One Room Challenge Week 2: Choosing a Nursery Paint Color

1 room. 8 weeks. Countless DIYers coming together to encourage and inspire. Welcome to the One Room Challenge! Keep reading to discover the sage green nursery paint color I chose as I transform our guest room into a timeless gender neutral nursery.

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This spring I am transforming our guest room into a nursery for our first baby. We are not finding out gender, so I need to keep it neutral! My vision is a sage green pain color on the walls in some capacity, but there are so many options.

I’ve been here before though, and I know I will make the right choice. I have a foolproof step by step paint sampling process that hasn’t failed me yet! I have painted not only every interior wall of our Riverdale Ranch, but also trim, doors, furniture and exterior. One more room shouldn’t be too hard…

As I mentioned last week during the planning phase, I am using a beautiful vintage Turkish rug in the nursery. It’s often easier to start with a rug or piece of art as a color pallet first, then choose a coordinating paint color. It’s much harder to choose a paint color first, then try and find decor to match.

Choosing a Nursery Paint Color

So with this in mind, I will be making sure the sage green paint color I choose works well with the rug! I collected over 20 different physical paint swatches to test in the space. Keep in mind, you will have to go to different places to collect samples of colors from different brands. I.e.- Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore, Valspar (Lowe’s), Behr (Home Depot), Magnolia (Ace), etc.

To properly sample paint, you should always compare the paint color against a pure white background. I purchased white foam board and painted a large swatch of my paint color finalists. Once dried, I moved the sample board around the room to see how light changes at different times throughout the day.

Looking for links? All of the nursery furnishings can be found here!

Painting your samples against a white background also gives you the truest representation of the color, and any undertones. Sometimes, painting a sample right on the wall first may be affected by the color beneath it.

Nursery Paint Color: Evergreen Fog

The front runner was Sherwin William’s color of the year (2022), Evergreen Fog. It is a cool green, which means it has blue undertones instead of yellow. It also pulls a bit gray when the room is not filled with natural light.

Most of the time, if you are hearing and seeing a lot of hype about a paint color (i.e. it’s the “color of the year”), there is probably a reason! No shame in going with a tried and true color.

Evergreen Fog is definitely a “chameleon color”, meaning it picks up different tones depending on the lighting throughout the day. It is a change for me, and is the first paint color in our home to lean toward the “dark and moody” side, without being too dark!

According to color psychology, the color green is associated with nature. It is refreshing, calming and signifies health. These characteristics make green a perfect choice for a nursery!

Image Source: Loveremodeled.com

As for Evergreen Fog specifically, it pairs well with earthy neutral tones. Some coordinating color options are listed above. As far as decor, the paint color goes well with creamy neutrals, warm wood, and gold metal. Perfect for the rest of the elements I have planned in the space!

I am not painting the entire wall (floor to ceiling) Evergreen Fog. I decided to keep the top half painted Valspar Asiago. However, to make the nursery feel larger and richer I decided to paint the trim and doors Evergreen Fog as well. It’s a bold move, but I don’t regret it one bit.