Our Interior Paint Colors + Painting Tips
I recently shared Tips for Selecting a Full House Interior Color Scheme, but didn’t share the specific colors I am using for our new home in St Pete, FL. Today I’ll share those colors (including which is my favorite!) and a few of my painting tips to make the process easy.
Our Interior Paint Colors
For our new home I selected the following colors from Benjamin Moore:
Teal 2055-10
Misty Blush 2097-60
Piedmont Gray CC-690
Forest Green 2047-10
Smoke 2122-40
White Dove OC-17
Piedmont Gray is my personal favorite in this collection. It’s a soft, muted green that plays well with a variety of accent colors. It’d look lovely with navy accents, deep greens, or pinks. I’m such a fan. We’re using it the hallway and bathroom, but it would be a lovely choice for a bedroom as well.
Alright, on to the painting tips!
Your Local Hardware Store Can Match Paint Colors
First up, if you didn’t know it already, just because you select Benjamin Moore paint colors does not mean you have to purchase your paint at a Benjamin Moore store. I simply took my list of paint colors (including the color codes and any alternate known as names) to Home Depot and had them pull up each color in their system. They were able to match those colors and I was able to purchase paint at a slightly lower cost and a location that was convenient to me.
Paint Finishes
I recommend a flat/matte or eggshell finish on walls and a semi-gloss for trim, doors, and cabinetry. I also use a semi-gloss in bathrooms as it will better handle the steam. Satin can work for low moisture areas, but I’m a better safe than sorry kinda gal and don’t mind the slight increase of sheen between satin and semi-gloss.
If you have kiddos, eggshell is always going to be a safer bet for ease of cleaning over a flat or matte option. However, there are brands that offer a matte/flat finish that is intended for easy cleaning if you’re set on that look.
I basically never use high-gloss. It reflects the most light and I would likely only put it into a design if shooting for a more “glam” look.
Get a Good Brush
Trimming out your walls is tedious, but it is so much easier when you use a quality paint brush. This guy is my favorite. It’s comfortable to hold, doesn’t shed bristles, and gives you great control.
Pay Attention to Your Walls
The nap of your roller is really important. Pay attention to the texture of your walls before selecting your paint rollers. Our new house has (a variety of) textured walls so I needed something with a thicker nap in order to cover all the crevices in our walls. If paining smooth walls, you can go with a thin nap roller. Most rollers are labeled to let you know what type of surfaces they are suitable for so just be sure to pay attention to what you’re grabbing.
Don’t be Lazy
Take off your switch and plug covers before painting. Don’t cut corners and be lazy by painting around them because 1) it’s actually more difficult to paint around than it is to remove them and 2) you’ll end up having paint on your covers that you then have to clean off. Do the proper prep and remove all those pesky covers before you begin.
Lovely Tip: I’ve seen people write their paint color names on the inside of their switch covers to help them (or future owners) know the room color. Not a terrible idea.
Top to Bottom
Paint from the top to the bottom so you can easily take care of any paint drips along the way. I also like to do a final check for drips (especially when painting doors) so I can swipe them with the brush before the paint has fully dried. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck sanding down the paint and repainting that section (or you’ll just stare at paint drips forever).
Crisp Paint Lines
Painting a two toned wall? Want to add stripes? Once you paint your base color (and it has dried thoroughly), add your tape line and first paint over the line with your base color. This step means that any paint that sneaks under your tape line will match the base wall color.
Once that dries, you can then add your accent color and when you remove the tape line (while the paint is still wet), you’ll have a perfectly clean, crisp line.
Lovely Tip: Frog tape is my favorite painters tape. It even gave me crisp lines on our incredible textured walls.
Of course there are plenty of other things to keep in mind like cover surfaces you don’t want to get paint on and prep your walls ahead of time (fill holes, remove nails, fix issues, etc.), but these are my top tips for tackling your next interior paint project. Happy painting!
Need help planning your home color scheme? Reach out here for more details on how I could partner with you to create a home you love.