Choosing Paint Colours for Our Home

One of the questions I get asked the most is about the colours of paint we used on the farm renovation. Choosing paint can be overwhelming, especially if you have little experience or are not confident in your ability. This often leads to indecision and following trends because you think that’s the right thing to do. Then you discover you don’t even like the colour or it doesnt suit your home and have to repaint! So, in this post, I’m going to give you a rundown of the paint colours I chose for our home and the process of choosing paint colours. Hopefully, this will give you the confidence to pick colours you love!

BE WARNED: WHILE I ADDED SWATCHES TO THE INFOGRAPHIC BELOW, THEY ARE NOT THE TRUE COLOURS AS THEY LOOK IN OUR HOUSE. THEY ARE FOR YOUR INFORMATION. More accurate colour depiction can be seen in the photos.

Wall Colours

One of the best ways to create a cohesive scheme is to carry the same colour palette throughout your home. Colours might be used in different ways but if they’re present a feeling of cohesion will happen.

The main colour used on the walls throughout our home is Antique White USA. It throws a creamy colour and is quite a warm white, which I wanted as I’m not a fan of the cooler whites. But after 4 1/2 years the time has yellowed to a point where I no longer like it. If we were staying I would repaint in another white shade. That said, it looks lovely in the east facing rooms where there is lots of light.

The attic bedroom was a no brained for me was when choosing paint colours. I wanted a sage green that would bring the outdoors in and match with some cottage print fabric I had for curtains and pillowcases. Wattyl Peat Moss is a shade I would use again for sure. It’s so soft and pretty and looks great when trimmed with white. It’s a classic cottage style colour that would look great on kitchen cabinetry too and blends beautifully with timber.

The only other main colour we have in the farmhouse is the deep blue in the lounge. This was a real test for me. I wanted a blue to match the leather sofas and create some grandeur, so it had to be a saturated colour. Painting the entire room in such a dark colour has given the space a completely different feel to the rest of the house. Would I use this colour again? Yes. But in a room with more light. It can be very dark. Great for TV. Not so much if you want to read. But we do that in our main living area anyway.

Choosing Paint Colours for Trim & Cabinetry

The kitchen was one of the trickiest when choosing paint colours. Why? I was scared to trust my gut.

I originally painted the trim a lighter grey (still dark but more grey than charcoal). Then, when I had to make a decision on the colour for the cabinetry, I realised I had chosen wrongly. The grey was way too pale and the light in our kitchen washed it out even more. So I went with Dulux Domino for the lot and repainted all the trims. Many people think the trim is black but it’s actually a deep charcoal with blue hints. It makes anything blue pop (I love blue) and looks fabulous with brass and gold tones.

Other Colours

I never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would paint anything green, let alone a bold green like the front door of the dairy and our outdoor furniture. Then there’s the green checkerboard floor.

When we were choosing paint colours for the dairy, green just seemed to fit with the farm and surrounds. Everything has such vibrancy and saturation of colour here. So I went with a happy green for our door, which was perfect for the thrifted outdoor setting too. I chose a darker green for the floor in the dairy. I’m not sure I’d use green in another home but it looks so good here.

As for the exterior, I wanted that classic Australian farmhouse look. I chose Dulux White Dune Half for the walls. It’s creamy tones are softened by the light. The trims are Vivid White to mirror the interior and our doors are British Paints Black Jet. But NEVER again would I choose a high gloss finish for a door. It’s impossible to get a non streaky result! I ended up repainting in a lower sheen.

The roof choice had already been made for us. The existing verandah was colourbond in Ironstone so we went with that for the new roof. If we had changed the colour we would have had to replace the entire roof. We painted the floor of the verandah in Dulux Monument for a darker look.

I hope this helps and gives you some insight as to how I chose colours and why. If you’d like more information on how to create a whole home could scheme, try THIS POST.