Our Favourite Benjamin Moore Whites For 2022…In No Particular Order….

Chantilly Lace OC-65

Let’s start with Benjamin Moore’s known truest white, OC-65 Chantilly Lace.  This has become a fast growing popular colour choice for a pure, bright white.  This shade of white can work for trims, doors, ceilings and on occasion the walls as well.  The majority of its use is for millwork because it’s a ‘pure’ white.  This colour is unfiltered by coloured tint, which makes for an untainted white that can frame off many colours.  On the other hand, it sometimes reflects as too stark of a contrast against subtler colours.  It may appear too sterile for cabinetry, however it works well on the walls for a modern and streamlined style.

• If you like this you may also like: OC-61 White Diamond & OC-68 Distant Gray

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Cloud White CC-40

What can you say about Cloud White? It has been a tried and true colour, steadily for trim, because it’s a warm and soft white on the eyes.  It’s cloudy—yes, that’s fitting—, so it doesn’t appear as a sharp contrast with wall colours.  Cloud white couples well with subtle and soft colours such as the Historical colours, like HC-172 Revere Pewter.  While Revere Pewter can also be used with a sharp white, like Chantilly Lace, there is a much softer affect when used with Cloud White.  While this colour is popularly used for trim, it can also be applied for walls.  The slightly stronger yellow undertone creates a warm and natural white colour for walls, trim ceiling and cabinetry!

• If you like this you may also like: OC-122 Cotton Balls & CC- 50 White Down

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Simply White OC-117

As many of you know, OC-117 Simply White is Benjamin Moore’s 2016 Colour of the Year!  This is an exciting year to discover all these shades of white, including the 2016 colour.  Simply White combines the brightness of a colour like Chantilly Lace and the warmth of the Cloud White, into a fresh, yet warm shade of white.  Formerly, Simply White has often been used for trims and millwork, however, the warm yellow undertone of this colour makes it a great choice for an inviting wall colour as well.  The Simply White can pair well with vivid colours because it’s a bright colour itself, as well as warmer tone colours due to the yellow undertone.  For more insight into the uses of Simply White, check out Benjamin Moore Colour Trends 2019 

• If you like this you may also like: OC-121 Mountain Peak White & OC-118 Snowfall White

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Dove Wing OC-18

OC-18 Dove Wing falls under a warm off white, and the darkest out of this selection of whites.  Dove Wing is still an overall light colour and a great white to use on the walls. The gray tones make for a softer shade, while the touch of yellow makes it warm and an inviting hue of white.  Dove Wing is also a great alternative for a cabinetry colour, creating a casual and natural look as apposed to a pure white which can sometimes come off too stark or sanitary.

• If you like this you may also like: CC- 50 White Down & PM-20 China White

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White Dove OC-17

OC-17 White Dove is OC-18 Dove Wing’s counterpart! White Dove is a slightly lighter version of the creamy and soft off white of Dove Wing.  These two colours pair well with each other, often with White Dove as trim and Dove Wing as a corresponding wall colour.  Unlike the Cloud White, the White Dove has a little less yellow, and more gray creating still a warm but more neutral coloured off white.  White Dove is a completely versatile colour, suitable for trim, kitchen cabinets as well as walls.  White Dove can also be used as both the wall and trim colours at the same time, with preferably different sheen textures, to make a room appear taller.

• If you like this you may also like: OC-18 Dove White & OC- 25 Cloud Cover

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Decorators White CC-20

Decorators White falls under a cool undertone of an off-white. It contains a little gray, creating an off-white option that doesn’t lean in any particular colour tone, but it’s a softer version of a pure white such as Chantilly Lace.  This particular shade of white is a good option for trim colours when combined with grays.

• If you like this you may also like: OC-62 Baby’s Breath & OC-64 Pure White

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Oxford White CC-30

CC-30 Oxford White is one of my favourite whites! This is an excellent choice for trims and millwork.  It’s similar to Decorators White, due to its gray background.  It makes for a fresh, clean and modern white, but because it doesn’t appear too gray, can also be substituted for a pure white.  It is a softer version of Benjamin Moore’s purest white Chantilly Lace.  Oxford White is what I would consider, a close second to Cloud White in terms of versatility with most colours.  It is warm enough to be suited to warm colours, yet pure enough to compliment cool colours as well.

