Colorful Farmhouse Country Paint Palette: Real Homes, Real People
Are you tired of seeing the same gray-on-greige paint palettes on Pinterest? I’M NOT! I still break into a Richard Simmons-style sweat whenever I see a well-coordinated neutral palette. However, there is something to be said for some well-placed colors that not only work with gray but also enhance it. That’s right, the Great World of Pinterest. I said the ‘c’ word—COLOR!
And that’s why I want to show you this next project – which happens to be my BFF Kim’s home (I captured her via a tranquilizer dart and forced the Kool-Aid down her throat – lucky girl).
Kim loved country style with a nod to farmhouse, but she didn’t want to go full-steam ahead with trends such as shiplap, tons of distressed/painted furniture, and the usual ‘white on gray on greige on beige on taupe on mushroom on cream‘ type of paint palette (all in one breath, too!). So, we decided to use some ‘thoughtful color placement‘ to work with the home’s existing colors/features and capture the mood Kim wanted to create in her home.
THE LIVING ROOM & DINING ROOM
The entire left side of the house is pretty much a living room and dining room, with the kitchen and entryway branching off either end. This color needed to set the right foundation to support the more ‘colorful’ adjoining rooms.
The paint color we chose is Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter (read ALL about it here). This is one of those rare times when Revere Pewter picks up a faint, stony blue undertone rather than going a muddy green. This can happen when you have the ‘perfect storm’ of exposure, trim color, interior lighting, and a bottle of wine.
See the entryway in the upper left corner. We used yellow accents to tie the entryway (and kitchen) color into the living and dining room, helping to create flow from space to space.
Paint Color Review of Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter
COUNTRY KITCHEN & EATING NOOK
Painted a beautiful sunshiny yellow, this room is radiant and inviting! Because all of the main floor windows are underneath a deck, the natural light is slightly diffused coming in and could make some paint colors feel a bit flat and dull. The golden warmth of Benjamin Moore Suntan Yellow radiates out of this room and invites everyone in (or maybe it’s just the beer fridge).
The photo above shows how Revere Pewter makes a great backdrop to the warm yellow kitchen.
The cabinets are painted a cream color very similar to Benjamin Moore Navajo White with quartz countertops and a golden oak floor.
Paint Color Review of Benjamin Moore Navajo White
We spend a lot of time at this table! With French doors leading out to the pool (everyone needs a friend with a pool; now we’re waiting for them to get us a boat…wink wink, Clint), the kitchen is the hub and heart of this home. For my friends in the USA, I know a pool is a common feature down there; however, up here on the West Coast of Canada, a pool is a novelty, and bathing suits are optional!
3 Neutral Farmhouse Country Paint Palettes
THE ENTRYWAY & HALLWAY
The entryway is attached to the kitchen. With creamy wainscoting and a built-in bench, it’s not just a simple transition area; its color, warm wood tones, and accents really set the stage for the rest of the home.
And you can see a sneak peek of Kim’s home office to the left, patined in one of my FAVE colors…
THE HOME OFFICE
Kim wanted something a bit ‘West Coast’ inspired for her home office, which was an easy look to achieve with Benjamin Moore Stonybrook. Stonybrook is a fabulous blend of blue and gray with some green, which prevents it from being too cold or shadowed-looking.
The Best DARK Blue-Gray Paint Colors
This is where Kim works on her website, Vancouver Island View. It’s an AWESOME resource for those of us living on Vancouver Island and for all the tourists visiting our beautiful island (passive-aggressive travel suggestion…). And if you look closely, you can see a lovely little ginger in the photo (because all gingers are lovely, and if you disagree, we’ll steal your soul).
This room has a relatively strong cream trim (actually, two different trim colors they didn’t want to fix), making it tricky to choose a color. Going darker was a great way to lean into her tastes while humoring the trim’s needs…
The Best Paint Colors to Update Cream Trim or Cabinets
Let’s go upstairs and pee(k) in the guest bathroom.
The Best Blue & Green Bedroom Paint Colors
THE GUEST BATHROOM
With its cool blue vibe, the guest bathroom is a fresh retreat for company (or when I don’t want them to hear me peeing in the powder room downstairs).
Benjamin Moore Smoke is the perfect complement to the blue vinyl flooring and countertops, giving the room a fresh, beachy vibe!
Ideas to Add Personality to a Small Bathroom
THE LOVE SHACK
Finally, where the magic happens, well, that’s what her hubby Clint likes to think anyway.
You’re looking at Benjamin Moore Fernwood Green, a soft, muted green with a subtle earth-toned base that calms things down, giving this green a farmhouse country vibe. I blurred out their faces in the photos because Clint is just so DARN good-looking that I didn’t want Kim to get jealous of the fan mail he’d get.
