How to Create a Paint Colour Palette for a KID'S ROOM: Gender Neutral (PART 3 of 3)

Best Benjamin Moore Gender Neutral Paint Colour Palettes

THE SERIES: PART 3 of 3

Are you trying to figure out the best paint colour palette for your new baby’s nursery? Are you patiently (or impatiently) waiting for the big day to meet your new lil nugget? Then you’ll love this article!

I’ve created THREE Easy Steps to help you make a colour palette that is gender-neutral enough to suit a boy or a girl – or both/neither if that’s the case!

STEP 1 CHOOSE YOUR MAIN WALL COLOUR

Naturally, the best place to start is to choose your main wall colour, HOWEVER, I do recommend choosing the colour of your main furniture pieces before you dive too deep.

There’s NO SHORTAGE of gorgeous paint colours for a gender-neutral playroom or nursery, just keep in mind that off-white neutral paint colours can make for great base colours, making it easier to add a wide range of accent colours!

BENJAMIN MOORE GRAY OWL OC-52

Gray Owl is a soft, light gray with subtle undertones of blue/green. Read all about it here: Colour Review of Gray Owl.

SIMILAR COLOURS TO EXPLORE: Sherwin Williams Big Chill, Sherwin Williams Passive

BENJAMIN MOORE PINK BLISS 2093-70

Pink Bliss is a gentle soft pink that commits to colour without being REMOTELY overwhelming.

BENJAMIN MOORE EDGECOMB GRAY HC-173

Edgecomb Gray is a GORGEOUS greige that’s well-balanced between gray and beige. You can even light it by 25% or 50% for a softer approach.

SIMILAR COLOURS TO EXPLORE: You could go a bit warmer with Sherwin Williams White Duck

BENJAMIN MOORE GRAY CASHMERE 2138-60

Gray Cashmere is a soft light blend of gray, blue and green. Whereas the dominant colour in Gray Owl is gray, you’ll find that the gray in this colour takes a bit of a backseat, as the blue and green shift depending on the exposure of the room.

SIMILAR COLOURS TO EXPLORE: Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue, Sherwin Williams Silver Strand

See more blue-green blends HERE.

BENJAMIN MOORE CHELSEA GRAY HC-168

Feeling brave? Chelsea Gray is a beautiful, medium-toned charcoal that grounds a room, whether it’s a feature wall or on EVERY wall.

SIMILAR COLOURS TO EXPLORE: Sherwin Williams Dovetail, Dorian Gray, Benjamin Moore Amherst Gray

BENJAMIN MOORE WHITE DOVE OC-17

White Dove is a beautiful, soft, warm white that’s a great option for north or south-facing rooms (or east/west).

SIMILAR COLOURS TO EXPLORE: Sherwin Williams Pure White, Alabaster, Benjamin Moore Cloud White, Chantilly Lace

SHERWIN WILLIAMS BIG CHILL SW 7648

When it comes to light, cool gray paint colours, Big Chill is an awesome choice. If you want a bit more depth/undertone, you can also look at Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray.

BENJAMIN MOORE FEATHERBED 928

Featherbed is a gorgeous, slightly stronger yellow paint colour, which can be great if you have north or east-facing light as the yellow will hold itself a bit better compared to the softer cream range.

SIMILAR COLOURS TO CHECK OUT: Sherwin Williams Creamy, Benjamin Moore White Down (these are MUCH more muted creams)

BENJAMIN MOORE BALBOA MIST OC-27

Balboa Mist is a beautiful, soft warm gray with a gentle violet undertone.

SIMILAR COLOURS TO CHECK OUT: Sherwin Williams On the Rocks (grayer), Benjamin Moore Classic Gray

STEP 2 CHOOSE YOUR MAIN NEUTRAL ACCENT COLOURS

Your neutral accent colours might come naturally to your room via the furniture you choose, so be sure to keep this in mind!

TIP 1

Don’t take these accent colours too literally (which is why there aren’t names next to them). These are just jumping-off points for you to take inspiration from!

