Spring is in full bloom and our team at Rooms With Style has been busy staging and styling homes this season. In the world of staging, there are many different enhancements that can transform a room, but maybe none as dramatic as a new coat of paint on the walls.
If you’re preparing to sell your home, we recommend lighter, neutral colors like white, cream and greige (a blend of beige and grey). These colors create a clean living space that will appeal to a wide range of buyers, allowing them to envision living in the home with their own decor and personal items. We are excited to highlight our top six neutral paint colors, that are stager-approved for your home.
What is LRV?
Before we dive into our favorite colors, let’s get a little technical for just a moment. All paint colors have a light reflectance value (LRV) which is a numerical representation of how much light a surface reflects. It’s a scale of 0-100 where a zero means there is no light reflection (black), and 100 means there is a complete reflection of light. Values between 20 and 50 are considered mid-range, while 50-80 are light. When choosing a paint color that’s right for selling your home, we recommend staying within the “light” LRV range.
Undertones Matter
All paint colors have a dominant color, called an overtone. They also have various undertones. An undertone is the subtle, secondary color that lies beneath the dominant hue. Variables such as light, the size of a room and other accent colors in the room may influence which undertone colors you see in the paint. This is why we recommend choosing a paint color inside the room(s) that will be painted. They will look different than a picture online or what you saw on a swatch in the store! Now on to our favorite neutral paint colors.
1. Alabaster
Alabaster by Sherwin Williams is one of our “go to” white paint colors. It adds a soft and cozy feel to any room. It is a very balanced color, so it stays true in most spaces regardless of light. It’s a light color, in the “white” category with an LRV of 82. It has a little less blue in it which makes it warm, but it doesn’t pull too yellow like some other creamy whites. In smaller rooms with less light, this shade makes the space feel cozy. In larger rooms with more light, it’s a nice crisp white.
2. Shoji White
Not sure if you want tan, cream or beige? This paint may be the perfect color for you. Shoji White by Sherwin Williams is a warm paint color that is a beautiful blend of cream and beige. This color will really lean into it’s warm roots in a south or west-facing room. With an LRV of 74, its considered a light, almost off-white, color. Shoji White has become popular in recent years due to its natural, earthy hue.
3. Accessible Beige
Accessible Beige by Sherwin Williams is a well-liked paint color, and for good reason. It is a soft, subtle neutral beige with an LRV of 58, making it a light color. It has subtle green-gray undertones, and can tend more gray in north facing rooms. It’s warmth shines in bright, south or west-facing rooms. With trends back in the beige category, this is a very accommodating color that looks great in so many spaces.
4. Gossamer Veil
Gossamer Veil by Sherwin Williams is a warm gray. It has subtle green undertones, and just a hint of violet. In a south or west-facing room, it will pick up more warmth with the sunlight, looking more like a greige color. In a darker room or small hallway, this color may be too dark. But in a bigger room with average light, it really shines! It has an LRV of 62, which puts it in the “light” category. If you are looking for a complimentary color to Gossamer Veil, then you could try Benjamin Moore’s “Bruton White”, which is a very close match.
5. Agreeable Gray
Quite possibly the most popular geige color in recent years is Agreeable Gray by Sherwin Williams. This is a warm, neutral color with an LRV of 60. It lends itself very well in many different spaces alongside wood trim, as well as white trim. This color is a winner for those who have a lot of gray within their home, but want to update and warm their spaces. The undertones in this color are minimal, so it flexes well to different spaces, which is another reason it is so versatile.
6. Drift Of Mist
Drift Of Mist by Sherwin Williams is a soft, warm gray. It’s a beautiful, calming color that can look beautiful in the right space. It has a passive warmth, which may become more obvious in a south-facing room. In a north-facing space, this color may tend a little cooler. It has an LRV of 69 which makes it close to an off-white. It has very slight green undertones.
And there you have it! Our six, stager-approved neutral paint colors that we love and use again and again in our staged and styled homes. We hope we have inspired you to explore a beautiful new neutral color for your home.
Author: Marla Carlson, Rooms With Style Blogger
