I’m joining Melissa over at 320 Sycamore for a paint party today, so I’ll be sharing my favorite paint colors. Since I have many colors in my house, I guess I would have to consider them my favorite, at least for the moment. Like many of you, I’ve been through all sorts of trends with paint colors over the years, but I’ve been really happy with the choices I made in this house. It has not come without trial and error, believe me.
I did a post last year about Choosing the Perfect Paint color, and if you read that, you will notice that I don’t claim to have the perfect paint colors nor is there a sure-fire way to pick the right one, other than that trial and error thing I mentioned above. It sure helps to have blogs out there now so that you can see a paint color in an actual room and know at a glance whether it might be something you could love yourself. So, that has helped me a lot over the years too.
But, one thing I did stress in the above post is this: you must test out a paint color in YOUR home to find out if it will work for you. I have painted over bathrooms 3 times trying to get that “perfect in my head” shade that I was looking for, so just because it looks great on a paint chip OR for that matter, in someone else’s home, doesn’t mean it will work perfectly for you. That’s always my disclaimer with paint when I’m helping someone choose a paint for their space. It can be a tricky process, to say the least. So, if you want more info about choosing paint, read that post from last year for lots more particulars on the subject.
Today, I’m going to share the paint colors in my house and how they’ve worked for me.
Above: on the left is Sherwin Williams Whole Wheat, which is the main color I’ve used throughout my common area. On the right is the newly painted dining room with Sherwin Williams Antique White. I’ve used 4 colors off that Whole Wheat color strip and it’s worked out very well for our home.
Another shot of Whole Wheat. I have really enjoyed this color a lot and it goes with so many fabrics and colors. A nice backdrop for everything.
In the upstairs guestbath, I used the darker shade on that strip, Camelback. It has more depth and is a bit darker for this smaller bathroom.
Another shot of Camelback.
And downstairs in the den, I used Believable Buff, again on that same color strip by Sherwin Williams. I’d highly recommend this strip.
In our master bedroom, I used Sherwin Williams Blonde. Sometimes in certain light, it looks really yellow, other times it just has a nice warm glow. It’s worked well with all my fabrics in that room too.
Blonde looking out to the livingroom with Whole Wheat. This is with no lights on, so it’s taking on a strange tone in this pic.
Kitchen has Laura Ashley Olive 4, which I loved so much in my old kitchen, I brought it over here too. It has quite a bit of yellow and I love this color. If you pick up a chip of this and look at it, you will swear it’s not the same color, since the chip looks so drab.
Downstairs guestbath is Ben Moore, Wedgewood Gray. This is the bath that I painted 3 times til I got the right color. Blues can be SO hard to get right. It’s still hard to really capture this color on camera too, as it is not quite as gray as it looks here.
And the beachy guestroom is painted with Sherwin Williams Rainwashed. It was actually a little more gray than I wanted after I got it finished, since this room gets hardly any natural light, only one window. So I colorwashed over it with an aqua I had around that just gave it a little more brightness. Again, this color is not accurate, it’s more lively than this in real life.
And, the laundry room is done in Behr Grasscloth (at Home Depot). I’ve really enjoyed this color and added it on one wall of my office nook as well.
Trim colors:
Several have asked me before about my white trim paint. It was here when we moved in and I was not about to change it. I took a small little piece and matched it to Lowes Anthem White and it matches my existing color perfectly. I might have picked a little more creamy white if I was choosing from scratch, but the good thing about a brighter white is, it looks great with any color on the wall and makes color pop out.
Other great trim colors that I’ve heard about: Sherwin Williams: Dove White
Benjamin Moore: Decorators White, White Dove, Linen White
So, that’s a wrap up of my favorite paint colors. I left out a couple of my rooms, but these are the main ones. So hop on over the party if you are looking to make some paint changes. You may be inspired by a pic to choose a whole new color for your home! I know I sure love to see what a paint color looks like before I even buy a sample. It helps to see the pic and then I always, always recommend buying a sample quart to test it out in YOUR home before you buy a gallon.
Happy painting!
