Coastal Paint Colors – Whole House Paint Colors
I think one of the most commonly asked questions for anyone who shares pictures of their home on the internet (ie bloggers) is, “What paint color is that?” I’ve never been secretive with my design choices and pretty much every paint color can be found somewhere on this blog but I think it’s nice to have them all in one place. I have a specific style and all of my paint colors would fall under the category of coastal paint colors.
In this post, I’ll be sharing all of the paint colors in our home. I think it’s really helpful to see paint colors in real spaces. By putting all of my paint colors along with photos of each one in a real space in our house, I’m hoping that this guide will become a great resource for you if you are looking for certain paint color in my home or if you are simply peeking around for some ideas for coastal paint colors. When I’m thinking about a new paint color, I always do my research and hunt around for photos of that paint color in real spaces. So, I’ll share not only my paint whole house color palette but images of each of the colors in my home.
For more details on coastal decorating in general, check out these tips on how to decorate in a casual coastal style.
Whether you’re looking for Sherwin Williams coastal colors or a general coastal color palette for a beach house, these colors will be great for you!
Coastal Paint Colors
The color palette you see above suits my coastal loving heart and home pretty nicely. You can see that I’m very much drawn to calm colors that mimic the ocean and sea vibes.
Behr Ultra Pure White
Originally used Behr paint color Ultra Pure White to paint all of the trim in our home. I liked it so much I also painted all of the closets in our house the same color. I get this paint in a satin finish which wipes very easily. . It’s the perfect white for trim and baseboards.
Benjamin Moore Cloudy Sky
I fell in love with this Benjamin Moore paint color almost instantly. I tried a half dozen colors for our bedroom and Cloudy Sky won out by a mile. I wanted a bold color that would also feel serene and calm. In our bedroom, this color does exactly that. It’s a smoky blue that leans gray but in natural light has more of a blue hue. It is bold but subtle. It’s important to note that I have a wall of windows in this room which brightens up the paint color overall. You can read more about this paint color in this paint color spotlight post.
Benjamin Moore Oyster Shell
This Benjamin Moore paint color is probably one of my favorites of all time. In some spaces this color pulls bluer and in others it pulls more green – it’s a perfect coastal paint color. In my bathroom, it’s a gorgeous shade of blue-gray. If you are looking for a light color with blue/green undertones this one is worth looking into. I’d even venture to say that this could be a nice neutral color for a space with a lot of natural light.
Sherwin Williams Topsail
We used the color SW Topsail in our daughter’s shared room. It’s a beautiful soft blue that isn’t a bright baby blue. Peighton is really into blue and she was adamant that she have a blue room. I was happy to oblige when I found SW Topsail. It’s a really serene blue that has a bit of green and gray in it. It’s definitely not bright or overly saturated. It’s more subtle and that’s why I liked it.
Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace
If it’s wrong for white to be your favorite color then I don’t want to be right. White paint is finicky. How the color will look on your walls depends on so many factors. For our living room, the lack of natural light caused many colors to look yellow or pink. This was spot on – it’s my favorite. I’ve written extensively on this color, in particular, you can read more about Chantilly Lace here. It’s the most creamy white without being yellow or beige. We ended up painting our entire living area Chantilly Lace and it’s perfect.
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt is very popular. If you look up “sea salt” on Pinterest, you’ll find thousands of images using this color. It’s a really transformative color that can take on many shades once it’s in a space and that shocks a lot of people. If you want to try this color, be sure to sample it before you go all out. On the swatch, it looked much more green than it appears in my guest bathroom shown above. It can also look more of a sky blue in a space with lots of natural light. It creates a very spa-like feel which makes it perfect for bathrooms and bedrooms. Very serene – the perfect coastal blue.
