Q: First of all I love your site. It inspires me to fix up my own home (you make it look so easy!). But if there was a class called Paint Picking 101 I would be getting a big fat F. So far every room I’ve painted in my new house is either too bright, too dark, too dirty looking and just plain ugly. I’m having the worst time finding a perfect tan tone and I’m even messing up colors like light blue and cream, which I never thought was even possible! Do you have any foolproof colors you can recommend? A favorite blue? Cream? Tan? White? Yellow? Gray? I know natural light and other factors can change the way paint looks substantially so it’s probably not 100% foolproof, but I’d love to know your favorite paint colors so at least I have a shot of living in a house that doesn’t make me feel like a total paint failure! Thanks so much for your help! – Meagan
A: Picking the right paint color can often be a doozie, so don’t get down on yourself! Take comfort in the fact that repainting, while annoying, is super inexpensive and it can instantly transform your room from wrong to oh-so-right in an afternoon. And thanks to the transformative power of paint, we’re the proud owners of an entire storage ottoman full of paint decks and swatches. Name any color or any brand- it’s all in our little paint chip library of sorts. But although we have quite a slew of selections we still find ourselves reaching for some tried and true favorites again and again when it comes to doling out room recommendations.
As you mentioned, paint colors can look very different under different lighting circumstances, but for the most part there are a bunch of practically error-proof tones that we find ourselves recommending again and again. Some of them are bright and fun (better suited for only one wall or even a punchy piece of furniture) while others are classic and serene- perfect for an entire room or even an entire home. Here’s the swatch suggestion scoop:
White- Benjamin Moore Decorators White, Glidden Dove White, Behr Cascade White, Sherwin-Williams Alabaster.
Cream- Glidden Antique White, Sherwin-Williams Creamy, Benjamin Moore Muskoka Trail, Benjamin Moore French White, Benjamin Moore Natural White.
Red- Benjamin Moore Million Dollar Red, Glidden Red Delicious, Behr Firelight, Valspar Fabulous Red (great for a front door- might be too bright for inside).
Pink/Coral: Sherwin-Williams Comical Coral (shown below), Benjamin Moore Wild Aster, Sherwin-Williams Animated Coral, Behr Be Mine, Behr Silk Sheets, Behr Coquette.
Brown- Benjamin Moore Branchport Brown, Benjamin Moore Woodacres, Benjamin Moore Stampede, Sherwin-Williams Cobble Brown, Sherwin-Williams Van Dyke Brown (shown below), Behr Traditional.
Yellow- Benjamin Moore Hawthorne Yellow (it is the be-all end-all of yellow paint, which is notoriously hard to get right).
Green- Glidden Fennel (no longer available for swatches, but still in the computer so they can whip it up for you), Glidden Celery Sticks, Benjamin Moore Mosaic Glass, Benjamin Moore Hibiscus (great for a cheerful kid’s room with white trim and brown furnishings), Benjamin Moore Soft Fern, Benjamin Moore Silken Pine, Benjamin Moore Sweet Pear, Benjamin Moore Dune Grass, Sherwin-Williams Lime Granita.
Purple- Glidden Silver Plum (no longer available for swatches, but still in the computer so they can whip it up for you), Glidden Delicious Plum (amazing eggplant color for a front door), Glidden Black Tulip (the deepest moodiest purple-black that’s dripping with drama) Benjamin Moore Nosegay, Benjamin Moore Violet Pearl, Benjamin Moore Iced Lavender.
Blue- Glidden Gentle Tide (no longer available for swatches, but still in the computer so they can whip it up for you), Benjamin Moore Quiet Moments, Benjamin Moore Saratoga Springs, Restoration Hardware Silver Sage (it has green undertones but looks blue-gray in most rooms), Behr Pensive Sky, Behr Flint Smoke, Behr Grand Rapids.
Navy- Benjamin Moore Spellbound, Benjamin Moore French Barret, Benjamin Moore Hudson Bay, Sherwin Williams Grays Harbor, Sherwin-Williams Naval.
Black- Glidden Onyx Black, Benjamin Moore Graphite.
Tan- Glidden Sand White (no longer available for swatches, but still in the computer so they can whip it up for you), Glidden Water Chestnut, Glidden Cafe Latte, Benjamin Moore Baja Dunes, Benjamin Moore Davenport Tan, Behr Harvest Brown.
