When you buy a new house, it’s only natural to want to put your mark on it. And what better way to do that than a fresh coat of paint? I’m giving you a tour inside our Riverdale Ranch, and sharing our paint color scheme throughout the whole house to help you visualize those abstract paint swatches and make decisions.
Among the first 5 things I recommend doing after closing on your home is painting. Interior, exterior, doesn’t matter. But fresh paint can do just the trick to make that house you bought feel like home.
Or maybe you’ve been tolerating paint in your home for a while because you were too overwhelmed by color choices to make a change. I’m here to share a neutral paint color scheme to help you pull together the most important part of home decor- paint!
Starting at the front door (which yes, I also painted), and moving throughout my home I will share each paint color and sheen in every room of the house.
Don’t have time to read the whole post now? Pin it here to safely save it for later 🙂
Front Door
Although you can choose to paint your front door any color, a wood door is classic. You may think you are out of luck if you don’t have a wooden door already, but I found a hack. Using a combination of paint and gel stain, you can get a faux wood look finish that rivals the real deal.
For a full tutorial and direct supply links, you can find the dedicated post here. The paint color you apply first is Glazed Pecan by Behr, then a layer of Minwax gel stain in the color Walnut.
Yes, your neighbors may think you are crazy after the first coat of burnt orange Glazed Pecan goes on to dry, but I promise you the finished product is worth the funny middle.
Entryway
Once you walk in the front door, you enter our small entryway space. I decided to go with black interior doors in this space to add some contrast.
Tricorn Black by Sherwin Williams is the perfect shade of black in my opinion, and looks great on the interior doors. Painting doors is a fun way to add color and contrast affordably, and rather easily. If you have never painted doors before, or want to make sure you are doing it efficiently, you can find the dedicated post here.
Dining Room
Our dining room has been through two phases of remodeling. It started as a purple room with no wall molding, and has ended with a much more neutral color pallet with custom picture frame molding that gives the room a more “formal” feel.
Phase one included the first coat of paint and introduction of custom second hand furniture that went through a refinishing process. The second phase was the addition of the custom picture frame molding, installed myself without the use of power tools.
Above the chair rail, I painted the walls Agreeable Gray by Benjamin Moore. Below the chair rail, I went with a warm white- Alabaster by Sherwin Williams. The color of the molding is also Alabaster. All the trim and white doors in the house are painted Alabaster as well.
For all the walls, I chose an Eggshell finish (or sheen). For more information about paint sheens, I wrote a dedicated post regarding all the details you need to consider when choosing a finish and tools.
Kitchen
Our kitchen has beautiful wooden cabinets that I can’t believe I ever considered painting. Luckily, I came to my senses and appreciated the wooden cabinets for their warm natural beauty. I even summed up 5 reasons NOT to paint your wooden cabinets.
Now just because I am glad I kept the wood tones in our kitchen, doesn’t mean that is the stain color I would have personally chosen. It’s a bit orange. But luckily, you can tone down different shades with wall paint. Here’s how…
I thought about painting the kitchen white with Alabaster, but learned that may exacerbate the orange tones in the wood. In contrast, gray chilled out the orange. So I chose to paint the kitchen walls Agreeable Gray. The mix of warm and cool tones in the kitchen in perfect. The cabinets and counters bring in warmth, while the cool walls and floors help to balance them out. Choosing paint should be all about bringing balance to elements you can’t change.
Paint Color Scheme: Sunroom
The sunroom started out pastel green when we moved in. There is nothing wrong with green, and I love to decorate with organic accents. But in the sunroom, I wanted all the natural greens from the outside gardens and rose bushes to be the star of the show. So I chose to paint our sunroom white with Alabaster.
Living Room
The living room is a perfect example of another room I embraced not only contrast, but also the advice that every room should have a touch of black. I painted the mantle and french door Tricorn Black just like the doors in the nearby entryway. (And added black electrical tape to the window panes on the right… don’t tell!)
The brick fireplace was painted Alabaster, along with all the trim. The walls are Agreeable Gray, which I think goes beautifully with the dark wood floors in this room.
Hallway
Our home actually has three different types of flooring- the dark Luxury Vinyl Planking in the entryway, dining room and living room, tile in the kitchen and bathrooms, and a lighter ceramic wood look tile in the hallway and bedrooms.
At first, I planned to paint the entire house Agreeable Gray since it looked so good in the entryway, dining room, kitchen and living room. However, what I didn’t consider was how the different color flooring would affect the way the paint looked on the walls. They talk about undertones, and I was able to see and understand that firsthand.
I started painting these hallway walls Agreeable Gray, and I swear they looked green. I thought the paint was somehow mixed differently than the first batches I used in the rest of the house. I couldn’t figure out why the color looked COMPLETELY different here. Until I thought about the different flooring and lighting.
This is why it is so important to sample paint in the actual rooms you plan to use it in, and not just assume it looks good based on a swatch. I have written about this process more in depth here to help you make sure you will be happy with your paint selection!
After sampling more colors in the hallway and bedrooms, I chose Asiago by Valspar. This isn’t a color I had heard a lot about, but loved the creamy warmth it added.
Paint Color Scheme: Bathrooms
The bathrooms extend off of the hallway and the master bedroom. I decided to continue Asiago into these rooms and created a great neutral slate from which to work and add color in accent walls and decorative details.
I tried my hand at my first accent wall in the guest bathroom, and created a board and batten wall. To bring some color and contrast with the pink/purple floor tile (that I did not intend to change at the time), I chose to paint it green. Regan at The Blooming Nest loves Pigeon by Farrow & Ball. I tried it in this space, and agree that it’s a great earthy green/gray color.
Bedrooms
The bedrooms have the same light brown wood-look floors, so Asiago it was. I carried this paint color in from the hallway, and bathrooms as well.
Garage Entry
Finally, the last black door! In total, I painted five interior doors black. So don’t feel like you have to jump in and paint them all. It’s ok to choose just a few to add contrast here and there. This door is painted Tricorn Black as well, with Alabaster trim and Agreeable Gray walls.
Paint Color Scheme: Garage
Paint brought color and life to two different spaces in our garage. Because of the large and rough surface area, I decided to try a paint sprayer for the first time! You can learn all about the pros and cons of using a paint sprayer, as well as a tutorial if it’s something you are interested in trying.
I chose Cyberspace by Sherwin Williams for the cabinets and shelf wall, and Alabaster for the peg wall and other white walls.
Exterior
Once I realized the power of paint, no surface was safe from my brush. Our exterior siding was a blue-gray color that honestly clashed with the red and brown brick. I craved crisp, white walls. So I painted our exterior as well!
I sampled quite a few shades of white, and ultimately chose Alabaster on these exterior walls as well. I had the color mixed at Sherwin Williams, and chose a Satin finish in their exterior paint line to ensure durability. If you are ever in doubt, you can always ask the paint specialists for their advice on what products to use.
Paint colors are the most asked questions I get on Instagram and Pinterest, so I’m happy to share a dedicated post outlining the paint color schemes in every room. Choosing a paint color for a room can feel overwhelming, much less trying to organize a scheme for your entire home.
My advise is to start out neutral, then as you live in a space longer and are able to personalize it, you can always paint rooms bolder colors later.
