Paint Colors: 101 The Neutrals

The most frequent design question that I am asked is "What color should I paint my walls?".  So often, the first challenge I am faced with tackling upon beginning a design project is bad wall color. Generally the walls are some shade of yellow, often what I like to refer to as suntan pantyhose.  Other times, I'm faced with that super stylish "Tuscan inspired" burnt red or textured wall that a designer before me convinced my client was the way to go.  It's not...I assure you. 

Paint is the fastest and least expensive way to create change, drama and impact in your space.  You can use paint to simply create a style statement with your choice of color, introduce texture with a treatment such as Venetian plaster or create design such as bold horizontal stripes as I discussed in my last post...the list goes on and on.  

Since selecting a palette of paint colors is what people seem to find so challenging, I wanted to address the issue and share my personal faves in a series of posts.  In this post, I have included my favorite neutrals from pale cream to dark and dramatic.

The Neutrals

•  Benjamin Moore Paint Color: Pismo Dunes.  Love, love, love this color.  Enough said.

Benjamin Moore Pismo Dunes

• Benjamin Moore Paint Color: Hot Springs Stones

Benjamin Moore Paint Color: Hot Springs Stone

• Benjamin Moore Paint Color: Muslin.  The perfect shade of Cream.

Muslin Painted walls in one of our Dining Room designs.

Deep, Dark and Dramatic

• Restoration Hardware Paint Color: Chocolate  Hands down the best chocolate brown paint color out there.  So gorgeous and  fabulous with Ben Moore Super White Trim.  Get daring and paint your ceiling chocolate too and you will thank me.  If you are afraid to paint an entire living room or dining room, paint your Powder Room walls and ceiling too.  Instant drama. 

Restoration Hardware Paint Color: Chocolate

Restoration Hardware Chocolate paint in a dining room we designed.

• C2 Paint Color: Saddle.  Saddle is a gorgeous deep taupe.  C2 Paint has the most unique shades. The center of this wall in former studio, below, is painted Saddle.

C2 Paint: Saddle

• Sherwinn Williams Paint Color: Mink.  The name makes me love this color even more.  Sort of gray, sort of taupe, a touch of purple...whatever...it's fabulous.

Sherwinn Williams Paint Color: Mink

Sherwinn Williams Paint Color: Mink in a home we designed.

• Restoration Hardware Paint Color: Graphite.  We recently discovered this beautiful shade of gray and used it in a Master Bedroom project we recently featured on the blog. 

Restoration Hardware Paint Color: Graphite

 

Rachel Hazelton is an Interior Designer from Middleton, MA with design projects in Andover, MA, North Andover, MA, Lynnfield, MA, Boxford, MA, Topsfield, MA, Boston's North Shore and throughout New England.