Paint colors for your home, inside and out
Blush pink · colors from 3 paintings
Blush paint ranges from a pale, dusty pink at LRV 57 to a deeper dusky rose at LRV 39. Each shade here was measured from a public-domain painting, and each comes with its closest commercial paints. Use the lightest for whole rooms and the mid-tones for accents.
Quick answer
Use #DBBFC7 on the walls of a whole room, and keep #CE9A9C and #D89A8C for furniture, a door or one accent wall. Trim and ceiling can stay in the neutral #E8E8E8.
A light pink with a pink-red undertone and an LRV of 57, so it bounces light and suits whole-room walls. Measured from Claude Monet's Vétheuil (1901).
From Vétheuil, Claude Monet
A light pink-red at LRV 50 that is a little more saturated than the paler blush. It works in a bedroom or nursery that gets decent daylight. Measured from Félix Edouard Vallotton's The Red Room, Etretat (1899).
From The Red Room, Etretat, Félix Edouard Vallotton
A mid-tone at LRV 40 with a warm red-orange undertone, closer to dusty rose or salmon than to a cool pink. Use it on a bold piece such as a chair, a cabinet or one accent wall. Measured from the Teotihuacan Mural Fragment Depicting a Maguey Bloodletting Ritual (500–600 CE).
From Mural Fragment Depicting a Maguey Bloodletting Ritual, Teotihuacan
A mid-tone pink-red at LRV 39 that reads as a dusky pink. It suits main furniture, a built-in or a snug reading corner. Measured from Claude Monet's Vétheuil (1901).
From Vétheuil, Claude Monet
A very light neutral with no clear undertone and an LRV of 81. Use it on trim and ceilings so the pink walls get a clean edge. Measured from the Teotihuacan Mural Fragment Depicting a Maguey Bloodletting Ritual (500–600 CE).
From Mural Fragment Depicting a Maguey Bloodletting Ritual, Teotihuacan
A deep red-orange at LRV 10 that echoes the warm pink shades and suits wood tones, a front door or a bookcase. Measured from the Teotihuacan Mural Fragment Depicting a Maguey Bloodletting Ritual (500–600 CE).
From Mural Fragment Depicting a Maguey Bloodletting Ritual, Teotihuacan
A very dark warm brown at LRV 3 that anchors a pink room in rugs, curtains or cushions. Measured from Félix Edouard Vallotton's The Red Room, Etretat (1899).
From The Red Room, Etretat, Félix Edouard Vallotton
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soft Dusty Blush | ||||
| Clear Petal Pink | ||||
| Warm Coral Blush | ||||
| Dusky Rose | ||||
| Quiet Light Gray |
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 Vétheuil.
Start with the light reflectance value, then look at the undertone. The two lightest colors, #DBBFC7 at LRV 57 and #DFAFBB at LRV 50, are the ones to consider for light pink wall paint. Both lean pink-red. The first is softer and dustier. The second is clearer and a little brighter.
The two mid-tones sit lower. #CE9A9C at LRV 39 is a dusky pink with the same pink-red lean. #D89A8C at LRV 40 has a warm red-orange undertone, so it reads closer to dusty rose or salmon than to a cool pink.
For a whole room, pick the lightest. Light colors bounce more light and feel calmer across four walls. Keep the mid-tones for one accent wall, a built-in, a door or a piece of furniture. In a small, dim room, a color near LRV 40 will make the space feel snug rather than larger. Decide which of those you want before you buy a sample.
For trim and ceiling, use the neutral #E8E8E8. It has no clear undertone and an LRV of 81, so it stays out of the way and keeps the pink from feeling sweet. The closest matches measured are Sherwin-Williams SW 6252 Ice Cube, Behr PR-W8 Ambience White and Farrow & Ball No. 273 Wevet.
For contrast, bring in deep warm tones. #8E4033, at LRV 10, suits wood furniture, a door or a bookcase. #4B2A1C, at LRV 3, is a very dark brown. Use it for rugs, curtains or cushions. Its closest match measured is Sherwin-Williams SW 6069 French Roast.
Keep floors warm. A mid-tone or dark wood with a red-orange lean agrees with the pink-red and red-orange undertones in these shades, so the room reads as one family. A cool gray floor next to a pink-red wall sets two undertones against each other, so check that pairing in a sample first.
Light changes pink more than most colors. North-facing rooms get cooler, flatter daylight. A pink-red shade such as #DBBFC7 or #DFAFBB can look a little grayer and cooler there. The warm red-orange #D89A8C tends to hold its warmth better in that light.
South- and west-facing rooms get warmer light, which pushes every pink toward peach. Evening lamps with warm bulbs do the same thing. If you want the pink to stay true, use bulbs of one consistent warmth across the room.
LRV matters here too. At LRV 57, #DBBFC7 keeps a dim room feeling open. At LRV 39 and 40, the mid-tones look deeper and show more shadow in corners and along the ceiling line. That can look rich in a living room or study. It can feel heavy in a narrow hallway with no window. Look at your walls in the morning, at midday and at night before you commit.
Paint a sample at least two feet square, or use a large sample board you can move. Put one on a wall that gets direct light and one on a wall in shade. Leave a white border around each so the color is not affected by what is next to it.
Hold the sample beside your trim color, your flooring and your largest piece of furniture. Check it in the morning, in the afternoon and under lamps at night. Pink shifts a lot, and one look is not enough.
The paint matches on this page are the closest measured to each painting color, not exact copies. For #DBBFC7, Sherwin-Williams SW 6296 Fading Rose is near-identical. For #DFAFBB, Behr S160-2 Pink Quartz is near-identical. Order two or three samples, including one a step darker than you expect. Do not choose from a screen alone, since screens show color differently from dried paint.
Blush paint is a soft pink for walls. On this page it runs from a pale pink-red at LRV 57 to a mid-tone dusky rose at LRV 39. The lightest, #DBBFC7, is the easiest to live with across a whole room.
The names overlap, and paint makers use them loosely. Here, #CE9A9C is a dusky pink with a pink-red undertone, while #D89A8C is closer to dusty rose with a warm red-orange undertone.
#DBBFC7 at LRV 57 is the best choice here for a whole room because it reflects the most light. Sherwin-Williams SW 6296 Fading Rose is the near-identical match measured.
None of these are bright pastels. The closest are the two lightest, #DBBFC7 at LRV 57 and #DFAFBB at LRV 50. #DFAFBB is the clearer, more saturated of the two.
A neutral light color such as #E8E8E8, at LRV 81, works on trim and ceilings. It has no clear undertone, so it frames the pink without competing with it.
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.
Painting images: The Art Institute of Chicago, 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.
