All The Paint Colors in Our House (and why paint colors you see online might look different in person!)
April 6, 2021
Have you ever spotted a paint color you love online and tried it in person and it doesn’t look the same? There are so many reasons this could happen. We get asked several hundred times a day “What paint color is that?!,” so we thought it would be fun to do a complete post with all the paint colors & sheens in our entire house listed on the photos to serve as a pinnable reference point.
We try really hard to make our photos as true to life as possible, but here are a few reasons why the color may vary in your house.
1. Lighting. Natural light (The direction the room faces) or light bulb color.
2. If the photographer used any sort of filter.
3. The color of the other things in the space. Carpet/flooring is a big one. Accents like hardware can also affect cabinet paint color.
4. Your phone/monitor calibration/white balance while looking at a color online.
5. Percentages of paint color. Sometimes you love the tone of a paint color, but you want it a little lighter. You can ask the paint counter to mix it at XX%. We (and most people who share their paint colors) always tell you if we don’t go full strength with a paint color, but it’s definitely a factor.
6. Time of day the photo was taken.
7. Using a different sheen.
8. Wall texture or surface paint is used on.
NOW ONTO THE PAINT COLORS!! You can pin these or reference this article in the future. As a note:
SW= Sherwin Williams BM= Benjamim Moore F&B=Farrow & Ball
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Love everything you do! Question about the bolder colors: would you have chosen the bolder paint colors in the exposed main level rooms (for example the piano room) of the room had been much larger? We are getting ready to move into a home with two huge long and narrow living room and dining room and cannot decide whether to be neutral or bold. Planning to use loloi rugs either way!
I would say Faye’s room is much larger and we did a bold color in there. I just really like to keep it to a pocket of room, but yes!
Handy to have them all in one place, such gorgeous colours!!
Question about the dark rooms… Do you paint 2 coats or is one enough? You’ve inspired me to use dark colors! Will the second coat make the paint look darker?
Paint colors don’t get darker with more coats you add. They only get more solid. We generally do 2
Thank you for the reply! This was such a great post.
Is the front door of your house also Graphite Matte BM?
no, it’s wood
Your home is an inspiration!
I am following along for a really long time all the way from Zurich, Switzerland.
We live in a 2-bedroom apartment with 5 kids and we don’t (feel to) lack any space.
Sometimes I wonder if family life is very different when you live in such a huge home. (Besides of having to clean way more.. ;))
One kid is in the office, the other in the playroom, one parent in the kitchen etc. Upstairs – downstairs… :)
Would have to try this out one day :)
All the best.
When you paint doors the same color as the walls/trim like in Polly’s room, where do you stop the purple on the door? From the hallway, is that side black?
We painted all of the doors black on both sides!
Yay!! Thank you so much for posting this. So, so helpful as we’re currently painting our new home :) Are all your bedroom doors painted the tricorn black or are they accessible beige to match the trim in the hallway? Also! We unfortunately have hideous base board heating. Would you leave them white or paint them the trim color? Thanks in advance!!
You can paint it the same color as the trim! All of our doors are tricorn black.
Wow, seeing all these rooms in one place really hits home just how much work you guys have completed in such a short time. And it all looks just amazing! Every room is designed down to the smallest detail and each space is so unique but somehow they all go together. You should be so proud of yourselves! ????????
I thought this was going to be a post where you could manipulate one scene to look wildly different based on the time of day of the picture, and maybe a swap of rugs. Like when the girls suck in their tummy, and then a snap of them with bad posture the next minute.
This makes me so happy to see all in one place, because I really wanted to paint the doors in my bathroom black, and the doors in my bedroom greige, and leave the rest of the house’s doors white and I was thinking it might look crazy when we decide to move. But you have different trim colors throughout your house and it doesn’t look crazy at all!
Did you color match any of these? Or did you always use the paint from the brand that the color came from? I find that can make a huge difference especially with the subtle undertones in the color.
We have color matched paint before!
Can you tell us at what % you did Accessible Beige? I could have sworn I saw a long time ago that you had it mixed at a certain percentage. Thanks!
It’s 100%. Once we tried it at 75% but it’s 100% now.
What color are your ceilings in the spaces that are white (SW Alabaster)? Do you paint them the same shade of white or a different color?
yes. Alabaster
The irony of Faye’s room being painted Oval Room Blue and her room being being somewhat, well, oval :)
I love the amount of black paint you have used inside your home!!
I love the amount of black paint that is inside (and outside) your house, haha! And it’s so crazy how all of the swatches look so different in different spaces!