Orange- Benjamin Moore Beverly Hills, Benjamin Moore Lion Heart, Benjamin Moore Corn Husk, Sherwin-Williams Marquis Orange, Sherwin-Williams Mandarin (shown below).
Gray- Benjamin Moore North Hampton Putty, Benjamin Moore Light Pewter, Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray, Benjamin Moore Nantucket Fog, Glidden Silver Dust.
Beige- Benjamin Moore Clay Beige, Benjamin Moore Green Brier, Sherwin-Williams Ancient Marble.
Greige- Benjamin Moore Tapestry Beige, Behr Ocean Pearl.
Oh and a word of warning: you don’t want one of each of these colors in your house! Here’s how we learned that a tighter color scheme can make your home feel bigger, more open, and a lot more cohesive and welcoming. Of course it doesn’t have to feel expected or monochromatic since you can bring in different accent colors with art and accessories in each space to make them feel unique and interesting!
And a second word of warning: Paint colors look different in every room (due to lighting and other ever-changing factors) so we just suggest grabbing a bunch of the swatches above and bringing them home to see which ones look best on your wall. We can’t recommend a specific color for your specific situation with any great accuracy since we have no idea how it’ll “read” in your home (your eyes will be much better than ours since we’re not right there in your space). Just tape up a variety of swatches and pick the one that looks best to you (and get a few test pots of paint if you’re still not sure)! That really is the best way to get it right every time.
What about you guys? Any words of warning or paint color advice? Do you have some favorite hues that have worked out wonderfully for your casa? Any that were terrible that you’d love to warn others about? Let’s all help Meagan out by dishing the paint picking dirt.
Babs says
I noticed you guys use a lot of Benjamin Moore, which I know is a great quality brand, but what do you think of Valspar?
We recently chose a few of their colors (include River Mist, which is an amazing light blue for our spa-inspired bedroom), and were pretty happy with the coverage and tints. And I can’t remember off the top of my head what green we used in our guestroom, but it’s super cheerful! It totally makes people smile when they see it :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Babs,
We love tons of paint brands and Valspar is definitely one of them. In fact we recently began a super secret project and went with a Valspar color. Stay tuned…
xo,
s
Meredith says
I have a 75 year old house and I love the Benjamin Moore historical palette. Especially Powell Buff. My friends all laugh at my affection for this particular khaki beige color. Colors can also be mixed it in half strength, which is what I did for a dark hallway. It looks like the exact same color as the rest of the light filled house.
Meg says
on the paint quality question – we chose behr paints for our home because they rate very well on consumer reports (which is my husband’s pre-req for anything coming into the house!). i get lots of compliments on mochaccino (dining room), twig basket (living room), and sparkling spring (bedroom).
melissa @ den-designstudio says
I am a big blue and gray fan, so I would have to say Benjamin Moore’s Buxton Blue HC-149 and Pewter 2121-30 are two of my favorites.
I have also recently used and loved Glidden’s Burmese Beige.
Kim says
Awesome post. I haven’t had a terrible time picking out colors, but I love to see your suggestions. I esp. love the Harvest Tan color. I’ve been having an itch to go grey or greyge in our kitchen, this is a great start. =)
Lori H says
Most of the rooms in my home are painted in Benjamin Moore Manchester Tan or Bleeker Beige. The front entrance area is painted in an alternating stripe of the two colors. I’d rather have very neutral walls and change accessories than have to keep changing the wall color (I hate to paint). Our TV room is Martin Senour Bing Cherry (discontinued). My bedroom is a yummy grey blue by BM – Silver Cloud. All other light blues I picked looked baby blue. Thanks for listing all these great picks. I have to repaint my yellow kitchen so I’ll check out Hawthorne!
Consultant Calamities says
Great post. we love color in our house, too. This is our 3rd house and I’ve made a few mistakes in the past, but we just paint over them. I had a nice sage green we used in our previous house, in a bathroom. (maybe sounds odd for a bathroom but it looked GREAT in there, with the light in that bathroom.)
