I realized last week that I have never shared all of my home paint colors all in one post. I have always shared my colors as we have revamped a room but I never pulled everything together into one complete palette. Â I always talk about how having an “undertone” color strategy in your home can help make choosing paint colors so much easier . Â I think by sharing my palette, I can better show why/how this little method works.
Over the last few years, I have slowly transitioned my home into a neutral-transitional palette. Â My home colors were originally very bold warm-toned yellows, golds and red tones and I wanted to calm down the whole home. Â I was also really limited in working in trendy and fun new colors in fabrics and accessories because all of my walls were so loud and bold with dominate undertones. Â My strategy was to neutralize my wall colors throughout our home over time, so I could have fun with accessories, art and fabrics.
Of course, I couldn’t paint every room in my home overnight, so I came up with this strategy and long-range plan to slowly transition over time.  I chose neutral-transitional colors, so that the new cooler colors would still blend with old gold tone colors while I was transitioning my home.  Neutral -transitional colors are colors with a balanced mix of both warm and cool undertones, so they’ll work with more undertones and colors. The neutral part is the gray undertone.
I began by choosing the color I would use the most in my home; Repose Gray by Sherwin Williams:
If you look closely at Repose Gray above, you can see that it is a light gray with just the right hint of warmth and cool. Â It is stunning on the wall and it works in a variety of lighting situations. Â Here is shot of my craft room/family room with great natural light for you to really see the color:
I used Repose Gray on the wall in my main areas throughout my home. Â For my built-in cabinets throughout my home, I went one shade darker on the card, which is Mindful Gray from Sherwin Williams:
I used Mindful Gray on all my built ins in my office/craft room:
the built ins in my mudroom:
I also used Mindful Gray on all my built ins in my living room:
Mindful Gray looks so pretty on trim, doors and built ins and the best part about it is because it’s a neutral transitional, colors just pop next to it.
Once I  picked out my main staple color (Repose Gray), choosing the rest of my colors throughout my home over the years, were easy because the warm gray in Repose was how I would choose the undertone of a color.  So for instance, when it was time to choose whites in my home (the hardest color to choose), I went right to Simply White and Extra White (Sherwin Williams) because they are whites with a hint of my staple color (Repose Gray), warm gray.
I used Simply White in my daughter’s bedroom:
For my daughter’s bathroom, I choose a light neutral blue that had just a slight warm gray undertone like my staple color:
For my dining room, I wanted an almost white color with just a very slight touch of warm gray like my staple color and I went right to Balboa Mist:
For our Master Bedroom, I used a 50/50 mix of Behr Rhino and Stone Fence.  I picked  by choosing blues that were on the edge of warm gray:
For my kitchen, I also used Balboa Mist by Sherwin Williams:
We are still have a lot of transitioning to do but I will not stray from this palette because it has worked like a charm for us.  Next, my my plan is to incorporate Indigo Batik into our guest bedroom by painting it on one wall.  I use indigo throughout my home in accessories and art and it works in my home better than a traditional dark navy because indigo has a warm gray undertone and works with all of my warm grays. Here is Indigo Batik in Sherwin Williams:
The great part about this neutral-transitional strategy is I can now add or switch out whatever color I want in fabrics, accessories and art and it always works. Â If I want to paint a room a bold color, I will choose a bold with a warm gray undertone.
As you can see, you don’t have to change your colors over night by having a undertone strategy.  Choosing an undertone is the toughest part about choosing colors and if you pick it once, your done and you always know what undertone to choose in your next color.
If you’re looking for more help with how to specifically choose colors, I have a little method that I use to help you zone in on your perfect color here.
Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers!
Cyndy
Lauren@SimplyLKJ says
I love the colors you have chosen. We chose 3 colors to use throughout our home, and it makes changing things up so much easier.
Mary Ruth says
I love your very sane approach to whole-house paint colors! I am doing similar in my Florida home paint direction, but with more COLOR values, so I know how complicated the initial process was for you. I love your home and how you are working through each room, yet it is all so cohesive that one never picks up a hint of discourse. WELL done, and I love that you share with all of us!
Lisa @ Shine Your Light says
Cyndy, your home is so beautiful!! I love the color scheme and the flow that it all has. You’ve done an amazing job. Thanks for sharing your colors and your strategy!
Terra says
Love all of these colors. What color did you use for the ceilings and trim?
Sarah says
Balboa Mist is a Benjamin Moore color. I also have it my home and LOVE it.
Cyndy says
Opps!! Thanks so much for catching that Sarah!! Yes, Balboa Mist is a Ben Moore color and I can’t believe that didn’t hit me. Thanks so much for the note Sarah and I agree, I absolutely LOVE it too!
Jackie Wright says
Is Balboa Mist an “almost white” gray? I have a darker living room and want to go white, but I’m nervous. I’m tossing around SW Snowbound.
Cyndy says
Balboa Mist is a very light warm gray. It’s really a very light greige. Do you want your white to lean warm (like a creamy white) or cool? This post with my quick trick for spotting undertones in whites, can really help with the process https://www.thecreativityexchange.com/2014/03/tricks-for-choosing-the-perfect-white-paint-it-monday.htm. Hope this helps Jackie!
Alexandra Grant says
I am painting the cabinets in my mudroom Mindful gray. Do you have any suggestions for a wall color?
LifeInYellow says
We, too, have “mindful grey” and “indigo batik” in our home (that we recently sold) – it’s so fun to see how they look the same (and yet different!) in another home!
