Paint colors for your home, inside and out
Japandi style · colors from 5 paintings
Zen room colors are quiet, natural and low in contrast. This Japandi palette has six shades measured from museum paintings, from a pale stone white to a deep umber.
Quick answer
Use #E3DCD7 on walls, the sage #A2A294 for main furniture, and the olive #A79E77 or the umber #42392D as a bold piece or wood tone.
A very light neutral with an LRV of 72, suited to walls and ceilings. It comes from Claude Monet's Apples and Grapes, 1880.
From Apples and Grapes, Claude Monet
A mid-tone green-gray with an LRV of 36, good for a sofa, shoji-style panels or a bedroom wall. It comes from James Peale's portrait of Mary (Polly) Lawton Bringhurst, 1790.
From Mary (Polly) Lawton Bringhurst, James Peale
A mid-tone warm taupe with an LRV of 22, suited to curtains or a rug. It comes from Claude Monet's Apples and Grapes, 1880.
From Apples and Grapes, Claude Monet
A mid-tone warm olive with an LRV of 34, good for a cushion or a ceramic piece. It comes from Edgar Degas's Yellow Dancers (In the Wings), 1874-76.
From Yellow Dancers (In the Wings), Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas
A very dark warm brown with an LRV of 4, suited to a low table or a door. It comes from John Philip Simpson's The Captive Slave (Ira Aldridge), 1827.
From The Captive Slave (Ira Aldridge), John Philip Simpson
A very dark warm color with an LRV of 1, best for a frame, a lamp base or fine details. It comes from Theodore Chasseriau's Desdemona (The Song of the Willow), 1849.
From Desdemona (The Song of the Willow), Théodore Chassériau
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cultured Pearl White | ||||
| Rare Sage Gray | ||||
| Ruskin Olive 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 Apples and Grapes.
Choose colors that sit close together in tone, then add one or two dark accents. The pearl white #E3DCD7 has an LRV of 72 and is the calmest wall color here. It reflects light without feeling bright or cold.
The sage gray #A2A294 and the olive sand #A79E77 are the two natural mid-tones. The sage has a green undertone and suits a bedroom or a meditation corner. The olive has a warm yellow undertone and suits a living room or a room with wood.
Keep the very dark colors to a few places. The umber #42392D and the charred cedar #1D170E have LRVs of 4 and 1. A low table, a frame and a lamp base are enough. Space and empty surfaces are part of the look, so use fewer objects and fewer colors.
Paint the ceiling and trim in the pearl white #E3DCD7, in a matte finish, so edges disappear softly. Pure white trim will stand out too much in this scheme.
For the floor, the suggested wood tone is the umber #42392D, a dark brown. Pale oak, ash or bamboo also work, and these let the sage gray #A2A294 stand out on a sofa or a wall. A woven rug in the heather mushroom #8A7E7C is a good middle step between a pale floor and a dark table.
For textiles, use linen, cotton and wool in the sage, mushroom and olive. Avoid strong patterns. A zen room works through repetition of two or three shades, so the same color in a curtain, a cushion and a basket looks calm instead of plain.
Soft light brings out the best in this palette. In north light, the pearl white can look a little cool and gray, so warm it with the olive sand #A79E77 in textiles and use warm bulbs.
In south light, the sage gray #A2A294 shows its green undertone more, and with an LRV of 36 it reads as a soft, dusty green. It is a good choice for a wall in a bright room.
Under evening bulbs, the heather mushroom #8A7E7C and the umber become warmer and the room feels enclosed and quiet. Use one or two low lamps and paper or linen shades. Strong overhead light flattens these colors and removes the layered feeling that makes the palette work.
Paint two large samples, one in the pearl white and one in the sage gray, and tape them to different walls. Because the colors are close in tone, small differences in light will matter a lot, so look at them over two days.
Check each sample in the morning, at midday and in the evening. Place a piece of your wood furniture next to it and see whether the undertones agree. The pearl white is neutral, but the sage has a green undertone and may look different beside a reddish floor.
The closest paint matches given with each color are a starting point. Buy sample pots, paint two coats and compare them with the hex values in daylight. Choose a matte or eggshell finish to keep the surface soft.
Soft whites, sage grays, muted olives and warm taupes. This page gives six such colors measured from museum paintings.
It combines the calm neutrals of Japanese rooms with the warm, light tones of Scandinavian ones. Here that means pearl white, sage gray, olive and dark brown.
The sage gray #A2A294 or the pearl white #E3DCD7. Both are low in contrast and help the room feel restful.
Yes, in small amounts. The umber #42392D and the charred cedar #1D170E work for furniture and details, not for whole walls in a small room.
The olive sand #A79E77 is the warmest accent. It adds a natural note in a cushion, a vase or a plant pot.
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, 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.