• If you like this you may also like: AF-5 Frostine & OC-57 White Heron 

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Intense White OC-51

This shade of white, leans heavily to the gray scale of off-whites.  It also has a slight undertone of green, which allows it to feel warmer without it being a yellow-gray.  This makes for a great choice for a wall colour that has just a hint of depth to it, and feels warmer than a pure gray.  The Intense White is a flexible gray that looks great with many shades of grays.  The muted white can be combined with lighter shades of white trim or even the same shade in a different sheen.

• If you like this you may also like: OC-52 Gray Owl & OC-26 Silver Satin

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Paper White OC-55

OC-55 Paper White falls in between the warmth of Intense White and the gray from Pure White.  It carries qualities of both colours, a mixture of blue, green and gray to form a creamy version of a cool gray.  The Paper White performs best on walls, creating a fresh, yet diffused white, that pairs well with cool tones of blue, greens and grays.

• If you like this you may also like: OC-53 Horizon & OC- 54 White Wisp

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Pure White OC-64

This shade of off white is the coolest on our spectrum of whites, containing the most blue.  It also has a little gray to create a blend that is crisp, vivid yet soft.  The Pure White, while not necessarily true to its name, is a good choice of colour for walls, that pair well with grays and cool colour tones such as blues.

• If you like this you may also like: OC-62 Baby’s Breath & OC-55 Paper White

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10 Light Neutral Colours (light to dark)

OC-95 Navajo White

OC-95-Navajo-White

To start, this is the warmest colour from our top 15 selection! It’s a creamy colour, consisting of yellow and pink undertones to give it warmth, yet the lack of any gray in it makes it a bright, crisp coloured neutral. This type of bright colour tends to work especially well in rooms lacking natural light because they themselves have a higher light-reflective value, which means the colour is not dulled, but reflects light off itself better. This colour has the most amount of yellow from our top-ten light neutrals, which would be emphasized in south facing areas with lots of light. That’s why it’s a perfect choice for darker spaces including north facing rooms to create a more cheerful impression.

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CC-50 White Down

CC-50 White Down

This creamy colour pairs well with the popular CC-40 Cloud White, as it’s the slightly darker version. It also has pink and yellow undertones, similar to the OC-95 Navajo White, with an added hint of gray, creating a softer neutral.  It doesn’t appear too bright, but offers a cushy, light, warm neutral.

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OC-26 Silver Satin

OC-26 Silver Satin

This is one of the more popular choices for a colour that runs throughout the home. It’s as close to white as possible without being too white! It’s a slightly warmer gray tone, that doesn’t appear too cool, yet retains a silvery and iridescent quality.  It creates minimal contrast with white trims and gives off a subtle and translucent-like light neutral gray. Layering well with whites and light grays, this milky, neutral colour is versatile for many different types of spaces. 

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OC-23 Classic Gray

OC-23 Classic Gray

Realistically this isn’t a ‘classic’ gray colour in the true sense, but it is a fantastic neutral gray. Different lighting tends to draw out different characteristics of this multi-tone pale colour.  The balance of a silver-gray with a warm back drop makes for a subtle, soft shade. While slightly creamier than the previously mentioned OC-26 Silver Satin, it’s just as light and pairs well with the ever-popular greige HC-172 Revere Pewter as well as other neutrals of beige undertones and gray undertones alike.

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CC-80 Gray Mist

CC-80 Gray Mist

Similar to OC-23 Classic Gray, the CC-80 Gray Mist has a slightly stronger beige backdrop, with a misty overtone of gray. While it can pair well with some grays, it compliments greige or taupes that lean slightly more toward a beige tone.  What makes it a great option is that it’s not as yellow as other neutrals, and the dose of gray makes it a modern version of beige. 

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OC-27 Balboa Mist

OC-27 Balboa Mist

Balboa Mist is arguably one of the most popular colours. Whether for bedrooms, bathrooms, or a whole-house colour, it gives the HC-172 Revere Pewter a run for its money!   Unlike the HC-172 Revere Pewter which has a green undertone, the Balboa Mist (and entire colour strip series) has a slight red undertone to provide warmth. It’s a highly versatile neutral ‘greige’ that leans slightly more toward the grays and typically appears first and foremost as a gray.  It’s perfectly balanced mixture of warm beige and modern gray allows it to compliment both traditional browns (ie: dark wood tables & furniture) as well as current popular gray materials (ie: ash-gray flooring & gray tiles) 

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CC-110 Muslin

CC-110 Muslin

Muslin can be considered as a perfect neutral beige! This intensely warm beige upholds a good depth of colour that establishes a light and comfortable hue! With a harmonized balance of yellow and pink undertones that isn’t too dark, this makes for a great warm backdrop ideal for north or east facing areas and pairs well with classic brown furniture. 

