Paint colors for your home, inside and out
Cool · colors from 2 paintings
A cool color palette for home works best with a warm partner. These two blues and four companions share a canvas in museum paintings, so the pairings come from the painters.
Quick answer
Use the cream #E0DAD0 on walls, the sea blue #76A8B2 on main furniture, and the deep blue #4A6786 in textiles, with #8B3630 as a bold piece.
A mid-tone cool blue with an LRV of 35, suited to a bedroom wall, a sofa or kitchen cabinets. It comes from Alberto Pasini's A Mosque, 1886.
From A Mosque, Alberto Pasini
A deep cool blue with an LRV of 13, good for an accent wall, a door or curtains. It comes from Bartolomeo Vivarini's The Death of the Virgin, 1484.
From The Death of the Virgin, Bartolomeo Vivarini
A mid-tone warm tan with an LRV of 25 that warms the blues in a rug or wood tone. It comes from Alberto Pasini's A Mosque, 1886.
From A Mosque, Alberto Pasini
A deep warm brown with an LRV of 9, suited to a table, a door or open shelves. It comes from Alberto Pasini's A Mosque, 1886.
From A Mosque, Alberto Pasini
A very light warm color with an LRV of 71, best for walls and trim beside the blues. It comes from Bartolomeo Vivarini's The Death of the Virgin, 1484.
From The Death of the Virgin, Bartolomeo Vivarini
A deep warm red with an LRV of 8, suited to a small accent such as a chair or a pillow. It comes from Bartolomeo Vivarini's The Death of the Virgin, 1484.
From The Death of the Virgin, Bartolomeo Vivarini
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open Seas Blue | ||||
| Renwick Olive Tan | ||||
| Egret Cream |
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 A Mosque.
Start with one cool blue and decide how much of it you want. The sea blue #76A8B2 has an LRV of 35 and works on walls in a room that gets good light. The deeper blue #4A6786 has an LRV of 13, so it suits a single wall, a door or curtains.
Then choose a warm partner. The painters did this for you: the sea blue appears with the olive tan #968867 and the dark brown #624F3E in Pasini's painting, and the deep blue appears with the cream #E0DAD0 and the red #8B3630 in Vivarini's.
If you want a restful room, pick the sea blue with the tan and brown. If you want a stronger look, pick the deep blue with the cream and the red. Avoid using both blues at full strength in a small room, because the room will feel cold.
The cream #E0DAD0 is the natural choice for trim and ceilings. Its LRV of 71 reflects light, and its warm yellow undertone stops the blues from feeling icy. A cold white next to a cool blue can make a room feel clinical.
For floors, the suggested wood tone is the tan #968867, so mid-tone oak or a woven rug in that shade works well. A dark brown floor in the Kaffee brown #624F3E gives a strong contrast to the sea blue and works in a dining room or study.
For textiles, use the deep blue in a heavy fabric such as a velvet or a wool throw. Use the red #8B3630 only once or twice, for instance in a chair or a single cushion. At an LRV of 8 it is strong, and a small amount is enough to warm the whole palette.
Cool colors change more than warm ones as the light moves. In a north-facing room the sea blue #76A8B2 looks grayer and cooler, so keep the trim in the warm cream and use warm bulbs. If the room is dark, choose the blue for one wall and the cream for the rest.
In a south-facing room the same blue looks cleaner and brighter. Here you can use it on all the walls without the room feeling cold, and the olive tan will keep the floor and furniture grounded.
Under evening bulbs, the deep blue #4A6786 darkens toward navy and the red becomes richer. If you spend most evenings in the room, test the blues at night. A color that looks soft at noon can feel heavy under a lamp, especially with an LRV as low as 13.
Paint a sample board in each blue you are considering and tape it to two different walls. Cool colors can look green or gray depending on what is next to them, so place the sample beside your sofa, your curtains and your floor.
Look at the board at three times of day. Check the north wall in the morning and the south wall in the afternoon, then again under lamps. Note whether the blue turns gray, green or purple. If it changes too much, try the closest alternative from the list of matches.
Each color on this page lists paints that were measured as near-identical or very close. Use them to find a sample pot, but trust the sample on your wall over any screen. Two coats and two days of looking will save you from repainting.
Warm creams, olive tans and dark browns. On this page they come from the same paintings as the blues, so the pairings are made by the painters.
A group of blues and blue-grays balanced by warm neutrals. The two blues here are #76A8B2 and #4A6786, and the other four colors keep them from feeling cold.
The sea blue #76A8B2. It is mid-tone, with an LRV of 35, and calm enough for walls when paired with the cream #E0DAD0.
It can be. Add warmth with the tan #968867 in a rug and the brown #624F3E in wood, and keep the deep blue for one wall or textiles.
Yes, in small amounts. The red #8B3630 appears with the deep blue in Vivarini's painting, and it works on a single chair or cushion.
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 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.