The Best Medium to Dark Green Paint Colors
So there you have it—a colorful country home! Are you inspired to add some country-inspired color to your home?
READ MORE
The Best Blue-Gray Paint Colors: Stress-Reducing & Calming
The Best WHOLE HOME Warm Neutral Paint Colors
Ideas to Update Your 1990s Home
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WRITTEN IN 2017, UPDATED IN 2023
What a lovely job. What a lovely home. Magazine ready.
Thank you Toni, it really is a lovely home!
What a lovely home! The colors are just beautiful and work so well together. My favorite is the yellow!
Oh you would like it Deedra, being a farmhouse country gal yourself! I know, the yellow is so warm and welcoming!
I enjoy your posts!!
Oh how you make me laugh ! Great post. Beautiful home. Su-pear job. Revere Pewter shines as always. My fav color. Can do so much with it. Vancouver is on my bucket list for sure!
Beautiful rooms. Can you tell us what colour is all the trim? Thanks
Hi Tina! It is very similar to Navajo White, just a bit lighter. It’s the original trim colour so that’s as close as I could get to it 🙂
Love the colors and the vibe. Trendy, but not too, and comfortable. My favorites are the living and dining rooms. I’d love a regular feature titled “Real Homes, Real People”.
Oooo Linda, you’re a genius! I love it! I’m going to think more on that. The only challenge I have is getting clients with enough ‘finished rooms’ and quality enough photos. So many of my clients are e-design, so I can’t pop over and get photos myself (or even a glass of wine!!!!). Hmmm. I’m going to see what I can do though…Maybe YOUR home should be in it!!!
~Kylie
BM’s Fernwood Green in the Master Bedroom is a colour that will linger with me. I’m sure I will opt for that in my bedroom. Its just what I have been looking for. All the other colors are wonderful as well. I’m tired of grays!
I know, isn’t it GORGEOUS. I spend a lot of time consulting in the gray/griege world, and it’s just SO nice to explore colour – and Fernwood is just a beauty!
What color did you use for the trim? In some rooms it looks white, in others it looks creamy.
Wellll, we’re busted. So, like with most homes, things evolve over time. So, the crown molding was a newer addition and hasn’t been painted the creamy colour that the rest of the trim is (yet). So, most of the window/door/baseboards are a colour similar to BM Navajo White, while the crown molding is more white! (but don’t tell anyone…) Eventually, it will all be painted the same colour 🙂
In my own home, we added crown molding in several rooms and painted it the same color as the rest of the trim and it looks so much whiter,brighter!!! (The color is Behr “Decorator White” which is a neutral (doesn’t lean noticeably cool or warm–pretty close to BM’s Chantilly Lace, maybe a hair’s breadth warmer, perhaps. ) This is true in all the the rooms where we installed the crown molding, even though the rooms are different sizes and have different exposures! Is this some phenomenon of lighting? Have you ever experienced this before?
By the way, the home is gorgeous and the color palette is too! You are a great bff to have! I love the post and your humor, as always.
Thank you Phyllis! That’s the great thing about choosing ‘just the right white’ is that it can accommodate different exposures/lighting situations – you picked good girl! Basically, the less ‘colourant’ that is in it, the more flexible it will be for warm/colour colours and exposures…
And yes, she IS fabulous!
~Kylie
Beautiful! I love that Fernwood Green. I had just decided my next bedroom needs more green!
I know, isn’t it beautiful! I’m not even a green fan yet I LOVE that colour!
I love your design style and reading your blogs. They are awesome and so much fun =)
Did you lighten the Revere pewter in the dining room ? It looks lighter than 55lrv. Or perhaps all the natural lighting from the windows.
Hi Eileen, thank you! Nope, that was REvere Pewter as-is!
Is the yellow in the entry the same suntan yellow as the kitchen? Looks maybe a shade softer/lighter? Is that just the light?
Gorgeous! This is the look I’m going for now. I love soft happy colors.
Hi Sarah! Nope, it’s different – the entryway is much softer 🙂
What Yellow is the entryway colour?
Other than the Suntan Yellow?
Hiya! I believe it’s BM Buttermilk 🙂
Thank you! I was looking for a yellow and was deciding either to use BM Buttermilk or BM French Toast. Maybe I will use both! 😊
You’re most welcome!
Hey Kylie!
I’m scratching my head here, no matter what way I put it I can’t figure out how you made Revere Pewter look that bluey gray.
Do you lighten it or darken it?
Or is it just the other finishings in the dinning room that make it look bluey?
Thanks!
TELL ME ABOUT IT! This is my bff’s house and every time I go there, I MARVEL at it. I think it’s a wicked combination of considerably warm trim and 3 exposures!