Benjamin Moore White Heron
White Heron is a white paint color that we used in our kitchen/breakfast nook. I tried this color on a small space in our kitchen and it looked very white, once the sun went down a little, it had a more green undertone. I noticed that this color has some green undertones that appear with less natural light. During the morning and into the early afternoon this color is the perfect creamy white in our kitchen. Once the sun starts to set you can see notes of green but I love it anyway.
Behr Still Gray
Our kitchen cabinetry, as well as our master bedroom vanities, have been painted this Behr paint color called Still Gray. I tested a dozen gray paints before deciding on one for our kitchen cabinets and this was the only true gray that I found. It’s a very true medium gray that I love. It’s a safe choice! Read about our cabinet painting experience here.
Behr Quiet on the Set
Behr paint color, Quiet on the Set is a very lovely soft gray. It feels pretty muted with its purple undertones. You have to be careful with this color if you have a space with little to no natural light. Without light, it will pull more purple than what you see above. We used this paint color in our guest bedroom. It creates a very calming overall feel.
I hope this in-depth view of our coastal paint color palette is helpful and answers any questions you may have! If not, please drop them in the comments and I’ll be sure to answer them. If you have a favorite paint color in your home, I’d love to hear it as well!
I would like to paint my living room with BM Cloudy Sky. Thanks for sharing.
Perfect….. There is a fresh, uncluttered and peaceful feeling in every corner of your sweet home. I think due to your research work on color.
I have a hard time deciding on paint color for my home because it faces north. Facing north changes color in a way that makes this project so hard. Any suggestions ?
Hi Donna – that is a challenge. The rooms in the front of your home will tend to lean cool. I would choose a warmer color like a gray/beige (greige) instead of a straight gray. Stay away from any blue or purple undertones.
Hi, i am considering SW Sea Salt for our master. Its a very dark room that has one teeeeeny tiny window that barely lets in any light. Overhead is from a ceiling fan- not much help there. Hoping to lighten up the space some!
Can you tell us about the rug in your living room? Beautiful colors!
Chelsea,
My main living level walls are Sherwin Williams Contented, trim is Impressive Ivory. Hall and family room are Duron Tequila. It’s time to do my lower level ( walk out basement)- should wall colors be the same as main floor? If not, any suggestions for neutrals that co ordinate with main level? ( The carpeting in lower level is a taupe berber type). Thank you!
Hi Chelsea,
Did you redo your medicine cabinet in the guestbath? And if so, how?
Thanks,
Mary
I love your palette. We are looking for a light, bright neutral for our main level which includes a fairly dark hallway. Considering White Heron. What color was your living room initially? We also want to avoid a yellow-look so I’d like to know what color to stay away from ?
Christina – it was a color by Behr called Crisp Linen – if you search Crisp Linen in the search box on the right you’ll see a post about it. I don’t think it’s a yellow-y color in general, just with little natural light it comes off more yellow.
Thanks!
If your main living space has a lot of natural light. Do u think White Heron is a better choice than Chantilly Lace?
I don’t want stark white walls.
Thanks! Cindy
I think White Heron is a nice choice as well. We have it in our kitchen – with only one window, it does have a slightly green tint but I still like it. With more natural light it would feel warmer so that may be a great choice if you have lots of beautiful windows.
I tried Oyster Shell in our master. It is BLUE not gray. In the can it looks whitish gray but baby blue on the wall.
Do you have a lot of natural light? In our bathroom (lots of natural light) it is gray with a blue undertone but definitely not blue.
What color is your trim with Chantilly Lace? We have SW Extra White throughout our house but wondering if the Extra White will look okay with the Chantilly Lace?
Hey Sarah – our trim is Behr – Ultra Pure White – so it’s white white – and it looks great with the Chantilly Lace.
I’m so confused by how light Cloudy Sky looks in your bedroom. Is the photo lightened? Or is this the effect of the natural light coming through? The paint color looks so much darker in my house!
Hi Jamie, this room has two huge windows so this is just an effect of natural light. I can imagine it being much darker in a space with little natural light.
