This post has been a long time coming.  After all these years of creating paint color palettes, I finally took the time over the last few weeks to research and pull together my favorite paint colors for furniture revamps (several of these are awesome cabinet colors too).
There are so many fantastic colors for painting furniture and it was so hard for me to get my list down to 16 colors.  I narrowed down the list based on current color trends in furniture/design and the most versatile colors (mix of warm/cool tones). Most importantly, I picked colors that were across the board consistent and looked good on multiple different furniture revamps that I was able to find.
So let’s jump into the palette:
BM= Benjamin Moore
SW= Sherwin Williams
GL= Glidden
So today’s post is two-fold; 1) I wanted to share these great colors for painting furniture but 2) I also wanted to share with you some of my favorite paint tutorials from some awesome bloggers. Many of the colors in today’s palette we’re based on blogger projects, so below,  you can see examples of these colors in action.  Many of these projects have a tutorial with awesome step by step instruction on their techniques for how they painted their pieces. If there is a detailed tutorial, I note it below the image with the link.
By the way, if you have never painted furniture before, I wrote a very detailed tutorial, specifically for beginners here, if you are interested in painting your first piece. Hopefully, these colors will nudge you to give it a try (do it, do it!!)
If you are not sure what paint to use, I broke it all down on this post here the difference between milk paint, spray paints, chalk paint, specialty furniture paints and traditional paints. I recommend choosing what type of paint finish you want first and then choosing a color.
I’m breaking the colors down below by Whites, Neutrals, Bolds and Darks and I am not featuring all of the colors in the palette to keep this post from being too long;
White Paint Colors:
For a true white with very little to no undertone, my favorite is Decorators White from Benjamin Moore:
via Dreamy Whites
Decorators White Benjamin Moore
If you’re looking for a true white with just a very slight hint of warmth, White Dove from Benjamin Moore or Benjamin Moore Simply white are beautiful. These are also popular trim and cabinet colors because they’re extremely versatile and pretty much works with anything:
via Natty By Design
White Dove Benjamin Moore- Tutorial from Natty By Design here.
Neutral Paint Colors:
Krylon spray paints have come out with spray chalk paints that I am loving right now and they have a fantastic selection of neutrals. You can read all about those paints here.
One of the most versatile neutral paint colors out there is Mindful Gray from Sherwin Williams.  It’s nearly perfect because it has just the right balance of warm gray. Mindful Gray is an all-star color because it always looks gorgeous on furniture, cabinets and walls because it has a near perfect balance of warm/cool tones.  I love this color so much that I want to show you several examples:
Mindful Gray Sherwin Williams. Tutorial from Claire Brody Designs here.
Here is Mindful Gray on a piece that I did for a friend and you can see my tutorial here for painting a matte satin finish:
Mindful Gray Sherwin Williams
You can really easily see that beautiful balance of warm/cool tones of Mindful Gray in my craft room where I painted the cabinets in this color:
Mindful Gray Sherwin Williams
For a very light gray that leans cooler and has less warmth than Mindful Gray, Manhattan Mist from Behr is a beautiful rich color:
Via 551 East Design
If you’re looking for a slightly darker and cooler gray, Timber Wolf from Benjamin Moore is a beautiful gray for furniture (great cabinet color too):
via Natty by Design
I also love the beautiful rich blue gray color called Eclipse from Benjamin Moore. Eclipse is another all-star that looks amazing on anything including cabinets and furniture:
Designed by Cory Conner via Decor Pad
 The Bolds:
Coral is one of the most popular colors right now for furniture and Ardent Coral from Sherwin Williams is a gorgeous coral and this is such great example of the color from Sarah M. Dorsey Designs:
Ardent Coral Sherwin Williams. Tutorial from Sarah M. Dorsey Designs for this piece here.
Emerald green is really trending right now for furniture and Pine Scent from Behr has become a blogger favorite and rightly so, it’s perfection. Just look at this gorgeous green from my friend Amanda Carol:
Mint is also popular right now and one of my favorite shades of mint that is subtle but gorgeous is Sweet Pea from Olympic paint, which I first discovered on Love Grows Wild:
via Love Grows Wild
Sweet Pea Olympic Paint. Tutorial from Liz at Love Grows Wild for this piece found here.
