How to Choose the Best Paint Color

When selecting a paint color, it’s important to consider versatility. The colors featured below all work with a broad range of interior styles, so there is an option for you below no matter your existing design aesthetic. They also pair well with a range of complementary colors. Additionally, these hues are ideal for use all throughout the home, and shine on accent walls or when used all throughout a room.

How to Choose the Best Paint Color

Best Paint Color

• 01 Glidden Chalky Blue Best Paint Color The Spruce / Photo Illustration by Sabrina Jiang / Glidden Paintzen color expert Kristen Chuber shares her top paint color, which is a dusty Chalky Blue (1153-5) by PPG Paints. “Somewhere between blue and gray, this velvety shade can actually be used as a neutral. It looks beautiful with bright white trim, but maybe even more impactful with rich, black accents. We have also seen this shade used beautifully in a monochromatic palette, alongside other shades of blue-gray, both on the lighter and darker side of the spectrum,” Chuber says.Try using this hue to paint your kitchen, one of your bathrooms, or the bedroom.
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• Benjamin Moore Flora Best Paint The Spruce / Photo Illustration by Sabrina Jiang / Benjamin MooreIf you are looking for that perfect muted shade of green, interior designer Rebecca West from Seriously Happy Homes suggests Flora (AF 470) by Benjamin Moore.”The blue-green paint is rich without being too dark, and earthy without feeling too heavy. It pairs beautifully with medium and dark wood tones and works with a broad range of interior styles from traditional to modern,” West says. You can never go wrong with soft sage-colored paint, and it can instantly make any room feel more soothing and relaxing.
• 03of 20Glidden Blaze The Spruce / Photo Illustration by Sabrina Jiang / GliddenBlaze (PPG 13-16) is a favorite of Glidden color expert Ashley McCollum.”It’s a bright, candy apple red, making it the perfect paint color to bring a pop of color to any space,” she says. “The color’s warm undertones make it the perfect partner to bright whites or sandy neutrals, which can help keep Blaze in bounds,” McCollum says.McCollum recommends using Blaze on an accent wall, ceiling, or even on the front door.
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• Benjamin Moore Alaskan Husky The Spruce / Photo Illustration by Sabrina Jiang / Benjamin Moore “There are a small number of timeless and classic shades we always find ourselves coming back to when searching for the perfect neutral,” says Alicia Weaver of Alicia Weaver Design. “Alaskan Husky (1479) by Benjamin Moore is one of them. It is a classic shade of gray that complements accent colors.”Light silvery grays work beautifully in guest bedrooms and foyers.Continue to 5 of 20 below
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• Farrow & Ball Card Room Green The Spruce / Photo Illustration by Sabrina Jiang / Farrow & BallInterior designer and color expert Moll Anderson, believes in the power of green paint. She says the color gives us a sense of balance that is both calming and relaxing. One paint color that is found to be particularly therapeutic is Card Room Green (No. 79) by Farrow & Ball. This dark green color harmonizes perfectly with tones of gray, mustard, and pebble.
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• Benjamin Moore Gentleman’s Gray The Spruce / Photo Illustration by Sabrina Jiang / Benjamin Moore Susan Williams, an interior designer at Siren Betty Design, first used Gentleman’s Gray (2062-20), a dark blue by Benjamin Moore when designing rooms for a local bed-and-breakfast. Shortly after, everyone at her company fell heads over heels for the shade.”We loved it so much that we painted our office wall the same color. We think it looks especially great in a gloss finish—the way the light reflects off it is gorgeous and gives any room a lot of character,” Williams says.
  A blueish gray this deep gives a serene, comforting vibe, which works well in a bedroom.
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• PPG Paints Whiskers The Spruce / Photo Illustration by Sabrina Jiang / PPG PaintsNuanced neutrals, like this soft greige, can inspire comfort, according to Dee Schlotter. Pale colors are also fueling a hot home trend thanks to the growing popular popularity of the hygge movement, a Danish concept that promotes happiness by focusing on creating cozy contentment and overall well-being.”One paint color that is representative of hygge is Whiskers (1025-3) by PPG Paints. It is a subtle shade of greige, perfect for enveloping a room and making it feel like a cozy retreat,” Schlotter says.
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• Sherwin-Williams Alabaster The Spruce / Photo Illustration by Sabrina Jiang / Lisa Flood What is the perfect warm white paint color for homes with a north-facing view? “Alabaster (7008) by Sherwin-Williams is my go-to white to warm things up for a northern exposure,” says interior designer Claudia Leah.You can’t go wrong with a lovely creamy white, no matter what room you choose. Continue to 9 of 20 below
• 09of 20Sherwin-Williams Poised Taupe The Spruce / Photo Illustration by Sabrina Jiang / Sherwin Williams Sherwin-Williams color trend expert Sue Wadden considers Poised Taupe (6039) a gorgeous neutral paint color with timeless versatility and broad appeal.”It’s a lovely color that people fall hard for because the shade is very easy to live with—it is stunning paired with white. It also works well with a palette of blues, especially denim and country blue colors,” Wadden says.TipThe color taupe also works in homes inspired by retro colors including terra-cotta orange, avocado, pink, and mauve.
• 10Farrow & Ball Hague Blue The Spruce / Photo Illustration by Sabrina Jiang / Mike SchwartzKrista Nye Nicholas of Cloth & Kind describes Hague Blue (No. 30) as “one of those fantastic chameleon-like hues.” Its appearance is affected by the amount of sunlight within a space.”In darker lighting, it appears rich and moody but in the light of day, especially in a higher sheen finish, it conjures images of a vast blue-green ocean with rays of light bouncing off the waves,” Nicholas says.Jennie Bishop of Studio Gild shares similar sentiments. “This chameleon effect allows it to flatter in a wide range of settings making it to be a very easy color to introduce as a main or accent,” she says.
• Sherwin-Williams Forged Steel The Spruce / Photo Illustration by Sabrina Jiang / Sherwin WilliamsRachel Cannon of Rachel Cannon Limited says that Forged Steel (9565), a beautiful deep gray, would shine in a powder room in particular.”I’d paint every surface that color—including ceilings—just for the drama,” she says. “Mix it with unlacquered brass fixtures, and if you’re feeling fancy, add a grosgrain ribbon trim in something like a bright fuschia around the perimeter of each wall with brass nailheads,” Cannon says. “It would be a showstopper.”
• Farrow & Ball Brinjal The Spruce / Photo Illustration by Sabrina Jiang / Chad Dorsey DesignChad Dorsey of Chad Dorsey Design selected Brinjal (No. 222) for a wine bar because of its resemblance to a rich Bordeaux wine. He advises coating a room’s trim, walls, and ceilings with the hue, as illustrated here.”Applying to all the surfaces is actually more soothing and less severe which is the opposite of how using a bold color is perceived,” Dorsey says.