in Arizona. The Highlands at Arrowhead Ranch writes its own expectation into its rules, "Due to the intense desert sun, one should expect to repaint their house every 6 to 8 years," and adds that "dark colors fade more quickly." One community's number, not a rule for every HOA.

While the scheme sheet is open: trim, doors and iron on the same approval

The sheet already names the colors for the pop-outs, fascia, garage door, front door and shutters, so one application and one setup can cover all of them. With the ladders and sprayer on site for the body, the fascia and trim get prepped and painted in their scheme color, hairline cracks get fixed under stucco crack repair before the body coat, and the garage and front doors get their assigned colors. Power Ranch's page warns anyone pricing the front only: "pop-outs on all sides of the home must be painted per the pre-approved scheme." Wrought iron gates and security doors carry a scheme color too (Marisol assigns them DEC756 Weathered Brown), and we paint the iron in the same visit. Finished bodies, trim and doors are in our recent exterior projects.

Need the color codes for your application? Tell us the community and the scheme number, and the estimate lists the brand, the scheme and every color code, so the form is filled from the sheet the painters work from. Call or text (602) 405-4533 or request a free estimate online, and we will time the job around your approval. Our two-story stucco repaint in Phoenix shows body, trim and garage door settled before the first coat.