I personally am loving magenta right now but I love it inside drawers or as an accent like this amazing revamp project from Funcycled using the color Crushed Berries from Benjamin Moore. Â Crushed berries is a beautiful magenta:
via Funcycled
Another favorite magenta is a color called Glamorous from a great boutique furniture paint line that I love to use called Velvet Finishes. Â I have used Glamorous inside drawers:
I also used Glamorous on a piece for my daughter’s room revamp:
If you’re interested in learning more about using Velvet Finishes Paint, you can check out my post here.
Darks:
For a good true black with very little undertone, Benjamin Moore Black is one of the best blacks out there. Â Chris from Just a Girl has a fantastic tutorial here for how she painted this console below using Ben Moore black:
via Just a Girl
For a good true navy, I love Hale Navy from Benjamin Moore. Â However, Rainstorm from Benjamin Moore is a beautiful blue with a warm undertone that is very versatile and gorgeous:
via 551 East Design
I haven’t featured all of the colors in today’s palette but if you want to see more examples of furniture paint colors,  you can check out my “Furniture Paint Color Board” on Pinterest here .  I also have a “Pick a Paint Color Board” here with more than 500 paint colors and examples of rooms, cabinets and trim.
I so hope that these awesome blogger projects, tutorials and paint colors are inspiring you to paint something. Â Again, if you’ve never painted furniture before, be sure and check out my post here that I wrote for the first time furniture painter. Â I walk you through each step of the way.
Ok, so what do you guys think? Â Which color is your favorite in today’s palette? Â Of course you know I love them all. Â I would love to know what color is calling your name!
Thanks so much for stopping by friends and if I have nudged you to paint a piece, please send me a picture! Â I always so love to see your awesome projects!
Cheers!
Cyndy
Diane Gibbs says
Great ideas…I have SO much “brown wood” or “old” as Nate Berkus calls that color, that I wouldn’t know where to begin. Black is easiest for the timid…what is the black on the chest with the pink drawer? It appears flatter than the bottom console, also gorgeous! Thanks!
Cyndy says
Thanks Diane! The black chest is from Kirkland’s, so it was already painted. However, you can get that flatter look by using BM black in matte/satin finish. Just a girl used a higher gloss. You could also wipe on a BM black in a flat for a more layered flat black finish. I hope that helps.
Lisa says
This is genius! I have several pieces that we acquired over the years. We’ve recently moved and after reading your post, I’m very excited to re-imagine them and start prepping and painting! Thank you
Cyndy says
Thanks so much Lisa and yes, yes re-imagine girl and roll up your sleeves and paint those pieces! I promise you, you can’t go wrong with any of these colors. You got this! Be sure and send me a picture! Thanks for your note!
Jennifer says
Did you read a page from my diary?! Just purchased a few CL finds and have been fretting over what color to paint them. Thanks for the ideas!
Cyndy says
Yep, I knew exactly what you needed Jennifer! You have great colors to choose from and some really great step by step instructions and now you are all set! You’ll have to let me know what colors you go with and send me a pic! Thanks so much for your note! 🙂
debbie says
Fantastic post – thank you so much for all the great info.
Amber Argyle says
I need turquoise. Do you have any recommendations?
Kim McMurry says
Hi Cyndy,
I am going to paint my kitchen cabinets in April so I have been looking for a good color. My kitchen cabinets are a very orange color oak, as well as my hardwood floors so I have to be very careful of my color choice. I need to tone down the orange. I am one of those people who LOVE the earth tones and the color brown. My kitchen and family room are divided by a step and my family room has a brown stone wall and dark wood floors. I was thinking of painting the kitchen cabinets a cream color in an effort to keep the area light. However, a lot of the cream colors have a yellow undertone, which I think would be horrible with my floors. Do you have any cream colors that are more on the beige tones and not yellow tones that you can recommend?
Danielle says
I love the color Mindful Gray! My guest bedroom is painted this color. I would like to paint my powder/laundry room on our main level and am debating painting the walls this color or the bathroom cabinet. If I decided to paint the cabinet, any suggestions on wall paint color??
Cyndy says
Hi Danielle!
