Paint colors for your home, inside and out
Nursery · colors from 4 paintings
A nursery needs a light, warm wall and a few quiet accents. These four schemes come from paintings and divide each palette into walls, main furniture, wood, one bold piece and one textile. The walls range from a pale cream to a soft apricot.
Quick answer
For a bright nursery, use the cream #FFE8C7 on the walls. For a calmer one, use the soft gray #C0BCB9. Keep the dark browns for the crib, shelves and small details.
Each scheme is one painting's palette, split into walls, main furniture, wood, one bold piece and one textile.
From John Julius Angerstein (1736–1823), Sir Thomas Lawrence
#FFE8C7#DCB491#382E26#5D382B#BA7F67A pale cream wall at LRV 83 with tan furniture and dark cocoa wood. It is the brightest scheme and suits a small nursery.
From Virgin and Child in an Apse, Robert Campin
#E9E0BE#948D77#4F4C42#945949#535829A soft butter-cream wall at LRV 74 with a gray-olive main color and a terracotta accent. It feels earthy and suits a room with plenty of daylight.
From Portrait of a Man, Pieter van Slingelandt
#C0BCB9#A7A39F#8A6047#1E1A17#B5A57AA light warm gray wall at LRV 51 with a pebble gray main color and a sandy textile. It is the calmest scheme and suits a restful room.
From The Home of the Heron, George Inness
#FFBF7F#DD9B67#774F2F#97663C#4F371FA soft apricot wall at LRV 60 with caramel furniture and walnut wood. It is the warmest scheme and suits a room that faces north.
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 John Julius Angerstein (1736–1823).
The best nursery wall is light, warm and easy on the eyes. Among these schemes, the cream #FFE8C7 has the highest LRV, at 83, so it reflects the most light. The butter-cream #E9E0BE (LRV 74) is a close second and a little softer.
If you prefer a gray room, #C0BCB9 has an LRV of 51 and feels calm. The apricot #FFBF7F (LRV 60) is the most colorful option and gives a glow to a dim room.
Pick one scheme and keep its walls consistent from corner to corner. Each wall color was measured from the same painting as its furniture and accent colors, so the pieces already match.
Think about the long term too. A soft cream or gray wall can stay as the child grows, while the accents in the bold piece and textile can change with each new stage.
Each scheme gives you a set. In the Campin scheme, the wood color #4F4C42 suits a dresser, while the terracotta bold piece #945949 can appear as a single chair or a mobile. In the Slingelandt scheme, the pebble gray #A7A39F works for a rug or armchair.
For trim and ceiling, use a lighter version of the wall color, or a plain soft white. Dark wood such as the walnut #774F2F suits a crib, since it contrasts with light walls without dominating the room.
Keep the near-black #201F1E to tiny details, such as picture frames or a lamp base. At LRV 1 it would make a small nursery feel closed in if used on larger surfaces.
A simple rule keeps the room calm: one wall color, one wood tone and no more than two accent colors. The schemes here follow that rule.
Nurseries are often small rooms with one window, so light matters. A cream like #FFE8C7 brightens a north-facing room, while in strong south light it can look pale and creamy. The apricot #FFBF7F can look vivid in sun, so consider it for rooms that need warmth.
Under warm evening bulbs, the yellow undertones in these schemes deepen. The gray #C0BCB9 stays calm and shifts least. For night feeds, a dimmable warm lamp keeps the walls soft.
If the room gets little light, pick a wall with an LRV above 60 and keep the dark pieces small.
Nursery light changes during the day and at night, so test at the times you will use the room most, including early morning and late evening.
Paint a large sample on two walls and live with it for a few days. Look at it in the morning, in the afternoon and under your actual night lamp, since that is when you will spend long hours in the room.
Place the sample next to the crib, the rug and the curtains. Wood tones change how a wall color looks. A walnut crib near #774F2F makes cream walls look lighter and apricot walls look warmer.
Choose your nursery paint a few weeks before the baby arrives, so you have time to repaint a wall that looks wrong and for the room to air out.
Keep a few leftover sample pots. Small touch-ups after scuffs are much easier when you still have the exact color.
Light, warm colors are the easiest. The cream #FFE8C7 (LRV 83) and the butter-cream #E9E0BE (LRV 74) both brighten a small room.
Yes. The light warm gray #C0BCB9 has an LRV of 51 and creates a calm room. Add the cream and tan accents from the same scheme to keep it from feeling cold.
The cream scheme from Angerstein has the highest wall LRV, at 83, so it reflects the most light. The apricot scheme at LRV 60 adds warmth instead.
Mid-tone and dark woods work. The walnut #774F2F and the olive brown #4F4C42 contrast well with light walls.
Use dark colors for small pieces only. The near-black #201F1E has an LRV of 1, so it suits a frame or a lamp, not a wall.
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, 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.