TIP 2

While you can choose more than three, I wouldn’t choose three DIFFERENT colours. I would only add variation using one colour in different DEPTHS (otherwise it can get pretty busy).

TIP 3

Not all of the above neutrals will suit ALL of the STEP 1 colours, as it greatly depends on which wall colour you choose. Generally speaking, black, gray and white will go with ANY of the colours in STEP 1, it’s the brown/cream/tan that can be a bit trickier to integrate.

TIP 4

You don’t HAVE to choose a neutral accent colour (although white is usually necessary). If you favour a more colourful approach, move on to STEP 3!

STEP 3 CHOOSE YOUR MAIN FUN ACCENT ‘COLOURS’

While I love a good neutral palette, there’s nothing like a splash of colour to add personality to a room! And while there are MANY MORE wild and wonderful colours than what I’ve shown below (ie: teal and orange), these should get you started!

If you’ve chosen ONE OR TWO neutrals from STEP 2, choose one, two or three colours.

If you’ve chosen THREE neutrals from STEP 2, choose only one or two ‘colours’. Of course, there might be secondary accent colours in smaller pieces/patterns, but it’s about them being in the backdrop and not obvious parts of the palette.

A few other things to think about when creating your palette…

North-facing rooms that are low-light don’t handle cooler, heavier colours as well.

South-facing rooms can benefit from cool-toned paint colours.

Does your room have east or west-facing light? READ THIS

Size matters! Pay attention to the depth of your paint colour to make sure it suits your room.

Before, the yellow was a bit too strong for this soon-to-be nursery…

After, with Featherbed, everything is much softer and muted looking, while still having some good ‘colour’ to it…

Not sure which colour is best for you n’ baby boo?

Check out my affordable E-design and Online Colour Consulting for your OWN Personalized Nursery Palette!

If you enjoyed this post and would like to learn more please consider subscribing for ‘quasi-weekly’ FREE updates!

The Best Paint Colours for a Kid’s Bedroom, Nursery or Playroom (THE SERIES: PART 2 of 3)

The Best WHOLE HOME Gray & Greige Paint Colours

Originally written in 2018, updated in 2021

Amy
June 30, 2013 at 8:03 pm

One of my daughters has Palladian Blue and the other has Pale Avocado.. we’ve been very happy with the choices (esp. the Palladian Blue) 🙂

Rebecca
July 2, 2013 at 11:45 am

Thanks for the ideas Kylie. We are just doing nursery for baby #3. We have a lemon yellow dresser this gives me some ideas for wall colors.

Cindy
September 24, 2014 at 6:32 am

Hi kylie,would revere pewter works on a low light room?i love a neutral wall colour and love to accessorize with colourful garlands etc..the baby cot is dark chocolate colour.thanks

1. Kylie Mawdsley
  October 10, 2014 at 8:16 am
  
  Revere Pewter can be a bit murky in a low light room unfortunately. It’s still pretty but you’d have to make up for a it with some lighter, fresh whites and off-whites for trims/draperies/etc….
  
  Hope that helps!
  
2. Cheryl
  July 4, 2017 at 8:14 pm
  
  Revere pewter is not good for low light rooms she said. I had it in a laundry room with one window and it wasn’t good.
  I had to use Classic Gray in my current house because of low light.
  
Sasha
July 3, 2017 at 9:12 pm

Hi Kylie, I love the colors you chose for nursery. I am just wondering, is there other shade than blue that you can recommend for nursery, like green or warm colors?

mary beth at MBZ interiors
July 4, 2017 at 4:42 pm

Great color charts! I decorated a pediatric dentist’s office in Fawn Brindle, Butter Up and Green Trace, a very ethereal combination.

Ashley
July 17, 2017 at 12:08 pm

What is the first color in the neutral section? It looks like a light blue-gray.

1. Kylie Mawdsley
  July 28, 2017 at 5:02 pm
  
  Hi Ashley, that would be something like Benjamin Moore Coventry Gray 🙂
  ~Kylie