A color scheme for a whole house! See paint colors in real spaces in this home tour full of lovely, nature-inspired neutrals with touches of blues and greens.
I think the most common question I am asked on the blog and social media is what paint color I used in any given space. Actually, it’s the most common question I am asked in person, too (regarding interior design, that is). Paint colors can be hard, and they obviously set the tone for the whole house. So today I want to share a complete paint color home tour: warm and cool neutrals plus some nature-inspired greens and blues that all flow together beautifully.
As you will quickly see, this is not our current home. These are the colors used in our last house: our 1940 colonial in the city. You can tour the complete before and after here if you are interested. That post also includes links to the various projects and room makeovers, so be sure to go visit if you have questions.
Before I go through the colors, I want to make three observations:
How trim color affects wall paint choices
First, this home’s original interior trim color was very creamy yellow. It made it tricky to pick wall colors… So if you have a cream colored trim, this is an especially great resource for you. However, all these colors look lovely with true white trim, too (I know because I have used some in my current home where the trim is white and because we did use true white in some of the rooms as we udpated the home).
How light affects wall paint
Second, you may notice that most of my pictures look quite a bit lighter than the color swatch. I think there are two reasons for that: first, the paint swatch color is taken from the paint manufacturer’s website (which in this case happens to be all Sherwin Williams). It is the screen color they have assigned totheir pigment, but it does not account for light reflecting off an actual paint swatch or painted wall.
Second,all colorstake on variations as they are found in different lights, and since I usually take pictures with plenty of sunlight streaming in, you can expect the colors to be on the lighter side.
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How to test Paint Colors
I always recommend testing colors in the actual space where you intend to use them. Even after doing this job foryears, I still bring paint samples into each space and watch them at different times of day before making a decision.
I’ve never had a problem with paint swatches all over my walls, but I realize that’s sometimes inconvenient. And due to challenges in getting paint samples these days, I am excited to share a better option.
Samplize will send you a reusable peel and stick sheet made with real paint. It allows you to move the sample around in the room to catch the different lights. I hope you find this tool as helpful as I have!
Get your peel and stick paint samples here.
Ok, with all that administrative observation out of the way, here is a run down of our last home by paint colors.
A whole house color scheme
The exterior was painted in Ellie Gray (SW 7650) by Sherwin Williams with Extra White trim and Tricorn Black accents.
Our entry, stairwell, hallway, living room, and dining room were painted in Barcelona Beige (SW 7530). If you like warmer neutrals that are dark enough to provide contrast with trim butlight enough to keep your space feeling bright, this is a great choice.
The longer we lived in the house, though, the more I was drawn back to my natural inclination of cooler colors. So I used Dorian Gray (SW 7017) in the library.
And for a touch of drama, we used Gauntlet Gray (SW 7019) in the upstairs office.
The kitchen, butler’s pantry, and laundry room receivedone of my favorite greiges, Colonnade Gray (SW 7641).
My daughter’s nursery got a slightly lighter (and perhaps a touch warmer) neutral called Agreeable Gray (SW 7029). I loved it so much that I used it as the main color in our new home. See more about Agreeable Gray here.
The downstairs playroom/sunroom and themaster bedroomwere both finished with Aesthetic White (SW 7035). This color is quite the chameleon – it looked cool against our cream colored trim but gave the rooms a soft, warm glow overall. I think it can be an excellent choice when you are working with tricky colored trim. Bonus:I used lots of Dovetail (SW 7018) for accents (like the gray armoire in the sunroom and my interior window trim in the master bedroom). It is one of my favorites!
We painted our master bath with Krypton (SW 6247). I think I may need to use this one again… It’s one of my favorites, too.
And the boys’ room and bathroom received Silvermist (SW 7621).
And that’s it. 9 serene, nature-inspired neutrals for you that you can mix and match as you please. Remember, for more details on any of these rooms (and links to many more pictures if you’d like to see more angles) can be found in the before and after tour of this home.
Happy painting!
