I love my Instagram peeps. You really love and appreciate what I send out into the ether. When sharing my home nothing comes close to the one request I receive again and again- Can you please share with me the color of your ( insert here) butler’s pantry, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom window trim, dining room?
I always respond in the same way, Yes! Stay tuned! ... After two years of keeping the requests at bay and a deep dive into my basement full of years of rusty paint cans and junk drawers full of paint chips I'm happy to say without further ado, yes!! I’ve got that color for you!
As you all know I just adore the time-worn, richly faded look of well-loved rooms. I feel strongly that wall color shouldn’t distract too much from furniture and art, it should enhance and enrich the objects in the room.
I have a favorite color. It is a mossy, dusty, greenish-ochre. Through trial and error I have discovered that any variation works PERFECTLY as an interesting neutral in every room. It acts as a subtle yet tasteful backdrop for any kind of romantic furnishing or decoration, it has never failed me yet!
... so I also used it for my exterior house color :))
Benjamin Moore latex paint is generally my go to choice. It’s easily accessible and they have a great selection of colors to choose from. I especially like the Williamsburg Paint Color Collection for really good historic colors particularly for an old house like mine.
I always use Matte finish for walls which gives a kind of vintage, mostly flat, milk paint look. I use Low Luster for molding, trim and doors, it's slightly shinier but easier to clean and the slight contrast in sheen works well.
The colors from Old Village Paint are also fantastic. This family owned business has been making paint and varnish in historically accurate colors since 1816. Their latex paint only comes in Satin finish, a slightly shinier appearance but the colors are worth it!I have used it upstairs and it looks great :)
I believe in choosing one single white/off-white shade for every room. I think it creates a unified look and ties all the rooms together (it’s also so much easier!).
The drama of picking any white/off-white color is stress inducing to say the least with so many choices. So why not just choose one? I use Ben Moore’s BONE WHITE PM-30.
Let’s start the tour! We will begin downstairs where I chose to paint all the walls a feature color and the trim, doors and ceilings off-white throughout (a more formal look). Then we will head upstairs where the walls and ceilings are painted off-white and the trim and doors are painted a contrasting color (a more cozy 18th century feeling).
The unusual arsenic green color in my downstairs guest room was left over from the paint I mixed myself for the living room in my NYC apartment. It’s the only color exclusively mine (for now!) and definitely deserves its own story in a future post ;)
Happy painting!
James XOXO
In the living room, the ceiling and trim are painted Ben Moore BONE WHITE PM-30. I even chose a wallpaper with my signature dusty ochre color :)
The dining room walls are Ben Moore OCHRE 2151-30, the ceiling, doors and trim are Ben Moore LINEN WHITE PM-28. This is the only exception to my all one off-white color in the house, this was the first room I painted and changed to bone white soon after!
The butler's pantry is Ben Moore SHELBURNE BUFF HC-28, the ceiling and trim are BONE WHITE PM-30.
The kitchen is painted all one color, the walls, trim and ceiling are Ben Moore HUNTINGTON BEIGE HC-21.
The bathroom is Ben Moore BERKSHIRE BEIGE AC-2, the ceiling and trim are BONE WHITE PM-30.
The little downstairs guest room (my mom's when she comes to stay) is painted a color I mixed myself! I'm saving this story and the color for another post :))
Now we're heading upstairs! The stair hall walls and ceiling are BONE WHITE PM-30. The trim and doors are painted Old Village PEARWOOD 1703.
The bathroom walls are BONE WHITE PM-30, the wainscotting is Ben Moore OLD SALEM GRAY HC-94 and the trim is Ben Moore CROWN POINT SAND HC-90.
The guest room walls are the original unpainted plaster (left as is) from 1846! The ceiling is BONE WHITE PM-30, the door and trim are Ben Moore BLAIR GOLD HC-22.
The master bedroom walls and ceiling are BONE WHITE PM-30, the doors and trim are Old Village ANTIQUE YELLOW 1709.
I even love the way my favorite color snuggles into the lush green of the landscape :) My house is painted in Ben Moore NORWICH BROWN HC-19, the shutters and doors are Ben Moore BLACK FOREST GREEN PM-12 and there trim is MONTEREY WHITE HC-27.
The evidence of years of trial and error (rusty paint cans not shown, lol).