Tried it in the kitchen in this house. Ohhhh no, no no. it was BAD. Different sized walls, different layout, light was much different. Same color mixture, same BRAND but it looked MINT green here. bleechhhh! Repainted a nice light beige color and its much better.
Carol says
We are getting ready to repaint all over our home as well so this post is very handy. The last time anything was painted it was (unfortunately) during the “faux” phase so I have a red leather color in the dining room, a ‘Tuscan’ yellow-gold in the kitchen, a grey-green in the living room…and so on. You get the picture; everything is very jarring from room to room. I’ve acquired the BM color decks and some quarts and am working on going around and testing the colors in different rooms. I am going with much softer and more classic colors this time around and will let any punches of color come in through accessories (which are much cheaper and easier to change out). The one thing I have been consistant on over the years is the trim which is Benjamin Moore “Atrium White” which I still love.
tammylee says
make sure you prime well if you are painting over a dark color or even going in an opposite direction color wise with paint. using white primer always helps achieve the true hue the color was meant to be.
Rachel says
Dido on the BM Manchester Tan and Bleeker Beige. My all time favorite, can not mess it up, goes with everything is BM Shaker Beige. Even when I can’t afford the BM paint, I still use BM colors.
Alison says
This post could not have come at a better time. My husband and I just bought a house and we decided to paint every room in the house so I am currently looking for paint colors and I am not having any luck.
My current dilema is our new kitchen. It is a galley style kitchen with a large eating area that faces the backyard and has one wall of sliders and one wall of windows so it is really bright. The cabinets are white, but the counters are a horrible country blue corian. We don’t have enough money to do the counters right now so I am looking for a good wall color to coordinate with the counters, but would also go with black granite when we decide to do it. Suggestions?
I found some colors I just loved when we painted our condo, but would like to do something different in the house. Some of my favs from Benjamin Moore are Lenox Tan, Shaker Beige, Heavenly Blue and Sweet Caroline. Lewiville Green is a great color as well. Silver Sage and Latte from Restoration Hardware are both great colors as well.
Again, great post Sherry (& John)!
Alison
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Alison,
I would definitely try something in the sandy tan family for the walls since it looks lovely with blue and white but will still look crisp and classic with new black counters down the line. Hope it helps! Happy painting…
xo,
s
Becky says
Wow, that’s a LOT of paint samples! So many to choose from, it’s hard to narrow it down to just a few colors. My husband and I are currently building a new house, and I had no idea where to start, but this post really helped.
Amy says
We have used Valspar paint in most rooms in our house. We love (from the earth elements collection) a tan called “swoosh” and a beige called “whirlwind.”
We also found what I think is a perfect blue-gray color: behr’s rocky mountain sky. We used it in both our guest bathroom and our study because we liked it so much!
Also, Valspar does $5 rebates periodically at Lowes, usually on holiday weekends, so keep your eyes peeled!
Holly says
Thanks for the tips! Going tonight to check them out… can’t wait to see what you’ve got up your sleeve with those ceilings!!
kat says
Wow! This is a tremendously helpful post! Thanks!!!
Amanda says
I LOVE Restoration Hardware colors. They are perfectly colorful with a nice vintage, greyed down look. I love their Bay Laurel (green) and Sea Green (Blue-Green), just slightly darker than Silver Sage. A great yellow is Ralph Lauren’s Reisling. Nice color, but not overwhelmingly yellow. Also, a great brown is Benjamin Moore’s Raisin. It changes depending on the light and looks alive! Wonderful!
Keri R. says
This is such a great post!
My favorite darkish green is Behr Witch Hazel. We have it in our Bedroom and it looks great with the crisp white bedding and trim.
My favorite light blue is Benjamin Moore Woodlawn Blue. We painted the nursery this color because I wanted something that would be timeless! It certainly is. I am totally smitten with this color.
There are pictures in my blog of both of these rooms if you want to take a peek at the colors!
Liz says
What finish do you guys recommend?
