Crowd-Pleasing Paint Colors for Staging Your Home
Remember, the overall goal of home staging is to make each room feel fresh, inviting and neutral enough so that prospective buyers can imagine themselves living there. That doesn’t have to translate, however, to bland, boring and devoid of style. Sometimes white can work, but a greater concern is making sure the room doesn’t look too stark. These elegant, crowd-pleasing neutral paint colors can help you stage your home to perfection.
Gorgeous ‘Greige’
Gray has been the new white for years now. But not all grays are created equal. “Greige,” a pale gray with a beige undertone, is one of the most versatile colors for staging. Essentially a pale taupe, greige is a cool, sophisticated hue that can elegantly complement and add depth to a mostly white room. It’s great in both large and smaller spaces.
Wall paint: Elephant’s Breath No. 229, Farrow & Ball
Wall paint: Kestrel White SW-7516, Sherwin-Williams; also try Mega Greige, Sherwin-Williams
I always refer to this type of blue as a grown-up turquoise. A warm medium blue with sunny undertones, bird’s egg blue is an elegant choice for living rooms, bedrooms and bathrooms, particularly when the rest of the room is white, beige or gray.
Wall paint: Pale Powder, Farrow & Ball
In this large bedroom with textiles in shades of white, the pale turquoise creates a stylistic feature of the angled ceilings and beams while still giving the room a peaceful color palette.
Wall paint: Woodlawn Blue, HC-147, Benjamin Moore; also try Lulworth Blue No. 89, Farrow & Ball, or Gossamer Blue 2123-40, Benjamin Moore
A darker color can also be a surprising neutral. Many people might be hesitant to use a dark paint color, thinking it will make the room look smaller or darker. A dark color can, however, add depth on an accent wall. In a dark room it can conceal any shadows and replace an overall dark feeling with a serene and stylish one.
Charcoal, a deep gray, is a perfect dark neutral that can raise the style factor in a room as well as add a refreshing cool tone that complements beige and orange wood hues. Adding subdued drama, it works well in light-filled rooms or on an accent wall, especially in smaller rooms or on walls where you want to feature an architectural element.
For a stylish contrast, coordinate charcoal walls with accessories and furniture in lighter colors, such as whites and pale beiges.
Wall paint: Kendall Charcoal HC-166, Benjamin Moore
Accent wall paint: Stormy Sky 1616, Benjamin Moore; also try Peppercorn SW-7674, Sherwin-Williams
Let the sunshine in with a little golden yellow on your walls or fixed elements such as cabinets. This photo shows how a cheerful yellow can add warmth to a mostly white kitchen; it works well with white or stainless steel appliances.
Cabinet paint: Castilian Gold, Pratt & Lambert
Look for a yellow that has a slight wheat or creamy undertone and that isn’t overly bright or garish. A mellow yellow coordinates with most wood hues, earth tones, blues and pastel colors.
Wall paint: Traditional Yellow 170, Benjamin Moore; also try Ray of Light CSP-910 or Beacon Hill Damask HC-2, both Benjamin Moore
Navy blue is an excellent paint color to add sophistication, drama and a feeling of refined maturity to a room. Similar to charcoal gray, navy works well in a light-filled room or on a featured accent wall, particularly in smaller rooms or walls with architectural details like a fireplace.
Coordinate navy with contrasting pale hues like whites, silver or beiges.
Wall paint: Stunning 826, Benjamin Moore
Wall paint: Hale Navy HC-154, Benjamin Moore; also try Indigo Ink HDC-CL-26A, Behr, or Commodore 6524, Sherwin-Williams
If your walls are already a shade of white and adding a new color isn’t in your comfort zone, look to neutral creamy whites to give the room a warm and refreshing look.
Creamy white has an undertone of pale beige or greige, without being too yellow. The added warmth can give a stark room a welcoming glow without adding color.
Wall paint: Elmira White HC-84, Benjamin Moore