Paint colors in our first home

February 20, 2014

I get asked about our paint colors a lot and try to keep up with them on my FAQ page but don’t update as much as I should. So I’m sharing all of our current colors in one post (and I will keep this on the FAQ page too).

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen my boy’s room on the blog:

Admiralty, Lowe's

It’s because I’m still loving it and don’t want to touch it. :) 

I went dark navy on the top and that color is called Admiralty:

Admiralty, Lowe's

Of course these colors will look differently on your computer than they do in real life, and this one is no exception. Here it looks like a dusty, grayish blue and it’s not – it’s a true, deep navy.

The ceiling and the backs of the built ins are a Sherwin Williams color called Upward:

Upward, Sherwin Williams

I am pretty sure I had it lightened just a tad, I think about 10 percent. It’s been almost eight years since I painted that ceiling. :)

The color I get asked more than any, and is probably the number one question I get here on TDC, is the color of our family room and kitchen:

  Sisal paint color Ralph Lauren

This is a color called Sisal from Ralph Lauren and I can’t find it anywhere online. I took a photo of the paint swatch:

Sisal by Ralph Lauren

It’s in their “Naturals” collection and the number for it is NA10. Home Depot used to carry it and I got it mixed there almost ten years ago when I painted these rooms. 

HD does not carry this line anymore but I believe they can find the formula, pretty sure anyway. Again, the picture is not quite right – the color is a bit deeper than that and a little more sandy looking. The photo above looks more gray and it’s not.

Here’s the paint color in our kitchen:

Sisal paint, Ralph Lauren

But it appears darker there than it is. The family room photo is a really good example of how it looks on the walls. Our kitchen and family room get great natural light so it works well in there.

I also used this color, just lightened 25 percent, in my office:

Sisal, Ralph Lauren

It’s a really great base for a room – it works with any accent color!

By the way, that ceiling color is called Purify from Dutch Boy. I can’t find it in their paint colors on line but here’s the formula:

Purify, Dutch Boy

Home Depot currently carries a Sisal from Martha Stewart that looks very similar to the one I’ve used:

Sisal, Martha Stewart

This one appears to be a bit lighter than our walls but I like it a lot and it’s a good match otherwise.

A couple years ago we had half of our house repainted and it was just about the best day ever. :) Our two story foyer, living room, staircase and dining room and loft were all painted in Analytical Gray:

Analytical Gray, Sherwin Williams


Analytical Gray, Sherwin Williams

This is a Sherwin Williams color and here’s the swatch from their site:

Analytical Gray, Sherwin Williams

This is another great neutral – I LOVE this color. Some say they see some green in it in my pics – I can see that a little. The darker you go on the swatch it does go a little green. It’s a great “greige” – beige/gray color that’s a great backdrop for other colors.

I tried this same color in the main floor powder room and it was too dark, so keep in mind how much light you get in a room when using it. 

Instead I went with a similar color, Agreeable Gray in there:

Agreeable Gray, Sherwin Willams

Another one I love. This color is also from Sherwin Williams. 

Obviously over the years I’ve fallen hard for neutrals:

Agreeable Gray, Sherwin Willams

I did not go neutral in the laundry room turned mud room. :) I went with a deep peacock blue called Reflecting Pool by Ralph Lauren:

Reflecting Pool, Ralph Lauren paints

This is the only swatch I could find online and it has more of a green tint:

Reflecting Pool, Ralph Lauren paints

I went with a white on the walls, but it’s not a bright white. It’s called Stone Arrowhead by Dutch Boy and again I couldn’t find it online. 

This is the closest I found:

Stone arrowhead, Dutch Boy

I finally painted my stepdaughter’s old room last year and went with a totally different color than what I would normally use:

Ombre wall, Dew White Porter Paints

It’s so light and pretty, I really love it.

The main color on the walls is called Dew White from Porter Paints:

Light green paint colors

And the colors on the square wall go from Dew White down to Pond Reed, as you can see on the swatch. :)

The master bedroom has had the same for about eight years now:

Tornado Watch, Lowe's

Most of the walls are a gray/green called Tornado Watch:

Tornado Watch, Lowe's

The wall above our fireplace is actually a bit darker color, called Mossy Aura.

Last year I started painting these walls and haven’t gotten very far. :) The wall behind the bed is now a light gray:

Whitestone, Benjamin Moore

It’s called Whitestone from Benjamin Moore:

Whitestone, Benjamin MooreThe rest of the walls will get this same color as soon as I amp myself up to paint again. :)

Finally, another color I get asked about often, the basement color:

Marina Gray, Benjamin Moore

This one is called Marina Gray from Benjamin Moore and I had it lightened 25 percent since we don’t have any natural light down there:

Marina Gray, Benjamin Moore

I used similar tones for the laundry and bathroom down there, you can see those here. Since I lightened that Marina Gray the other colors I used down there don’t really look that much different. To most it probably looks like the entire basement is the same color. Ah well, lesson learned. At least I like it! :)

All the Ben Moore colors I mention are mixed in Sherwin Williams paints, just because I like the paint and they are a bit cheaper. All of the white trim or built ins in our home are painted in regular semi gloss white, off the shelf. Just a bright white, no specific color.

You can find links to all of our first home rooms here if you want more info on any of them. :) Have you used any of these colors? Did I miss any?

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Comments

  1. I love your home and all of your paint choices. I really like your sons paint color and I might need to try to find that paint for my stepsons room.

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  2. Get better soon!!!

    I really like the greys you chose for your house.

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  3. We were so close to going with Admiralty in our office, but ended up wanting something just a little deeper. I love all of the your color choices...they really flow nicely throughout the house.

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  4. I love your paint colors! Wish I had your confidence. Our house is all Swiss Coffee white. I take one look at all of those paint chips and go back in to my shell! Also, our walls all have the round trim under the drywall, so one wall just flows to the next wall. What would you suggest for creating a "boundary" line if you do have two different colors to paint?

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  5. Where did you get the little table and chairs in your office? They are darling!

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  6. I have not used any of those colors, but I am currently considering dark blues/navy for our laundry room makeover and I may have to get a swatch of Admiralty, as I love how it looks in your sons room. Sorry to hear about the flu bug. Rest up and feel better!

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  7. Hope you feel better soon. I love the colors in your home. Thanks for sharing about lightening them 25% I did not realize you could do that. :)

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  8. Love all the colors! When you have a colored lightened 10% or 25% does it just change the LRV and not the color? How do you know how much to have it lightened?

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  9. Home Depot does colour (sorry about the 'u' I'm australian) matching. Does this help your Sisal problem. http://community.homedepot.com/t5/Paint/Matching-existing-paint-color/td-p/33955#.UwaWfWKSySo

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  10. I love Agreeable Gray! I had it in my master bedroom before switching recently and not it's in my bathroom and I'm thinking of using it somewhere else too. Maybe the hallways - it's so nice and clean looking.

    I'm LOVING your DIY headboard!!!

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  11. Thanks for the inspiration!! Love them all! Especially Sisal!

    BTW, where did you get that picture by your stairs?? I LOVE IT - OBSESSED!!!

    Thanks!!!
    Stacy

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  12. Great color choices! You really have a gift.. If you're free this summer, you're welcome to come help us pick colors for our house!! :)

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  13. Where dud you get the bedding for your step daughters room? Love it
    Thanks
    Lorie

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  14. Thank you for sharing
    I will trying your idea at home
    I think this is the best of topic
    furniture Jepara

    ReplyDelete

If you have a specific question I will do my best to answer you back here!

You can find our paint colors and links to items at the "Our Home" tab at the top of my site.

THANKS so much for reading!