When we moved into our new home this past September, we repainted every room – and we went with a matte finish. Now, 9 months later, some of the walls are looking a little dingy, and have accumulated some ugly fingerprints. I fear that we made a mistake going with the matte finish, but I don’t like the idea of glossy either!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Liz,
Good question! Flat paint is the best for hiding imperfections on your wall but it’s also the hardest to wipe (as opposed to semi-gloss which is oh so wipeable in a kitchen or bath). I’d suggest either using a Magic Eraser to get those flat-painted walls clean (if possible it’s the easiest solution) and if that fails I’d suggest an Eggshell or Satin finish for your next paint job (which is a happy medium between semi-gloss and flat). Hope it helps!
xo,
Sherry
Heather says
We love Behr’s Cottonfield as a great neutral. It’s a slightly creamy white that goes really nicely with our woodwork (we have gumwood trim and oak floors). We painted our entire first floor this color! Also, Home Depot has a sale on Behr paint every Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Heidi says
Love this post… I also have a hard time picking paint colors…so many to choose from and I have decorating ADD! I recently painted my kitchen Ben Moores Carrington Beige. It is the first paint color that I’ve picked that I actually like.. Now to talk my husband into repainting the rest of the house…. Hope this helps..
Rachel says
Deciding what brand of paint you’re going to use is an easy way to narrow it down. When we repainted everything last year we went with Yolo for it’s non-VOC properties. At the time they only had a handful of colors so that made it easier as well.
We used the feel of the room (bedroom= soothing, kitchen= energetic, etc) and the designers notebook to choose a couple of choices for each room. The notebook helped us see which colors would flow well into each other. We took home our poster sized wall swatches, hung them up and observed how the colors looked it the different lights of the day. From there we made our final choices. The house has all bright pastels and I absolutely love it AND Yolo paints.
Great topic!
Rachel says
Oh, and we get the most compliments on Water 03 in the bedroom and Grass 03 in my craft room. I *love* those colors!
YoungHouseLove says
Wow! Yolo paints sound fantastic Rachel- thanks so much for the tip. Can’t wait to give them a spin!
xo,
s
Dan says
When I first decided to paint my townhome, I used the blue tape and marked off squares on every wall in my home. Needless to say, I learned my lesson about the blue tape and it’s raised edges. I’ll never use blue tape again. After much debate, I chose Greenbrier Beige for my foyer and one short wall leading to the great room and for the walls leading upstairs and the upstairs hallway. I find GB very calming. I picked Nantucket Gray which is a green/gray mix for my great room and kitchen (no dividing wall to separate the two rooms). For the upstairs, I chose Weekend Getaway for the bedroom, who doesn’t need a getaway? For the bathroom I selected Nantucket Fog for the meteorologist in me and Conventry Gray for the second bathroom. What I love about paint is if you decide you’re not happy, it can be easily painted over.
Elizabeth says
This post is perfect since I have been debating all day what color to paint the nursery! Just like the writer of the email I have already made two mistakes in my color choice (one too light the other too dark) and had to go back to the paint store to get more samples. Choosing paint is so tricky!
I chose this bedding for our little boy’s nursery:
http://www.landofnod.com/family.aspx?c=167&f=633&fromLocation=WhatsNew&l=361
and am hoping to find a nice light green/sage color to complement. The room is small and has no windows so nothing too dark.
Anyone have suggestions? We are looking at Benjamin Moore paints since that is what I have access to.
Thanks!!
YoungHouseLove says
Elizabeth- Give Benjamin Moore’s Silver Sage a try (not to be confused with Restoration Hardware’s paint of the same name). Hope it helps!
Melissa- Speaking of Restoration’s Silver Sage, you’re exactly right- in many lights it looks gray-blue while it’s greeny-blue in others. I’ll add a little disclaimer next to it! Thanks for the note.
xo,
Sherry
Ann says
We recently moved in to a 1920 bungalow and went with Buckram Binding from the Sherwin Williams Arts and Crafts palette throughout the house. It’s a warm beige, and I am really happy with the color.
Melissa says
Thank you guys for posting this list…I’ve bookmarked it and will refer to it again and again, I’m sure!
I do have to argue with your classification of RH Silver Sage in the green category. I painted my entire great room in it. It is the most awesome color, and while it looks slightly green at night, I would classify it as a blue/gray color with some green undertones…just wanted to throw my 2 cents in there, in case anyone is thinking of choosing it.
Kim says
What a great post! My husband and I are in the process of buying a house and plan to paint almost every room. I have been comtemplating paint colors so these suggestions come at a perfect time.
christa says
I agree, this is a great post and gives a nice starting point when you’re faced with so many colors.