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OC-52 Gray Owl

OC-52 Gray Owl

OC-52 Gray Owl is another tried and true neutral gray. It’s warmer than the cool-tone grays like HC-170 Stonington Gray, yet cooler than OC-27 Balboa Mist.  It has undertones of both blue and green, with a stronger green undertone. This colour can transform depending on the lighting. Under cooler lighting, like north or east facing areas, it may appear more noticeably green or blue, but in warmer lighting, like south or west facing spaces, it presents itself as a relatively neutral gray. While it carries a little more depth, its partner OC-51 Intense White is a lighter version with the same tones.

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2111-60 Barren Plain

2111-60 Barren Plain

It was hard to decide between the two very similar brown-gray neutrals, 2111-60 Barren Plain and 2108-60 Abalone, so I’ve decided to mention both. They’re both comprised of violet/pink undertones, which is intensified under cool light (ie: daylight) and all but disappears under warm lighting, (ie: warm pot lights). These colours are rooted in a brown base colour that leaves the impression of a warm gray, but typically remaining light and neutral!

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2112-60 Cement Gray

2112-60 Cement Gray

Last but certainly not least, this is a colour rapidly gaining momentum in 2017! The 2112-60 Cement Gray is a modern neutral gray. With its mix of blue and red undertones, it has a slightly purple undertone gray that appears not as cool as a blue-undertone gray and not as muddy as a warm red-undertone gray. This year we’re seeing many furniture and fabric pieces that have this undertone of gray, which makes it the perfect backdrop for many designs!

Many homeowners are going lighter, but they don’t want to commit to plain white walls. These top-ten Benjamin Moore light colours, whether for one room or the whole house, are perfect as those light neutral shades!

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2121-10 Gray

Gray is a great alternative to white or beige walls.  Unlike white, gray naturally hides imperfections, where as white emphasizes smudges and blemishes.  Let’s face it, as much as we like white, it’s hard to keep clean!

Gray is still considered a neutral, so it innately goes great with most colours; and it’s a modern twist on the commonly used and trite beige.  Gray can act as a neutral backdrop to your collection of furniture and art, or conversely, be the statement colour of the room.  A dark charcoal gray, for example, introduces drama yet still feels elegant.  Benjamin Moore’s HC-167 Amherst Gray & AF- 710 Secret is a great place to start, when looking for darker shades of gray.

Neutral grays

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Alternatively an all gray palate can have a similar effect to a pure white palate.  A palate of exclusively grays can be just as interesting as greys paired with colour.  A grey palate emanates sophistication and luxury. When working with a monochromatic colour scheme, shades of gray for example, it’s important to layer materials, such as using different textures to provide depth.

The temperature of the gray you select is influential to the overall atmosphere of a space as well.  The temperature refers to the coolness or darkness a colour can have on a room, and correlates strongly with the direction a room is facing and therefore the amount of light the area receives.  Although the hue and depth of a gray is important, the temperature of a gray colour can have a big impact on how the space feels.  For example, OC-26 Silver Satin, an immensely versatile colour, conveys an iridescent quality yet feels warm.  On the flip side, 2121-50 Ice Cube Silver is light and airy as well, but has a much cooler temperature.  Be sure to reflect on the colour, depth and temperature of gray to attain the perfect hue.

White grays with different undertones

Currently, grays are used in almost any location in the house.  Because gray is regarded as a neutral, it makes for a great colour option for throughout the house.  Even though it may be easier to choose one shade of gray for throughout the house, I’d suggest adding other hues to your colour palate by implementing more than one colour throughout your home.  It will make it appear more complete, by adding depth and flow from one room to another.  Popular architecture today embraces open concept floorplans, and one colour throughout the space is ideal to make it feel larger and more spacious.  On the other hand, utilize your home’s natural architectural separation, like a bulkhead or doorway for instance, to create an opportunity to use other shades or colours.

Similarly to white, pure gray is limited.  Tinted paint is always comprised of, however small the amount may be, a colorant to achieve the colour hue you’re looking for.  Each gray is made up of different undertones.  Fundamentally, grays can be made up of an undertone of blue, red and yellow, but can also be a combination of these.