Mindful Gray is a great cabinet color. My office/studio built-ins are all Mindful Gray. My walls are actually Repose Gray, which is one shade up from Mindful Gray and you can see the combination here:https://www.thecreativityexchange.com/2013/07/officecraftfamily-room-reveal-finally.html
I also did a color palette with my favorite bathroom colors here:https://www.thecreativityexchange.com/2014/01/choosing-bathroom-wall-and-cabinet-colors-paint-it-monday.html for more suggestions. Thanks for you note Danielle! I hope this helps.
Danielle says
Thanks for the advice! Repose Gray is a color we plan to use in the main parts of our house (living room, hallways, etc.). Another amazing color option! I actually do have a question about that color…we have chocolate brown curtains, light colored furniture and a chocolate rug with pops of color in our living room. Any concerns about me using the Repose Gray with brown??
Regarding the color palette for bathrooms, could I just pick any of those colors and use on the walls and then pick another from the palette and use on cabinet?
Thanks again!!!
Sarah Trop says
Thanks so much for sharing our secretary desk in the post. Love all the colors and have used many of them! Love you’re site, too. 🙂
Michelle says
The pulls on the pine green cabinet and the lighter almost aqua cabinet are fantastic! Where are you finding the selections?
Nanette says
Love all these colours you’ve shown, and had a look at your Pinterest page ….great ideas there too. I’m painting a big chunky tv cabinet in navy blue, but am stuck on what to paint the inside…..all dark blue would be too much, and white too stark. I was thinking either something unexpected like a turquoise, or more sedate and going grey? Any thoughts, thanks.
Alana schwarz says
Allison…I love the range in your pallet! I also noticed many of these selections are from Benjamin Moore. That is my favorite brand of paint to work with plus they do have a lot of yummy colors.
Laura Rauschq says
I have a wood cabinet (with glass doors) made of Canadian Maple. Beautiful as the color is, it doesn’t fit in here in Florida. I love the color palets in your blog and want to go with a coral/red. Can you suggest a specific paint color? Also, would you go with a semi-gloss finish or flat? My room colors are similar to palette above called “favorites from the 2015 paint color forecasts: greyish taupe couch; wall colors are tanish grey and sa light ea green/blue. Coral is my choice for the “pop” of color in the room.
Nancie Martin says
Love all your ideas … all the colors are great choices I love Champion Cobalt and just painted my front door and am on my way to painting some bamboo barstools that I picked up from Goodwill … u have a great knack for color combination … thanks for your recommendations.
Anne OBrien says
Love the pale colours I want to paint my dresser table and chairs kitchen presses are whit and work top black Do I have to match everything or what colour would go with the kitchen presses
Karen Dobbs says
Thank you for the inspiration! I refinished a wood dresser this weekend in Mindful Gray and it came out great. Just a few brush strokes which I don’t know how to avoid. I used followed the instructions to a T. I sanded, used Kilz, waited 24 hours, sanded, usedpremium Sherwin-Williams paint, a high-quality paint brush (Purdy) and the additive. Not sure where I went wrong. Any suggestions?
Lee Sheorn says
Where did you get your knobs for both green pieces?
Carina says
Hi there,
Rainstorm is listed as a SW colour….but in the bulk of your blog you call it BM Rainstorm. Could you please advise?
Bonnie Oliphint says
My favorite colors are: Misty Blue- BM 820, Lemon Grass, BM 339, All A Blaze, BM. I also love Woodlawn Blue, Summer Blue, , Southern Belle, and Hale Navy. And Brazilian Blue is fantastic! All Benjamin Moore!
Leti says
Love your blog! I have an old secretary desk I want to paint in two shades of blue. I was thinking of a darker blue on the outside and pale blue on the inside and shelves. Any ideas on what shades of blue to use? Thank you.
Jillian says
I want to paint my China cabinet and love this color eclipse by ben m. U posted of that bathroom vanity! I was originally gonna do a chalky paint or milk paint but now I love this color. Is there anything different I should do using regular paint?
Cyndy says
If you are going to use a latex water based enamel, I would use an extender in the paint like Floetrol to extend paint time and reduce brush marks. If you use oil based, use Penetrol, with is a oil based extender. Really helps with a flawless finish.
Pat says
What colour would you recommend for pine bedroom funisher the walls are pale beige