I, however, do the unthinkable and buy mis-tints and then mix them myself until I see something I like…
Mixing glosses doesn’t seem to matter but obviously stay latex w/latex, oil w/oil. Even if I know i’m going to use a ton of one color and tiny bit of another I still start with a 1/1 ratio and go from there. I’ll throw a streak of each mix up on the wall and write next to it in pencil 4 parts white, 1 part orange or whatever to keep track.
I have not yet run into any troubles doing this and end up with double the paint at half the price. Just make sure you mix enough for the job…I have never had too little but can’t imagine trying to match the color.
richard says
Hey Youngsters! LOVED this post! How about next, you let us in on the best colors to paint things– CABINETS especially–I just got my guy to agree to paint our orangey-cherry cabinets- and I’d like to do lighter uppers and darker lowers.
Again, GREAT post. A keeper, for sure!
erin says
do you guys have any experience with olympic premium paint? its sold at lowes, cheaper than valspar- and its low voc and has a green seal- so we were thinking of trying it.
we closed on our first home today, and i really want to use a color on the walls in the living room. any tips for a good citrusy-lime green paint- thats not neon or too muddy? for kind of an earthy-mod feel? our furniture is dark brown, going with white trim, with white textiles and a few orange accents for a bit of contrast. sorry, i may be asking for too much! lol.
YoungHouseLove says
We actually like Olympic paint but we have yet to pick up an updated paint deck of it since they switched a bunch of their colors! Trust me that it’s on our list. In the meantime, why not pick one of the green colors that we recommended above (Ben Moore’s Hibiscus would be lovely) and have it color matched to your Olympic paint? With brighter colors like green their color-matching technology should be spot-on. Hope it helps!
xoxo,
s
Mary says
I love Ralph Lauren Sisal as a neutral beige-ish wall color. It has a touch of green. Actually had it color matched at Sherwin Williams and they did a great job. My painter didn’t want to use RL b/c it is more expensive. Two years later, I still love it. I have Behr swan wing white for trim.
Barbara says
We want to paint our living room a crisp white and use pops of color in the accessories, so I will check out your recommended whites. For the built-in shelving, trim, and brick fireplace, would we use something like the Ultra Pure White (Behr)to provide a bit of contrast with the Cascade White (Behr)? My husband can’t stand yellow undertones, so I’m afraid of trying the creams. Thanks for your patience with me!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Barbara,
One of the reasons we love a soft tan, grey, or cream tone on the walls is because the crisp white trim will pop and show off the architecture, but if you’re definitely set on white walls I’d keep the trim and the built-ins the same exact white tone because you don’t want to worry about clashing whites (some have blue undertones while others have warmer golden ones and it can become a sticky situation!). Hope it helps…
xo,
Sherry
Jon says
The individuals commenting are wisely focused on color selection. Using Benjamin Moore color samples and retail store advisors / consultants is also wise given their focus on customers seeking high quality and colors that create and sustain the ambiance wanted.
However the choice of paint brands mistifies me. Beher, Valspar, Sherman Williams paints are made to achieve a price advantage for the major chain stores and high volume building contractors. Price is the driving force and quality as a result can be deminished. BJ paints will take one coat to cover walls. The other brands several. Since labor is a major component of any paint project ( yours or the contract painter) do not be fooled by lower price.
I meet to many people who used Benjamin Moore, tried others and come back. The testimonial are endless.
Colour yes, high quality yes, value yes.
beth says
when in doubt, avail yourself of pre-coordinated color palettes. there are generally no “good” or “bad” colors apart from your personal preferences, but tones in the colors you choose may clash. for instance, you may have picked a lovely, warm cream color, but it looks awful with your light blue because it’s much pinker (or yellower, or whatever) than it looked on its own. colors are influenced by the colors around them: you need to pick colors that play well together.
Jess says
I love, love, love Behr Brown Tepee. Have used it throughout two houses now, and love that it’s very neutral but warm. Can’t go wrong with Behr!!
Lisa says
Yelp!
Sherry, I recently found your blog and LOVE. IT. I have decorating anxiety disorder (D.A.D., often most severe in newlyweds…) and have found you youngsters have the right prescription! Just catching up on the achieves.