Great post Rhoda! It's funny how many of us have chosen strips of SW colors to coordinate our rooms! I love your choices.
i just so love browsing your page.. Thanks! 🙂
Hi Rhoda,
I love SW Whole Wheat, that is in my living room and dining room, it is a wonderful warm neutral. Your rooms are gorgeous.
LeAnn:)
I've used a lot of Blonde in our new house. I picke dit just for the hubs b/c he wanted "yellow." and he says he doens't like it. He really did want crayon yellow! My other choices are Sherwin Williams Rain and Cay.
I just wanted you to know that I mention you in my blog post tonight! I joined Kelly over at Kelly's Korner for her Show us where you live! I love your blog and so does my mother!! You were her inspiration for her office space!!
g'day Rhoda
nice post, love coming here for inspiration though hmmmm white is the one for me with colour but I love that grey and I have a utility room that I am about to paint and you made me go out there take a look and think about painting a feature wall in a soft grey
pondering…
sarah
HI Rhoda. Thanks for sharing your colors! Love them all! And your house looks very lovely.
Hi Rhoda ~~ I have to tell you that we are in middle of painting three rooms downstairs and I am having a hard time deciding on colors. I was looking at Whole Wheat and Cardboard and all of the colors on that chip. Ended up choosing Latte, another SW color. Now I need to get a color chosen for the family room. Your home is so inspiring! I love all of the light that you have and the tall ceilings. Gorgeous!
Becky
I love the wedgewood gray. Thanks for sharing your paint colors.
Thank you girls!
Aguhmom/Patti, hope you stop back by here, I am just getting around to answering all the questions. That's a corbel you see in the pic between DR and LR. I brought those with me and installed them up there with Liquid Nails, then used caulk to fill in around the edges. The crown molding you see was all here when we bought the house, thank goodness!
You have awesome colors in your home. I have actually been looking for that grey blue that you have. I was thinking of painting my room that color. Its lovely. Nice taste. Thanks for sharing
Rhoda,
I loved your Master Bedroom color so much that I re-did my room in the very same color!! Needless to say, I love it very much! Thank you so much for the inspiration!
Cindy
Love your colors Rhoda! My kitchen green is very similar. Very refreshing colors!
~Misti
The bulk of my main living area is Believably Buff… It is the perfect neutral and it doesn't have the pinky-skin undertone.
One of my favorite blues I used for my master bath and laundry room is Icelandic, by SW. AMAZING color- I get so many compliments on it. It is very crisp and clean, yet very versatile. I have a spa thing going on with it in the bathroom and a beachy feel above white beadboard in the laundry room. If you are every looking for a good blue I highly recommend this one.
Hi Rhoda!
I have Whole Wheat in my kitchen, foyer, hallway, and guest bathroom. Eventually, I will paint my kitchen in a green. I’m trying to decide do I go a little warmer in the living room. I have vaulted ceilings, open floor plan and I get a nice amount of sunlight. What would be the way to go? I plan on using the strip that has Whole Wheat. My furniture is brown/leather as well as the dining table. It was nice to see what the colors look like. Nice home.
Thank you so much for this post. I have purchased about 50 containers of sample paint trying to find the right color. I am going with the Whole Wheat all over the house and the Camelback as an accent wall in another room. I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU for sharing!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks! You’ve helped. I am looking at Blonde for my Living Rm.
Hi there. I love this post! I like the Whole Wheat color you chose. Would you do the same in the kitchen? Or what would you recommend?
Thank you!
Hi Rhoda – I just moved into a new house and the trim and wainscot in the keeping room kitchen is painted Camelback. The walls are painted a Blue color. I want to change the walls to a shade of green. I like the green you had in one of your rooms, but not sure it would work?
I am wanting to paint my laundry room, small bathroom and our gameroom which do not have very much light in any of those rooms. My kitchen and a hallway are painted BM Kittery Point Green and the LR/DR and BM Desert Tan. I am thinking of painting the three earlier mentioned rooms a SW Buff. Because of the formula mixture, SW does not recommend a sample can – only a full gallon will give you the correct shade. What should I expect from the SW Buff?
HI, Wynette, I would go ahead with a sample quart of Believeable Buff. I have never heard of them saying that it can’t be done in that size. I always do that for my sample. Believeable Buff is a nice yellow-toned chamois shade.