Paint colors for your home, inside and out
Coastal style · colors from 6 paintings
A beach living room comes from light neutrals, soft blues and a few dark sea colors. These six colors were measured from paintings of water, harbors and shorelines, so they show how painters actually mixed coastal tones.
Quick answer
Put the pale seafoam white #E2E3D8 on the walls, sandy #B9AC94 on the sofa and navy #31434D in one anchor piece. Add #678397 for a bold blue accent.
A very light white with a green undertone and an LRV of 76. It is the wall color and comes from Icebound by John Henry Twachtman.
From Icebound, John Henry Twachtman
A light cool blue at LRV 56 for walls, a ceiling or curtains. It was measured from Seascape by Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
From Seascape, Pierre-Auguste Renoir
A very dark blue at LRV 5 for built-ins, a media wall or large furniture. It comes from Two Women by Paul Gauguin.
From Two Women, Paul Gauguin
A light warm neutral at LRV 42 that stands in for beach sand on a sofa or rug. It comes from York Harbor, Coast of Maine by Martin Johnson Heade.
From York Harbor, Coast of Maine, Martin Johnson Heade
A mid-tone cool blue at LRV 21, strong enough for a bold chair or a feature wall. It comes from Woman before an Aquarium by Henri Matisse.
From Woman before an Aquarium, Henri Matisse
A deep olive-gray at LRV 18 that works in wood stains, baskets and plants. It was measured from Sleep by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes.
From Sleep, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes
The same paint reads differently in cool north light, warm south sun and under evening lamps. Find the column closest to your room.
| Color | Neutral daylight | North light | South light | Evening lamps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seafoam White | ||||
| Pale Sea Mist | ||||
| Dune Sand |
Pick which color goes on the walls, the big furniture and the bold piece. Floors, shadows and trim follow your choice.
The framed picture on the wall is Icebound.
Start with #E2E3D8. Its LRV of 76 bounces light around the room, and its slight green undertone gives it a seafoam feeling instead of a stark white look.
If you want a touch of color on all four walls, #B6C8D2 is the gentler choice. It reads as pale blue-gray, like sea mist, and at LRV 56 it still keeps the room bright.
Avoid very saturated blues on every wall. The painters used the deeper blues, #678397 and #31434D, in small amounts, and that is a good model for a living room.
If your room is large and sunny, you can go a step deeper on one wall. In a smaller room, keep every wall light and put the depth in furniture.
Use the navy #31434D as an anchor. A bookcase, a console or a sofa in this color gives the room weight, while the walls stay pale.
Because its LRV is 5, it absorbs light. Keep it to a few large pieces in the room, not a whole wall, unless the room has strong daylight.
The mid-blue #678397 is easier to live with. It suits a pair of chairs, a rug or the wall behind a bed.
For warmth, add the sand #B9AC94 and the olive #7B7763. They link the blues to wood floors and rattan, and they keep the room from feeling like a showroom.
Spread each accent across the room in two or three places so your eye moves around.
A ceiling in the same seafoam white, #E2E3D8, keeps the room soft. If you prefer a lighter ceiling, choose a white with the same green or gray feel, not a stark one.
For trim, use the wall color in a semi-gloss finish for a calm look, or a slightly cleaner white for definition. Compare them in daylight, because green-leaning whites can turn gray next to a bright white.
Flooring works best in light oak, sandy tile or natural fiber rugs. The warm yellow undertone of #B9AC94 helps these blend.
Dark floors can work too. In that case, keep the walls at LRV 70 or higher so the room still feels coastal and bright.
Blue and green whites change a lot with light. Paint a large sample of #E2E3D8 on two walls, one near a window and one far from it.
Look at it in morning light, in the afternoon and under your evening lamps. North-facing rooms may pull the white toward gray, so you might choose a slightly warmer sample there.
The closest matches in the data are near-identical for several colors, including Sherwin-Williams SW 6182 Ethereal White for the wall and SW 7605 Gale Force for the navy. Use these as starting points and compare with your sample.
Place your sofa fabric, rug and curtain swatches next to the paint before you decide.
A seafoam white like #E2E3D8, a pale blue like #B6C8D2 and sandy neutrals work well. Add a deep navy such as #31434D in one or two pieces.
White or very pale walls with blue accents are the easiest. Painting every wall mid-blue can feel heavy in many rooms.
Use #E2E3D8 walls, #31434D navy and #B9AC94 sand with natural wood. The restrained colors feel modern and not themed.
#B9AC94 is the sand color. It is light and warm, with an LRV of 42.
Yes. Keep the walls at #E2E3D8 or #B6C8D2 and put the dark colors in furniture only.
A card with every color on this page, its LRV and the paintings it comes from. Pin it, or take it to the paint store.
Paint Colors for a Small Living Room with Brown Furniture
North West Facing Living Room Colors for Cool Mornings and Warm Evenings
Color Schemes for a Basement Family Room
Black Accent Wall in a Living Room: Colors That Work
Calming Colors for Living Room Walls: Soft Yellow, Blue and Green
Zen Room Colors: A Japandi Palette from Paintings
Painting images: The Art Institute of Chicago, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, public domain (CC0). Colors measured by Light & Pigment. Paint names belong to their brands and matches are approximate. Colors look different on screen than on a wall, so always test a sample.
