What are good farmhouse paint colors?
Contents
Modern Farmhouse Paint Colors, Interior
We’ve touched upon color in a few of our posts, but let’s really think about getting a good solid base of color into the modern farmhouse home. A modern farmhouse is a gentle marriage of the old and the new. The main focus is to keep the vibe easy-going and simple so all of those exquisite farmhouse qualities can shine through.
By now, we’ve hammered the idea of sticking with neutrals out of the gate. A neutral color palette helps to keep things fresh and clean. White is key in all of this, making the color a main-stay and a link. Once the fresh and clean feel has been established, adding additional tones to the home will help to add the warmth that a modern farmhouse needs.
We like to think that this next step of choosing the right accent colors is important to rounding out the look. In a modern farmhouse it is all about the detailing and the subtle swiftness between the eras the home has lived. Color plays a very important role in all of this, so it is significant to lean in and grasp the colors that work best for you and the home.
A lot of times, when updating a farmhouse folks will be prone to open up spaces. Older homes tend to have small rooms with lots of doorways. Open concept has really become popular. It allows us to live in the present, all together and feeling a bit lighter.
This is natural, as the way we live today is very different from the way we lived years ago. However, in doing this we expose more of the modernity in the home. The end result is warmth with fresh air, so now it would be wise to bring the aesthetic back to the originality a bit. Color is the way to achieve this.
Picking Colors – Neutrals and Bold Contrast
What colors work best in a modern farmhouse? Here’s our take. Creams and grays can really add just enough “color” to modernize yet keep the home (we hate to say it!) old-fashioned enough that still speaks to its farmhouse love language. It can be subtle – like a beam or two or even one accent-painted countertop – or it can be bold like a wall or a set of built-ins or even all of the doors (we love this option – have seen it in person and love it!).
These additions to the home are a great way to really form a contrast throughout the farmhouse.
Once the few subtle “pops” of defined color are set, now it is time to integrate pastels into the mix. Pastels will hold the farmhouse’s originality while upgrading it into the present moment. Blush pink and sage green are two colors that come to mind…another reason we think the Shabby Chic flair fits so well in a modern farmhouse. These colors are soft and welcoming and really elevate the air in the space.
Incorporating Modern and Old-Fashioned Through Paint Colors and Textures
Smaller spaces are a bit of a different story. Contrast colors in smaller spaces either need to be all-in or just a touch of color. A new room we’ve added is on the smaller side, so we are sticking with lighter, neutral colors in there. We don’t want the room to get eaten and feel overpowered by the wall color.
A dark color for the cabinets, bookshelf or walls would make this space much too grand for its size. In this room we plan to wallpaper the ceiling while keeping a more traditional style for the shelving and built-in cabinets dressed in a cream or light greige. This will (hopefully!) be the perfect example of modern meeting traditional.
Painting textured qualities in a room (like craftsman paneling) with a contrast color creates an extra depth and interest into the space. A farmhouse has layers and showing these layers off in a contemporary way is what can keep the home in the modern farmhouse category.
Picking A Color
Picking paint colors can be overwhelming, so we’re listing some of our favorite “go-to” colors for modern farmhouse style.
Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace is the purest white. It truly looks the same in every light, every room configuration. Our advice? Start with this color on all walls, molding, base-boards and accents/detailing. It couldn’t be a safer starting point.
Neutrals. We are currently grappling with this color wheel now! There is taupe, beige, cream, ivory. Think about using these colors for indoor window and door trim or wainscoting. Ceiling beams, coffered ceilings or cabinet colors. Small room (these colors won’t overpower a built-in wall or bookshelf) or large room (the subtle accent color adds a warmth to a larger space while not becoming too much of a “thing” in a space that will require more “filling in” as the space gets fully decorated and put together).
Our favorite picks in this “warm neutrals” category is Benjamin Moore’s Stone Hearth or Natural Cream. We also love Benjamin Moore’s Natural Cream. Some these fall under the “greige” (gray and beige) color trend as well. To incorporate some of those pastel colorways, look to Farrow & Ball’s Borrowed Light (a wonderful blue that will be very versatile) or Peignoir (a romantic grayish pink that will speak volumes in a very understated manner).
Bold contrasting color like navy, dark gray (charcoal) or black can really stand out in a cool way in a modern farmhouse. Our go-to charcoal gray is Rocky Coast. The navy we love most is Hague Blue by Farrow & Ball. Another color avenue to consider going down is the emergence of deep teals. Our living room built-ins are painted in Benjamin Moore’s Newburg Green, with a high gloss finish and as scary as it was to go with such a bold color we’ve never looked back and love it so much!
Color can be healing and a voice in your personal space. A modern farmhouse allows for many different options and design roads to travel! Have fun in the choosing farmhouse paint colors and revel in the finished space.