Here’s a breakdown of what each undertone could signify:

Blue-Gray

Everyone tends to gravitate toward to, what they consider, is the truest gray.  I’d say the majority associate ‘gray’ with a blue-undertone gray.  Colours such as HC-169 Coventry Gray and 2121-40 Silver Half Dollar are some of the most popular grays for this reason.  A blue-undertone gray can cool off a south facing room, or similarly a room with a lot of sun exposure.  A cool tone gray in a warm room will hold its value and won’t look dull or dreary.  While blue-undertone grays may feel like a true gray, these can also feel cold.  North facing rooms, for this reason, would not fare well with a cool, blue-undertone gray.

Blue undertoned grays

Blue-undertoned grays, when combined with green, can draw the warmer qualities of green and at the same time, enhance the silvery, crispness of the blue. HC-170 Stonington Gray for example, appears closer to a true gray, but doesn’t have a purely blue base.  Other grays such as OC-52 Gray Owl and 1474 Cape May Cobblestone have a greener undertone, and even though it’s not a bright undertone, like the blue, it does express a softness and warmth.

Blue undertoned grays combined with green

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Red-Gray

An undertone of red in gray appears warmer than a blue-undertone of gray.  A gray with undertones of red may appear slightly pink, however the lighting with these colours can affect how they present themselves.  Red-undertoned grays depicted under daylighting, or fluorescent lighting can reveal the pink undertones, whereas warm lighting, or incandescent bulbs can play down the pink pigment.   Benjamin Moore’s 2108-50 Silver Fox and 2108-60 Abalone are great examples of grays with warmer undertones.

Red undertoned grays

When a gray possess an undertone of red, it can also include purple.  A purple undertone is a mix of blue and red pigment, which is also commonly perceived as a true gray.  2112-70 American White is a good example of a purple undertone of gray, and as such performs best under warm or incandescent lighting.  On the other hand, with an ideal ratio of blue to red, a gray can feel balanced, when it doesn’t lean too much toward one colour or the other.  Colours such as 1472 Silver Chain and 1459 Metro Gray appear to be close to a true gray, as both have red and blue undertones.

Red undertoned grays combined with purple

Yellow-Gray

A yellow-undertone of gray will feel and look the most neutral, compared to blue-undertoned grays and red-undertoned grays.  Grays with yellow will appear warm and bright, perfect for minimally lit areas.  A slight yellow or gold pigment behind a gray is great for spaces without natural light and is a good idea to use for Northern exposure areas.  Introducing warm tones of the gray will help it not feel as dreary.

The yellow undertone of gray will dance between the line of gray and beige and is worth considering, for transitional style homes.  While beige may have been overused and is now commonplace, a yellow-undertone gray is a compromise between the warm elements of beige and the modern, fresh feeling of gray.  If you’re not wanting to jump into icy blue or steely grays, colours like HC-173 Edgecomb Gray and OC-15 Baby Fawn would be a worthy concession between a cold gray and a warm beige.  By the same token, HC-172 Revere Pewter is also a transitional gray with a yellow undertone, and while it does have a hint of a green backdrop as well, it’s currently the most popular Benjamin Moore colour because it’s such a flexible ‘greige’.

Yellow undertoned grays

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Comparably, a yellow-undertone of gray can also incorporate a mix of anther colour, commonly red or orange, much like a blue-gray can contain green.  Applying red to a yellow-gray can create more warmth and depth.  OC-28 Collingwood, CC-490 Stone Hearth and CC-394 Boulevard are all great examples of how a combination of yellow and red as undertones of gray work well to establish a warm gray that doesn’t show too much like a beige.

Yellow undertoned grays combined with red

The hue of gray you choose will be influenced by the materials existing in your space. Reflect on the undertones of the materials in your house, when choosing a gray, and by doing so, you can start to eliminate certain grays that won’t work with the undertones you have.

If you’re lucky enough to start with a blank slate, it can influence the tone of materials to come as well.

Lastly opt for a flat or matte finish on the walls versus an eggshell, when choosing a gray colour.  A flat or matte finish looks sleeker, and less industrial than shiny walls.  While a matte finish has previously been expected to show smudges and imperfections, the washable quality of Benjamin Moore’s Aura Matte or Regal Select Ulti-Matte is an ideal product to use with gray. Pairing a washable matte paint, and gray, a colour that naturally conceals defects, will ensure you have the perfect colour and flawless walls.