So I fell in love with a very dark color for my cozy little boudoir, Behr’s Deep Garnet(shocking!). I still love me the color, but something’s not working. I could use some tips/encouragement/suggestions from anyone who has ventured in to the “dark side” of the paint spectrum….
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Lisa,
Our advice for using deeper paint shades would be to layer layer layer (you don’t want people to walk in and be slapped in the face with the paint, you want the furnishings and the textiles and the materials and the accessories to work with the paint to create a cohesive and welcoming vibe). By breaking up the dark walls with art and mirrors and using lighter rugs, pillows, and lots of soft lighting you’ll create a balanced little jewel box instead of something a bit too bold to stomach. Happy decorating!
xo,
s
Linda Paul says
Thanks Sherry. These are great color suggestions. I especially like the Behr harvest brown. Keep up the good work
Angie says
Help Help Help!
Need a Kelly Moore paint white suggestion for kitchen cabinets. My in-laws own a construction company and are graciously letting us charge our paint on the company account at Kelly Moore.
Any suggestions would be most appreciated.
Best,
Angie
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Angie,
We actually don’t have a Kelly Moore paint deck on us, but we’ve heard great things about “White Dove” so I’d definitely give it a go. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Angie says
Thanks Sherry. I have to pick it tonight, so I appreciate your quick response!
Angie
Carlos says
Hi,
I live in an apartment and want to change the look of one of the bathrooms it has pink tile floors, the wals have black tile with with accents and go half way up, the counter if pink with grey flakes. What color should I paint the rest of the wall and the ceiling to make the room look fresh and relaxing? anyone have suggestions?
Thanks,
Carlos
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Carlos,
I think a soft cloud-gray will work with the tones you have going on in there (a very subtle shade so it’s not like concrete- much more like the light streaming through a cloud- try Benjamin Moore’s Light Pewter or Horizon). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Catherine says
Help! Moving into a new apartment this weekend and I have between now and 8 am tomorrow to select a color and buy paint for my bedroom. The floors are a beautiful, medium warm hardwood, white trim around the windows and a pretty white painted fireplace on one wall. I have the Pottery Barn Indian Peacock bedspread. What do you recommend for a wall color? I’m leaning towards some kind of neautral…whether that is beige, tan, greige…just not sure what’s going to look the best! Also, and this is a kicker, it HAS to be Sherwin Williams paint.
THANK YOU!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Catherine,
I think you’re definitely right to lean towards a beige tan or greige. Try Ancient Marble by Sherwin Williams. Beautiful!
xo,
s
Catherine says
Thank you. I’ll definitely look it up and probably take the plunge (I don’t really have a choice, do I?). And by some twist of fate I landed on your site and I just moved to Richmond. Irony! Thanks again.
Katie says
Hi —
Loving your website — you have so many great ideas…it’s making me think of many exciting transformations to happen around the house this summer!!
I’m thinking I want a relatively quick fix for my bathroom … the flooring is a whiteish-cream tile with a tan colour bathtub — the wood vanity is painted a tan colour and so is the wood on the bottom half of the one wall — I want to repaint the wood and take off the ugly wallpaper and paint the walls — any suggestions for some colours to make the small bathroom seem more clean and open?
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Katie,
Any number of the colors listed above will be lovely, from some soft blues or greens to some soft sand tones. Our advice would be to print out our list and hit up the paint store and bring back a bunch of swatches to look at in the space. Happy hunting…
xo,
s
Andrea says
Do you guys know the paint company website where you can download your own photo and change up the colors or “paint” via the internet?? I know I’ve used it before, but cannot find it now and don’t remember the name of the company…thanks for your help!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Andrea,
Many paint companies now offer that service (we’re fairly certain Behr and Benjamin Moore both have those capabilities on their sites among others). They’re usually called “virtual paint selecting” or “virtual room rendering”- hope it helps!
xo,
s
Susan says
I just came across your blog and Love it. We are finally moving into a 50’s ranch we bought a year and a half ago, (we’ve been waiting for our house to sell and it finally did!) and will need much paint. I have most of the inside paint colors picked out (BM Golden straw is a fav.) but can’t decide what to paint the outside. It is a barn red right now and too dark. We were leaning towards a green but now thinking something more tan/neutral/earth toned. We live in the Pacific Northwest and it is gray here much of the year. I don’t want a gray color. I want something that will make me smile, something cheerful. Any suggestions?
