Are you looking for a neutral paint color to achieve that fixer-upper style look? Today I am sharing all my favorite farmhouse paint colors as well as my favorite tips on how to select the perfect color.
Farmhouse style doesn’t seem to be going anywhere any time soon. It is one of my favorite design styles and many of its design elements are timeless. When it comes to creating that farmhouse vibe in your home, paint is a great place to start.
Today I am sharing all about my favorite farmhouse paint colors as well as all the painting tips I have learned throughout my design career. This post is the ultimate guide to everything you need to know about selecting the perfect farmhouse style paint color. Grab a snack and let’s get started.
What Makes a Color Farmhouse Style
You may be wondering what exactly makes a paint color farmhouse style. Farmhouse style paint colors have a soft worn look. Nothing too bright or too dark.
You will want to choose a color that is neutral with a touch of gray or a subtle gray undertone. Some of the color family’s that fall into this category are white, gray, greige, beige, blues and greens. If your painting an entire home or a single space you will want to choose soft and subtle neutrals to create that fixer-upper look.
Lucky for you I am sharing my all-time favorite farmhouse paint colors, that I have used in many client projects as well as my own home.
Favorite Paint Supplies
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- Samplize– Peel-and-Stick Paint Samples Made with Real Paint ( these are amazing!)
- Benjamin Moore Paint Fan Deck
- Sherwin Williams Paint Fan Deck
- Shur-Line Painter Triple Painter’s Pack Including: 1 x Shur-Line 2006561 Paint Edger Pro, 1 x Shur-Line 1575H Corner Painter, and 1 x Replacement Pad Pack ( My favorite edger set this is a must!)
Purdy 144080230 Nylox Series Dale Angular Trim Paint Brush, 3 inch
PURDY Painters Kit: Includes Metal Tray, Roller Cover and Frame, Angled Trim Brush
- Favorite Painters Tape
The Best Farmhouse Paint Colors
WHITE
Sherwin Williams Alabaster (Favorite White)
This is my absolute favorite white paint color ever. I recommend it to all my clients looking for a white paint color. It is a creamy white without showing any signs of yellow. It’s the perfect balance of cool and warm. It’s also the perfect white for a fixer-upper style shiplap. This is seriously the coziest white paint. Perfect for creating a farmhouse-style look.
Benjamin Moore Simply White
Simply white more of a pure white. It may have the tiniest bit of warmth but that is what makes it one of the best. This color is so versatile and gives a nice fresh, clean look. If your having a hard time deciding this one is fail-proof. Also looks great on shiplap we used this color in our bathroom.
Benjamin Moore Cloud White
Cloud white falls somewhere in the middle of Alabaster and Simply White. It is a soft white with neutral undertones. We used this in our kitchen and it is the perfect white to use next to bright white cabinets. It adds just enough contrast without looking too yellow or too blue.
Related:The Best White Paint Colors
Sherwin Williams Alabaster
Benjamin Moore Simply White
Benjamin Moore Cloud White
GRAY
Benjamin Moore Gray Owl (Favorite Gray)
This is my absolute favorite gray color. It is the perfect soft light grey. Gray owl is a cooler gray so in some spaces, you will notice a slight green/blue undertone. It all depends on your space. I love to lighten this color by 50% and I find that it becomes more neutral with less of the green/blue undertones.
Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray ( Cool Gray)
Stonington gray is a fresh cool gray, that has a slight blue undertone, but it is very subtle. I find this to be a very versatile color and works as a great backdrop to any color pallet. This is another favorite that I have used in many of my client’s projects.
Sherwin Williams Repose Gray ( Warm Gray)
Repose Gray is a light warm gray with a little bit of a greige undertone. I wouldn’t put this color in the greige category, because it does have more grey tones overall. I like to use this color when I am looking for a grey that has just a touch of warmth.
Benjamin Moore Gray Owl – Lighten by 50%
GREIGE
Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray ( Favorite Greige)
This is the perfect greige! It is the perfect balance of gray and beige. It is also the perfect balance of cool and warm making it a fail-proof color. This will work in basically any space and it is perfect when you are trying to match a color with your existing decor. When in doubt go with Agreeable Gray. I used this color for my dining room and it is perfect!
Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter
Revere Pewter and another very popular greige. It has a great balance of both cool and warm undertones. If you are looking for a greige that is a tad darker than Agreeable Gray than Revere Pewter is for you.
Benjamin Moore Classic Gray
Classic Grey is a very light warm gray. It is very neutral and does not have any crazy undertones. This is a classic color if you’re looking for a very light color somewhere between gray and greige.
Related Post:Best Warm Gray Paint Colors
Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray
BLUE/GREEN
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt ( Favorite Blue/Green)
I am a neutral girl all the way but if I am going to add color this is my go too! It is so pretty and takes on a few different colors depending on the light. It has muted blue/green tones with a touch of gray. Sometimes it looks more blue/ green and sometimes it looks grayer. It is the perfect subtle pop of color, making it perfect for creating that farmhouse-style look.