Hey Chelsea,
What a lovely and informative blog! Thank you for your insight. I do have a question! We are looking at painting our main floor powder room and am trying to decide between SW Seasalt and SW Topsail. Also thinking of doing a white shiplap feature wall behind the mirror/vanity. Which colour would you recommend for a small powder room with no window/natural light?
Thank you in advance!
I would probably go with Seasalt for a smaller space. Topsail is beautiful but can read a little too light blue without natural light. We had Seasalt in our guest bath with had zero natural light – search guest bathroom here on the blog for pics!
Good evening,
I’m looking to install picture frame wainscoting and cloudy sky to my dining room and continue the color in the attached kitchen. I’m a little nervous about the kitchen being a little too dark as I have honey pine cabinets and only one window. What do you think? Also what color do you think would go in a hallway right outside the kitchen. I love your color theme and would love some ideas.
Thank you.
Alexis
Hi Alexis! How do you feel about your kitchen as it is currently? Light-colored walls? Does it feel dark now with only one window? Cloudy Sky in my bedroom was probably a little lighter than usual because we had two huge west-facing windows. I love the color and think it look great in many spaces lots of light or little. The best thing you can do is grab a sample, put in a place you are most concerned about it being too dark and live with it for a little bit. Another color I’d consider for the hallway outside the kitchen would be Oyster Shell. I think it’s a beautiful neutral color that is light and bright with blue/gray tones. I think that would look lovely with Cloudy Sky. Hope that’s helpful! Feel free to send pictures chelsea(at)makinghomebase.com
Beautiful choices! I’m sorry if I missed it, but what color is your ceiling?
The ceiling in our living room is probably original to the house – I have no clue what color it is. We hoped to one day remove the popcorn ceiling and paint but we didn’t get a chance to do it. Sorry I can’t be more helpful.
We are moving to a condo all the windows are big,face west,what color would you suggest for the walls? I have a lot of blue and white dacor..
I like white walls in open spaces so my recc would be Chantilly Lace by Ben Moore but it’s such a personal choice.
I recently moved in with my partner. A new house we bought together. We had to plan and set up everything in a very short time. Finding the right appliances for the kitchen, setting up the bedroom, the outdoor and the garage. The toughest was the living room. Thank you for sharing the it. Articles and ideas like yours had really helped us get done with things conveniently. There is still a lot for us to do. Bit by bit we are getting there:)
Great info, thanks!
Help! I plan to use SW Sea Salt (maybe at 75%) in the open living/dining space. There is a fireplace that has shiplap horizontally up the wall. I want to paint it a slightly darker color but there is no pretty shade of sea salt (unless I just do 100% SS) so am thinking a complimentary color, like SW Tradewind, which is in our bedrooms, or maybe the lighter shade, Topsail.
Would this look okay? What color should I do the fireplace wall to coordinate with the Sea Salt? I’d prefer to pullout the blue not green. There are built in shelves, cabinets in SW Extra White next to the fireplace. Thanks!
I love your color esthetic! We are in the first phase of remodeling all of the floors in our house. Yikes! We have chosen a very light wide plank oak look LVP. I love your ideas for creamy white walls but want to live with the floors before picking the paint change. I will use your suggestions of living with large color swatches before going all in.
Do you have some suggestions for exterior paint? I need to choose colors for the exterior of our home.
Beautiful color palette!! I agree with open living spaces with a nice crisp white wall. I’m curious about your backsplash. Ive been looking for something like it and nothing makes me happy. Yours truly does! Where did you find it?
Hi Rebecca, I believe we got it from The Tile Shop. https://www.makinghomebase.com/diy-kitchen-makeover/ this post has all the kitchen details!
I really like all the colors you show here. My problem is all of the woodwork and door frames and windows are stained. I want colors that will look good with the stain which is a walnut brown. Any suggestions?
Hi Dee, I think all of these colors will work nicely with wood stained trim.