Some links to ours: http://www.lifeinyellow.com/2012/07/paint-chips/
and
http://www.lifeinyellow.com/2013/08/the-basement-diaries-the-final-frontier-part-2-of-2/
Janet says
Thanks Cyndy, for such an informative post! I’ve been thinking through a whole-house color strategy, but without a method for choosing the colors, it seemed random (thus I’ve only painted one room!). One challenge we have is that we have stained trim and doors. It’s a medium brown with red undertones. We painted our living room Sea Salt (SW), and it looks more blue than green. If we choose a paint color that’s actually supposed to look blue, like Krypton, would you expect the blue to be intensified by the stained trim? If so, should we have the paint store tone it down by adding extra grey? What about a warm grey like Repose Gray – would you expect the trim to bring out any surprise undertones?
Thanks so much for educating me on paint and color theory!
Susie says
I am in the process of building a new house and absolutely love your color palette. The only problem I’m having is choosing the color for my kitchen. My main cabinets will be Navajo white and my island will be black. Countertops will be a white granite with swirls of gray. I don’t really want my kitchen to be blue or gray. I was thinking of some kind of soft grayish green. Do you think that could be incorporated with the surrounding blues and grays? If so, do you have a color suggestion?
Brandi Moore says
I love your blog and mostly the help with paint, I haven’t noticed if you mention if you use mostly flat finishes on all your walls, it seems so from the pictures. I just recently painted our living room smokey topaz by SW and wish I would have got flat. Do you think an ajoining wall would look okay with flat paint next to the satin? Thanks so much, Brandi
Becky says
The master is gorgeous. When you say you did color 50/50 do you mean that you took two paint colors and mixed them together?
Janet H. says
Can you please tell me what your daughter’s gray-blue bathroom colour is? Thanks!
Ellen says
yes can you tell daughters bathroom color
Thanks
Toni | SmallHomeSoul.com says
I found Repose Gray for our home from another blog but failed to bookmark it. We went with a 130% mix and have just finished painting our main living space and kitchen. We love it and can’t wait to see what it looks like with new hardwood floors in a few weeks.
The paint takes on different looks at different times if day. I will definitely use your tips to chose other color accents in our home as I transition our interior from mostly browns and autumnals to a fresher look.
Stacy says
What does 130% mix mean!
Andrea says
Thanks for sharing your colors! What paint colors did you use for trim and ceilings?
Cyndy says
I use Dover White by Sherwin Williams on my trim and I add 50% bright ceiling white to the lightest white on the paint strip my color is on. So, in a room where I use Repose Gray (SW), the lightest white on the Repose paint strip is Eider White and I have the guys mix in 50% bright ceiling white with the Eider. That way, the undertone blends beautifully and I still have that bright ceiling reflectivity in the mix. Hope that helps and thanks for your note Andrea!
Melanie says
What color did you use in your daughter’s bedroom?! I’m looking for a blue/grey to use as an accent wall in my living room with a 22 foot Celine and just cannot find the right color. I have tequila walls (Sandy color) and dark mixed hardwoods. I’d love your insight and can send you pics via email?!
Melanie
Melanie says
What color did you use in your daughters bathroom in this post?! I am looking for a similar blue/grey in my two-story living room to accent tequila walls all around. I also have mixed dark hardwoods. Having a rough time finding a great blue color. I could use any help you can offer me! I can send you pics via email if needed!
Kim Boseck says
I love all your colors! So beautiful. What color did you use for your daughters bathroom?
Alyson Granger says
What color did you use in your daughters bathroom?
Brigit says
I think it’s Krypton by SW
Alyson Granger says
What color did you use in your master bathroom?
Kelly LeGard says
Did you mix of the manufacturer of Balboa Mist and Simply White or does SW have colors of the same name as the Ben Moore colors?
Stacy says
What color is your daughters bathroom?
Jaclyn says
What color did you use in your daughter’s bedroom?! I am also looking for blue/grey colour. Thanks!
Brigit says
I believe it’s Krypton, SW
Sue says
Hi.
I’m loving the 50/50 Berh Rhino and stone fence.
I am in Australia where this brand is not available.
Could anyone lead me in the right direction to get the color mix to get it made up with another brand.
Cheers
Brigit says
The daughters bathroom looks like Krypton, SW. I just chose it for my exterior but am very nervous about as I can’t find any pictures where this color was used. I want a crisp clean light gray & initially chose Icelandic, but it was too baby blues& my painter said it was a modern color palette, my house is a Bungeliw with few Craftsman features. It has been basically a Cain wrapped in dark brown Cypress. I hated it! So going outside my comfort zone, I chose Krypton & it is beautiful, but darkens in natural light. It’s black based. My problem, after a total remodel, is that I still have a hunter green metal roof. NOTHING (gray) looks good with it so I guess I’ll see tomorrow when the painter shows up. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks~brigit
Brigit says
Should’ve spell checked that! Gracious me…
Joan Moutou says
I enjoyed your article, idea and photos. You have taken me out of my safety zone and I am keen to try your Colours. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. As a beginner I am very grateful. I hope to work around the problem that we cannot get Sherwin Williams paints here in Australia.
Cheers Joan
Kathryn says
Just purchased a home that only needs a little makeovers in the kitchen. I have pops of red in my counter appliances. The floors are a dark woood.
So, I went with the repose gray for cabinet cupbowould. The wall space is rather small, and am thinking Krypton or Serious Gray.
Would you possibly have other suggestions?
The flow from living/dining is all neural ivory.
Thanks, Kathy
Beth Van Helden says
Hi Cyndi! Can you tell me where you found the rug in your daughter’s bathroom? Thx!
Jeanette Keables says
Hi Cyndi,
I know this is an old post, but live in Northern California and I’m trying to decide on paint colors for the exterior of my house (which is so difficult!). There’s a home on your website that is a teal color with stone around the lower part of the house and shakes (the part that’s teal). Do you happen to know the name of that color? I love it! I’m thinking of going with a teal, but I’m having trouble finding the right tone for an exterior paint color.
Jeanette