K522 Aura Matte

Aura Matte Interior Product Details

K522 Regal Select Ulti-Matte

Regal Select Ulti-Matte Interior Product Details

When it all comes down to gray, there really are more than 50 shades.  Finding the perfect shade of gray is possible, when you break down what you’re look at.  If you deduce what you like, what you’re looking for and what will and won’t work, you can certainly find the perfect shade of gray!

Here’s a list of some great grays under each colour tone:

Blue-Undertone Gray:

List of blue undertoned gray paint

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Red-Undertone Gray:

List of red undertoned gray paint

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Yellow-Undertone Gray:

List of yellow undertoned gray paint

Sahra McFarlane
Interior Decorator
Creative Haus Designs

Photos Courtesy of benjaminmoore.com Note: On-screen and printer color representations may vary from actual paint colors.

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Bedroom Wall Paint Color Tips

First, whether you choose the wall colors or you let your client choose and you design around them there are really no wrong choices. Even if your customer has no sense of the color wheel or complementary colors, you can get a sense of their goals for the room. If they choose lighter colors, maybe they want the space to look bigger. If they choose reds or earth tones, maybe they want to give it a warmer feel.

In any case, try some of the following to help get that personal sense from your customers for bedroom paint colors.

1. Ask them to Check Magazines and Social Media – Knowing what they like prefer can give you a clear direction for color choices. If they don’t know what they want or aren’t sure, ask your customers to browse magazine racks and social media to find things they like. As you know, Pinterest has become the online go-to place for decorating inspiration. Even let them in on some of the sites you use for ideas.
2. How Big is the Bedroom? – If it’s a smaller room, then lighter colors, like Benjamin Moore paint’s Palladian Blue, might be the way to go. Large bedrooms have the option of being made cozier with darker colors, either throughout the room or in a reading nook.
3. How Bright is the Room? Hand-in-hand with the room size is the brightness of the room. A small room with lots of natural light can tolerate somewhat darker colors, or bright accent colors, more than a small room with less light.

If you liked this post, check out our recent article on the interior design guidleine that will help you choose paint colours for any room.

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An Overview of the Colour Trends 2019

Before we get to our favourites, the 2019 colour trend palette represents a bit of a shift from colour trends of recent years. This is especially true of the colour of the year. The 2017 (Shadow) and 2018 (Caliente) colours of the year were bold, even emotive colours and their respective palettes reflected that.

As much as we loved the recent palettes, the 2019 colour trends are a welcome transition. We find the paint colors in the new palette to be comforting, composed and effortlessly refined. In her assessment of Metropolitan AF-690, the 2019 colour of the year, Ellen O’Neill, Benjamin Moore Director of Strategic Design Intelligence, sums it up nicely.

“Metropolitan AF-690 emanates nuance, harmony, and extravagant ease. Always adaptable, it softens to matte or shimmers with sheen. It’s neutral. It’s composed. It just is. This is colour, off-duty.”

Our Favourites from Benjamin Moore’s 2019 Colour Trends

First, we feel Metropolitan is an understated yet glamorous gray, but since we’ve covered it already, we’ll leave off the list below.

1. Metropolitan – This understated, yet glamorous gray creates a soothing atmosphere that is neither arresting nor aggressive, with cool undertones.
2. Beau Green – We thought we’d jump to the other end of the palette to Metropolitan with this bold, saturated green. It’s perfect for an accent wall in the living room, home theatre or family room.
3. Head Over Heels – This color is a neutral shade and adds staying power of the pink trend that’s been with us for over a decade.
4. Pashmina – As luxurious as the fine cashmere wool for which it is named, Pashmina creates a soothing, impactful ambiance.

If you liked this post, check out our recent article on Benjamin Moore’s colour of the year for 2019 – Metropolitan.

The post The Benjamin Moore 2019 Colour Trends We’re Most Excited About appeared first on The Paint People.

metropolitan (me-truh-pol-i-tn) adj. 1. of, noting, or characteristic of a metropolis or its inhabitants, especially in culture, sophistication, or in accepting and combining a wide variety of people, ideas, etc. (dictionary.com)

A light, silver grey, the choice of Metropolitan AF-690 is a marked change in direction for Benjamin Moore’s Colours of the Year over the past two years.