Benjamin Moore Silver Mink
Silver Mink is a cool blue/grey with a touch of green. It is a soft/subtle color but it is also a little moody and still makes a statement. If you were to compare it to Sea Salt it is a darker color and reads more blue than green.
Benjamin Moore Knoxville Gray
Farmhouse colors are typically light and subtle. But if you are leaning towards a more modern farmhouse look, high contrast colors are very on trend and Knoxville Gray is my favorite! I have used this in many client projects and everyone raves about it. It has a mix of blue/ green/ grey undertones. And a perfect balance of warm and cool. It has a dark richness that is beautiful on walls as well as cabinets and exteriors.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt
Favorite Trim & Ceiling Paint
I like to keep my trim and ceiling a true white paint color and these are my two favorites.
Benjamin Moore Decorators White
Decorators White is a true white. It does have a slight touch of grey that softens the color, but overall this is my go-to for a clean true white paint and is perfect for trim.
Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace
Chantilly Lace is another true white that has a bit of a blue undertone, giving it a fresh clean look. This is more of a stark white making it perfect for ceiling and trim.
How to Select a Paint Color
SAMPLES, SAMPLES, SAMPLES!!
Getting samples are so important when choosing a paint color. How a color looks online, in the store, or even at a friends house may be totally different than how it looks in your own home. Colors can change slightly due to natural light, artificial light and the decor that you already have in your home.
I recommend collecting a bunch of paint chips( those little paper paint cards) at the paint store and bringing them home. Look at them in your space and then narrow it down to 3 colors that you love. Then you can get actual paint samples in those colors. Looking at the paint chips in your home first will help you narrow down your options and save you money. Those small paint cans can add up.
The next step can be done in one of three ways. If you don’t mind paint samples on your walls you can paint the 3 colors you chose in a couple of different places within your space. An even better option would be to order large samples from Samplize.
Samplize is an online retailer that offers peel-and-stick paint samples painted with the real paint color. This allows you to see what the actual color will look like without damaging your walls. You can save on all those paint cans, making for no cleanup and no waste.
Another option is to paint the samples on a large foam core board and move it around your space. The point of this is to see what the colors look at different times of the day and with different amounts of light.
Lighting is so important when choosing a paint color. Make sure you view the colors at different times of the day, with both natural and artificial light. You will be surprised at how different a color can look depending on the light.
Get the Best Paint Samples Here
Undertones
Knowing the undertones of your paint color is so important. Have you ever painted a room beige and then noticed that it looks a little pink or picked a gray that reads more purple. Understanding the undertone will help you make a confident paint choice before you put it on the wall.
For example, when you pick a gray paint color, the main color of the paint is grey. But every paint color has undertones, these are the subtle influence of color underneath the main color. This is also what makes a color warm or cool.
The best way to determine the undertone of a paint color is to line up shades of the same color next to each other. You will see that some of them look more blue, more green, more beige, etc.
You can read more about undertones by clicking here.
LRV- Light Reflectance Value
Okay, this part gets a little technical, but its something you may want to consider when picking a color. Every paint color has an LRV, or Light Reflectance Value, shown in the form of a number.
This number is basically going to tell you how light or dark the color is going to look in your space. The LRV numbers range from 0-100, with 100 being the lightest and 0 being the darkest.
This is a measurement that tells you the percentage of light that is going to be reflected back into your room. A low LRV is going to reflect a small amount of light back into the space making the color darker. And a high LRV is going to reflect a lot of light back into the space making it lighter. This is all going to depend on how much natural light you have in your space.
Pro Tips
Here are a couple of pro tips that I have learned over the years when it comes to selecting paint.
Paint Fan Deck Tricks
- When you are choosing a color from a paint fan deck I always recommend considering going one color up from the color you love. The sample of color on a fan deck is only a small representation and because of this may look lighter than it will once you have it in an entire space. If you choose the color right above your favorite color, it will likely more of what you originally had in mind.
- Another easy tip you can use when working with a paint fan deck is choosing an accent wall color. If you are looking to do an accent wall in your space I recommend choosing a color 2 below or 2 above your main wall color. This will give you the perfect amount of contrast and the color will be in the same color family.
Lighten up the Color
This is my absolute favorite trick, and it makes finding the perfect color super easy. Have you ever chosen a color that was almost perfect but was just a little too dark? This is how I felt about Gray Owl in our home.
Did you know that you can ask your local paint store to lighten the color by 20-50%? Talk about a life saver. It stinks to have to start the paint hunt all over again when you were so close to finding the perfect color and this tip can save you all the hassle.
How to Select a Paint Finish
I get asked often how to choose a paint finish. The paint finish can affect the way a color appears, so it is important to decide this before you select samples. Below is an easy way to decide what the finish you should be using based on your space.
What to Read Next:
Neutral Paint Colors | My Home Paint Colors
The Best White Paint Colors
The Best Black Paint Colors
Affordable Farmhouse Style Rugs
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