The 'Outside Of The Box' Neutral, And Other Painting Tips

People paint for several reasons…moving into a new home, selling a home, an upcoming family gathering or maybe a renovation. Whatever the reason, painting gives you the biggest bang-for-your-buck when you are giving your home a makeover, no matter what the reason or scale of your project.  

If you are selling your home, it is best to use neutral colors that will appeal to the masses. As you may have seen on HGTV, many home buyers can’t see past the décor of current home owner. Neutralizing the colors will go a long way to helping buyers see your home’s assets. 

Muslin* and Frappe* are neutrals that will warm a space while Nightingale* and Wickham Gray* are cool and will have a calming effect. Rule of thumb is to use warm colors in north and east facing rooms and cool colors in south and west facing rooms. Using the same color throughout your space will make it look more expansive.  

I don’t always follow the rules because more often the existing furnishings and preferences of the home owner will influence our color choices.  

If you want to add color and you don’t know where to begin, there are a couple of other ways to approach your color conundrum. One is to think green.  

I am a lover of green. In nature there are hundreds of greens making it an easy color to work with. Green is the “outside of the box” neutral because it goes with everything.

Another way to introduce color in your home is to look at your wardrobe. It surprises me how many people come to the color station dressed in colors that are similar to the colors they are thinking about painting their living room, bedroom, family room etc.  

If you are looking for soft colors that flow from room to room start with colors from Benjamin Moore’s Historical or Affinity collections.

*Benjamin Moore Paints