2017’s Shadow 2117-30 was variously described as ‘bold’. ‘moody’, ‘saturated’ and ‘striking’. And the name says it all for 2018’s Caliente AF-290. This red-hot chili pepper of a shade was called a ‘game changing’ colour of the year.

In stark contrast to Shadow and Caliente, Benjamin Moore describes Metropolitan this way:

“Calm, composed and effortlessly sophisticated, Metropolitan AF-690, exudes glamour, beauty and balance.”

Metropolitan is Very, Well, Metropolitan

It’s quite telling that the word ‘sophisticated/sophistication’ appears in both the dictionary definition of ‘metropolitan’ and Benjamin Moore’s description of Metropolitan AF-690.

Where Shadow and Caliente were statements all on their own, Metropolitan has the sophistication to work harmoniously with a wide variety of decors, styles, textures, and colours. And to let others have the spotlight while it sits elegantly in the background.

As Ellen O’Neill of Benjamin Moore puts it, “Metropolitan AF-690 emanates nuance, harmony and extravagant ease. Always adaptable, it softens to matte or shimmers with sheen. It’s neutral. It’s composed. It just is. This is colour, off-duty.”

Metropolitan’s versatile neutrality means you can use it in combination with other lighter shades to create a sense-soothing ambiance or let it be the ‘off-duty’ shade that plays the supporting role to bold statements in your furniture and accessories.

To learn more about Benjamin Moore’s 2019 Colour of the Year, Metropolitan AF-690, call or drop into your nearest The Paint People location today.

The post Introducing Benjamin Moore’s Colour of the Year for 2019 – Metropolitan appeared first on The Paint People.

Staging a home is like marketing it. You present the house in the best way possible to improve how fast, and for how much, it sells. Marketers will tell you that the secret to good marketing is to highlight what’s different about what you’re trying to sell.

So if every other house on the market is painted in whites and beiges, what should you do when staging your home?

Wall Paint Colours that Help Stage Your Home

If you were able to find paint colours that weren‘t bland, and unlike what buyers see in other homes, then your home will have an advantage over the rest.

Here are just a few wall paint colour suggestions that will add unique style, while not being too bold for your buyers.

Benjamin Moore – Come Sail Away

This pale turquoise works well in a variety of living room decors, so you may not need to change anything else in the room. In colour psychology, turquoise is said to create emotional balance and stability.

Benjamin Moore – Lemon Meringue

As delicious looking as the name implies, Lemon Meringue goes well with wood, marble or granite countertops in modern or traditional kitchens.

Benjamin Moore – Shadow

A former Benjamin Moore colour of the year (2017), Shadow continues to attract fans. We’ve included it here to prove that even darker shades can work for home staging. When used on an accent wall, Shadow can add depth and dimension to just about any room in the house.

If you would like more paint colour suggestions and staging tips for your home, call or visit us here at The Paint People.

The post Wall Paint Colour Suggestions to Avoid ‘Bland’ When Staging Your Home appeared first on The Paint People.

And it can be one of the toughest steps to get through. Especially if you’ve painted a room a few times, coming up with a colour scheme can be one of the more frustrating parts of the project.

Try the ‘Golden Ratio’ to Choose Paint Colour Combinations that Work Every Time

You can use a basic guiding principle of interior design to help you choose paint colours for any room in your home. But the guideline has nothing to do with paint colours. Instead, it is a rule of thumb for the proportion each colour in your combination should occupy in the finished room.

And the color combination might not be exclusive to wall paint colours. It could include other elements of your room, like furniture, accessories or accents.

60/30/10

It’s known as the ‘golden ratio’ of choosing colour combinations for interior designs. It’s why if you ever hire a professional interior designer they will likely, at some point in process, show you colour combinations of three colours for a room.

The primary colour (60%) might appear on most walls, the accent colour (30%) can work for a single wall or signature piece of furniture, and the accessories colour (10%) can work for things like door trim or throw pillows.

How to Start Choosing Colours

Even knowing something as important as the golden rule still doesn’t tell you which colour combinations work together. Sometimes using a colour wheel, designers often begin with just a colour pairing. These can be either analogous colours, which are often more calm and soothing, or complementary colours, which can be stronger and more energetic.

The third colour in your combination depends on the first two you choose. If the original pairing is more subdued, you might be able to go bolder with your third colour. If one or both of your first two colours are fairly strong or bold, you might not want to compete with that in your choice for colour number three.

The only real rule for choosing paint colour combinations is that there are no rules. If you find a colour combination and proportion that doesn’t fit any of the guidelines listed here, but it works, then you’re done!