thanks,
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Susan,
When it comes to picking outdoor colors you definitely want to paint big 2′ x 2′ swatches to see how the sun effect the colors that you choose before deciding which one suits your fancy. Something tan would be lovely with crisp white trim (if our house wasn’t brick that would be our scheme). Maybe try something like Benjamin Moore’s Ashen Tan? Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Megan says
I am loving your blog and your house as well. We are moving into a ranch-style house built in the 60’s that has brick only half the way up the house. The rest is stucco. I would do tan with white trim like you if it didn’t have the brick… wondering what you would do if your house was half brick and half stucco? I want a red door for sure and thinking black trim, just not sure on body of house. White, cream or tan???? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Megan,
Ooh we have an idea. Do a red door (Valspar’s Fabulous Red) with black shutters and use a creamy tan tone for your trim and your stucco (we have an addition off the back of the house (see it on the back left in the header?) and it’s Valspar’s Lyndhurst Tan which we love. It’s creamy and soft but not blindingly white, so it works with the brick and the red door and the black shutters. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Megan says
Thanks so much for your input. I will check it out. Hadn’t thought of having the stucco and the trim the same color. I guess I would be concerned that it would look too drab, but that’s the reason I asked you! A pro : ).
Vanessa says
I know this is an older post but…our house was damaged in one of the recent storms and due to water damage…our full (guest) bathroom is being re-drywalled and painted after the demo is complete. So…since they have to repaint why not switch from the builder tan/white color that is currently in there right?! ..except I cant decide on what would look good. The bathroom has white wall tile, neutral beige floor tile, countertops that we’ll eventually replace and no window in the bathroom so while I want a noticeable color..nothing too too dark. The colors in our home now are Cliff Rock, Cornerstone, Blue Fox, and Bison Brown (all Behr)….the wall nearest the outside of the bathroom is Cliff Rock. The demo starts tomorrow…any paint advice would be much appreciated!! Thanks :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Vanessa,
You could bring a bit of color into your bathroom and then do a softer shade of that color (slide down on the color swatch) when it comes to the bedroom. Or you could go lighter in the bathroom and slide up for a darker tone that complements it in the bedroom. Perhaps a gray-blue or a soft sagey-green. Even a warm wheat or toffee tone is richer than the old builder beige. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Vanessa says
Sherry,
Thanks so much. I was thinking a tan, wheat or toffee…but I have no idea which color would complement cliff rock and not clash with it. We have repainted several times due to my poor color choices (my poor bf) If you have a specific color in mind do-tell…maybe it would be one less room to repaint! Thanks again!!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Vanessa,
No specific color in mind since you’ll have to hold swatches up with all of your existing colors to ensure that they all work together in your space with your light. Something that looks tan to me in my house with my lighting could look purple-ish in your house (ick!) so it’s hard for me to recommend something specific to work with all the colors you already have going on. Hope it helps! Just bring home a bunch of swatches and go to town (and remember to check how they look morning noon and night). Happy hunting…
xo,
s
Catherine says
Hi y’all,
I’m back for some more paint advice. I ended up going with Ancient Marble for my bedroom, although I haven’t actually seen it yet since the painters finished. I also wanted a recommendation for my small bathroom. The vanity, toilet and bathtub are all white and currently the walls are white too, which is awfully medicinal and stark. I was considering blue but don’t want it to feel really tropical or beachy. I would like it to feel bigger than it is, since the space is pretty small, and medium in darkness level (as in, I want you to be able to see that it’s a color and not just a blueish hue of white).
It needs to be Sherwin Williams too! I love Meriweather Gray from Ben Moore, but need to go with SW to appease my landlord.
Thanks for your help!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Catherine,
Glad to hear that Ancient Marble worked out. I’d try Glass Bead by Sherwin Williams for the bathroom. It’s a soft and subtle gray-blue tone like a cloudy sky. Not too beachy or pastel-baby-boy’s-room, and it’ll really make things feel airy and light. Hope it helps!
xo,
s