10 Wall Color Ideas You Can Use on Your Own Home

Wall Color Ideas: Making a Subtle Impression 

If you’re like me, you cannot come up with creative ideas in a vacuum. That’s why it helps to have a few wall color ideas laid out for you.

While some of these colors may look better in kitchens, baths, dining rooms, or other spaces, I have tried to make this as universal as possible.  One reason you might want to look for universal colors is because they don’t always remain quietly in one room.  Living room colors may continue toward the bedrooms…via the hallway.  Kitchen colors, in open plan homes, will be visible from at least one other room.  

When Do Lots of Colors Become Too Many Colors?  

Color schemes that employ more than 3 colors are a blast when you first apply them.  You feel like you’re going leaps and bounds past those boring homeowners who stick to one or two colors.  While they are fun, remember that they can be difficult to maintain. You end up with ten cans of paint in the basement. Colors frequently get discontinued by the manufacturer. Colors that were hot one year are ridiculously dated three years later, meaning that your repainting project will be that much harder.  If you can accept this in advance, multiple colors can instantly snazz up an otherwise dull, ordinary house. Take your pick.

Playing It Safe.  Color-Safe, That Is.

One way to add sparkle and interest to whole-house color schemes is by addressing other elements, such as trim, mantels, door casing, and baseboards.  Another classic way to inject life to a home’s interior colors, without going too far, is to paint an accent wall.

Shown Here

A rich, coordinated assortment of colors from Valspar: Baking Stone, Fresh Cotton, Hibiscus Tea and Rich Mahogany.

Not Just Color, But Texture, Too 

Ralph Lauren Paint has a fabulous wall color called Indigo Denim. It’s more than just a paint; it’s a process.

As Ralph Lauren Home puts it, “To create this look, a tinted, translucent glaze is applied over two semigloss base coats, and a woven pattern is worked into the wet glaze using the Ralph Lauren Denim Weaver Brush and Ralph Lauren Check Roller.”

Bold, Assertive Orange Wall Color Idea For Office 

Not for the shy, this wall color gives your house the character it deserves.

From Dutch Boy, you are looking at Timbermine and Spanish Tile.

Because the orange wall color is so overpowering, the toned-down trim color gives the room greater focus, sharpens the edges.

Bring In the Sun With This Orange Living Room Wall Color 

Some living rooms were meant for comfort, quiet, and relaxation.  This living room is all about living.  It demands attention with its assertive oranges and golds.

From Valspar, this paint:  Pumpkin Bread, Fleecy, Golden Sunset and Roasted Garlic.

The All-White Look: Luminous White Living Room Wall Color 

For a luminous, brilliant, radiant, and dare we say, angelic, wall color idea, check out Ralph Lauren Home’s Modern Light Collection of charming (not boring) neutrals, soft blues and oranges, that will go well throughout your entire house.

A Berry-Nice Bedroom Wall Color Neutral 

Ready to be schooled in the benefits of neutrals?  Once again (like our previous Ralph Lauren Home color), we see a neutral wall color that you might actually love.

Neutrals aren’t beige or grey (okay, some of them are).  But the vast majority of today’s neutrals are shaded down with rich blues or toned up with delicious reds, oranges, or yellows.

From Ralph Lauren Home, this wall color is called Natural Berry.

Wall Ideas: Colors for a Foyer 

Why not make the house foyer a different color than the rest of the house?  It’s a great way to capture your visitors’ attention and make them feel comfortable even before they enter the first room.

Shown here is Dutch Boy’s Yellowtail Dam.

Soft and Easy Room Colors 

If you’re looking for whole-house wall color ideas, then Laura might be your lady.

Valspar’s Laura Ashley Color Collection emphasizes the ease and grace of classic homes found in the English countryside.

Color shown are Sand 3, Sand 5, Almond Oil and Brick 5.

White Wall Color: With Style and Elegance 

It’s hard to go wrong with Ralph Lauren Home’s WhiteWash Collection. It’s basically white, with subtle shots of color that make this one easy to live with.

It’s the patrician feeling that Ralph Lauren Home does so well.

Bright, Sunny, and Easy Wall Color Ideas 

These are bright, cheerful wall colors that will change the mood of the whole house–and everyone within.From Valspar, these colors are Pale Cowslip 1, Pale Cowslip 6 and Pale Cowslip 4.