If you’d like to take even more of the guessing out of which paint colours will work, Benjamin Moore’s Colour Handbook offers lots of colour combinations that work every time.

If you’re still stuck, or simply want to talk to a human being about it, call or visit us here at The Paint People.

The post This Key Interior Design Guideline Can Help You Choose Paint Colours for any Room appeared first on The Paint People.

Correct?

OK, please forgive the feeble attempt at trying to creatively illustrate the point that most office paint colours are generally the same and similarly subdued.

We probably had you at ‘off-white’.

And it makes sense. Neutral, less saturated paint colours affect us less than rich, bold colours, so they are perfect for the office.

How Paint Colours Affect People in the Workplace

According to colour psychologist, Angela Wright, we are impacted by different colours in the following ways.

Blue for the Mind

If your office is home to people who need to do a lot of brain work, like an architectural office, then blue, like Benjamin Moore’s Heaven on Earth 1661, creates the right environment.

Yellow Evokes Emotions

Optimistic and bright, yellows can lift the spirit and spur creativity is design studios and marketing agencies.

Green is Balanced

Like Mother Nature, green brings balance, calm and reassurance. Perfect qualities for financial institutions.

Red for Energy

If you’re looking for a great colour for your health club office or anywhere you want a talkative or social atmosphere, red will do nicely

There’s More to the Perfect Paint Colours for Your Office

So let’s say it was your job to choose the paint colours for the aforementioned  architectural office. As beautiful as it is, if you painted every wall in Heaven on Earth, the office might get a bit boring.

Colour saturation also has a significant effect. A deep rich red might perk you up in the morning, but it might also contribute to the afternoon crash, versus a less saturated version of the same colour.

There are no absolutely right or wrong answers for what are the best paint colours to use in your office. Even if you like it very subdued, you might just want to keep your employees awake with a splash of Benjamin Moore’s 2018 Colour of the Year, Caliente AF-290, on one wall.

Please call or visit us at The Paint People to learn more about the best paint colours for your office.

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But painting the kitchen cabinets isn’t like painting the walls. Before you start, filling holes and cracks in walls is a relatively easy fix. But if the wood of your kitchen cabinets is cracked, warped or badly chipped, it may need to be replaced.

Choosing Colours for Painting Your Kitchen Cabinets

At least as much as any room, you have lots of leeway for paint colours in the kitchen. While most kitchens tend to stay lighter and brighter, the recent trend to two-tone kitchens offers the option of using colour combinations too. Houzz recommends Benjamin Moore’s North Sea for lower cabinets and their Meadow Mist for uppers.

How to Paint Your Kitchen Cabinets

1. Protect the kitchen

Cover floors, furniture, and appliances with drop cloths, paper and/or cardboard so paint doesn’t get on them.

2. Take apart cabinets and drawers

Take the facings off drawers and remove cabinet doors. Remove the hardware, including handles, pulls, hinges, latches and knobs. Mark where the doors and drawers came from on inside surfaces of each and keep the hardware organized.

3. Clean all the surfaces to be painted

Kitchen cabinets take a beating from spills and grease. This job deserves a proper cleaner (dish detergent would do) and a strong sponge.

4. Sand

Use a fine grit paper to sand all the surfaces to be painted. Make sure to thoroughly wipe the surfaces clean after sanding. You’re just trying to prepare the finish for the coats of paint, so no need to sand it clean to the bare wood.

5. Prime the surfaces

Apply a coat of paint primer to the painting surfaces. An oil-based or shellac-based primer will help stop the old surface from showing through.

6. Sand between coats

Lightly sand the surfaces with a fine grit paper between coats of primer and paint.

7. Apply a top coat

This is your kitchen. Like we said, kitchen surfaces are exposed to more than their fair share of dirt, grease, steam and spaghetti sauce. If you will ever use a premium paint, like Benjamin Moore Advance, now’s the time.

8. Apply a second coat

The second coat will ensure consistent paint colour and offer added protection for your cabinets and drawers.

9. Install your ‘new’ cabinet doors and drawers!

After the paint has dried thoroughly, replace the handles and knobs, and reinstall the doors and drawers. If you want to make your mini-reno look even more like a full one, look for new cabinet hardware. It’s amazing the difference a different style of knobs and handles will make.

For more advice on painting kitchen cabinets, drop into your nearest The Paint People location.

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