I’m not saying I want my house to feel like a museum–I’m just saying I wouldn’t mind having every paint color from The Met in my house. I’m specifically thinking of their European Gallery, which was re-painted a few years ago with Farrow & Ball paint colors. I thought it would be fun to guess which paint colors were used in The Met, using my Farrow & Ball paint deck in hand. Again, these are my best guesses! And I’d definitely swatch anything in your home before committing to a color.
This was the photo (above) that began my deep dive. I came across this image above in Lauren Caron’s stories before we painted our living room and I knew it was the perfect inspiration for our home. The trim looked like Pigeon by Farrow & Ball and that gave me the push to paint our living room in the tone. No regrets, and now I can’t unsee using that blue in the bonus room and definitely bringing a deep red into another room (maybe the dining room?!). Seeing them together, makes me feel good about the whole-home color scheme I’ve been mindful of.
Here’s a few more colorful spaces in the Met that are sporting the most inspiring paint colors (and my best guess as to what they are!)
This is giving me Polly Modern Cottage vibes.
I’m not over the red we painted in our last music room and I can’t wait to bring it back! And this taupe reminds me of the taupe cabinets in our kitchen. A perfect pair if you ask me.
The paint colors in this image above are actually more than a guess. They’re confirmed by Farrow & Ball! If you can remember, Downpipe is what we painted the guest room in our Modern Cottage.
Isn’t the inspiration just lovely?! I’m feeling very inspired by this deep-dive, so much so that the official bonus room paint color is going to be Stiffkey Blue–a true deep blue that feels traditional but fresh!
Here’s all the paint colors together for reference. Honestly, if you’re looking for a starting point in choosing a whole-home color scheme, this is a great place to start.
Our wood grain Shaker cabinet fronts were designed for busy, high-traffic homes like ours. Clad with durable textured thermofoils, this line is compatible with Sektion, Akurum, Godmorgon, and Besta cabinets from IKEA. It's the perfect, practical way to add the warmth of wood to all the rooms of your home.
We have teamed up with Loloi to create a line of rugs that are as affordable as they are beautiful. This collection houses a great mix of traditional and modern rugs, in cottage-y colorways, as well as vintage-inspired beauties that you’ll want to roll out in every room.
We partnered with Stuga on a line of hardwood floors — The Ingrid is really livable, and the color is very neutral. It doesn’t lean warm or cool, it’s that just right in-between. We have really loved putting it everywhere in our house. It’s the best jumping-off point for design, no matter your interior style. In addition to being beautiful, Ingrid is really durable — we have three kids, and we always have a home construction project going on. Ingrid stands up to it all.
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Beautiful! I actually sent you a DM on IG in September with a picture my friend took at the Met. It was the room with the herringbone floors. It reminded me of your home. I wish I was brave enough to try more colors.
From your photo, I think the first room’s walls look more like Railings.
Loved this post! How fun! Stiffkey blue is going to be SO perfect in that room. I remember that being a favorite color on Emily Henderson’s blog too!
If you painted a room dark walls and dark trim what would you paint the closet doors? I want to do this in our extra bedroom when I make it into an office!
I would paint them the same color as well!
Great post! I’m so inspired by these colors!
I feel like I need a field trip! That was so inspiring. Thank you!
When you shared photos on your story yesterday, I wondered if it was all F&B! The colors are so familiar. What you call Green Ground I think could be Mizzle. GG is more of a celery while Mizzle is kind of an earthy minty color? More green than you’d expect from the swatch. French Gray is a contender also. I am dying to paint a room French Gray. Just in case anyone reading wants to try some of these color schemes on for their house, these shades can really be chameleons depending on the space!
I love this post! The MET has always been a huge source of inspiration for me, too.
Hi Julia, what’s your thinking on repeating certain colors throughout the house, like Pigeon on trim elsewhere? I’m always curious how to best plan different yet cohesive color schemes that flow well. Thank you!
We love to repeat tones all throughout the house. I talked more about that in this post.
Love the deep colors. I noticed that the color of the frames are coordinated with the wall colors. The golds are in the darker rooms and the lighter rooms have darker frames. Also interesting was that all of the paintings are hung with wires from the top of the wall – probable related to security as well as ease of changing the art. The sculptures in some of the rooms mirror the art. Oh, the benches are all a dark wood tone.
On the minus side – many of the rooms use “skylights” for lighting. I remember that style in the kitchen of my first home. It works for the museum, but I’m glad that style changed for homes.
My front door is Stiffkey Blue and I love it!
What a fun and beautiful post!! As an art history nerd, this made me so happy! Taking inspiration from your love for F&B colors, I painted my living room (and then soon after my dining room) with De Nimes. Here are some pics on IG, if you’d like to see: https://www.instagram.com/p/CU7Pu1oA9No/. I love it!!