8 Best Neutral Paint Colors for Your Home—and Selling Your Home
Last Updated on May 26, 2023 by lindseymahoney
Choosing a paint color can completely change how a room feels—and it can also influence how buyers experience your home when it goes on the market.
If you are preparing to sell, neutral paint colors can help create a clean, cohesive backdrop that allows buyers to focus on the home's features rather than being distracted by bold or highly personal colors. While paint alone will not determine your home's value, a fresh, neutral color palette can help a home feel more move-in ready and easier for buyers to envision as their own.
Even if you are not selling anytime soon, the right neutral paint color can make your home feel brighter, more cohesive, and easier to decorate. These are some of my favorite neutral paint colors that I have used in my own homes, flip houses, and rental properties.
Should you Paint Your Home Before Selling?
Painting is one of the updates homeowners often consider before listing, but a fresh coat of paint is not always the best use of your time or money. Before painting your entire home, consider the condition of the existing paint, the colors currently on the walls, and the overall presentation of the property.
In some homes, painting a few bold or heavily worn rooms can make a noticeable difference. In others, the money may be better spent on cleaning, decluttering, landscaping, or addressing deferred maintenance.
If you are preparing to sell, I recommend evaluating the home as a whole rather than automatically repainting every room.
How to Choose the Right Paint Color
Before choosing a paint color, consider:
1. Natural light
A color can look dramatically different in a bright south-facing room versus a darker north-facing room.
2. Existing finishes
Consider the color of:
- Flooring
- Countertops
- Cabinets
- Trim
- Tile
- Furniture
3. Undertones
A neutral color can still have pink, yellow, blue, green, or purple undertones.
4. The home's purpose
The best color for your personal home may not be the best color for a home you are preparing to sell.
Neutral Paint Colors to Consider Before Selling Your Home
When preparing a home for sale, I generally recommend choosing paint colors that feel light, cohesive, and broadly appealing. That does not mean every wall needs to be white. Warm whites, soft greiges, and subtle blue-green tones can all work well depending on the home's lighting, finishes, and overall style.
Alabaster by Sherwin Williams
- LRV: 82
- Undertone: Warm Cream
- Best for: Whole-home use, living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms
My experience:
Alabaster (SW 7008) is a creamy white that feels warm without becoming overly yellow. I have used it throughout several areas of my own home, including the kitchen, son's bedroom, and living room.
For resale:
This can be a strong option when you want a warm, light backdrop that feels clean without looking stark.
Polar Bear by Behr Paint
- LRV: 90
- Undertones: Warm, slight pink
- Best For: Bright rooms where you want a warm white
My experience:
I have used Polar Bear in a few of the rooms in my home and it is a nice, warm white. I applied this paint color to the walls in my laundry room and it was the perfect shade to warm up the white and black color palette.
It can have a slight undertone of pink in some settings, however. I see the pink undertone come out a bit in my master bathroom where there is no natural light.
For resale:
This paint color is a good option for bright spaces where you want to add warmth.
Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore
- LRV: 55
- Undertones: Warm greige
- Best for: A classic, timeless greige throughout the home.
My experience:
Revere Pewter is one of my favorite greige colors! We used this in our second home in the loft/playroom on our second floor. It truly is the perfect mix of grey and beige that creates a timeless and classic atmosphere.
For resale:
For homeowners who want a neutral wall color but don't want white walls, this is the perfect paint color. Revere Pewter is incredibly versatile and the warm undertones bring life into every space.
Repose Gray by Sherwin Williams
- LRV: 58
- Undertones: Soft greige
- Best for: Creating a cohesive color palette throughout a home
My Experience:
Repose Gray (SW 7015) is another beautiful greige color that I have used frequently in my homes, including my daughter's nursery. In our third house, I chose Repose Gray as the inspiration for the color palette of our entire house.
For resale:
Repose Gray is a wonderful paint color to incorporate into your home. Consider using other shades of this paint color shown on the paint swatch to create a cohesive feel throughout your home.
Eider White by Sherwin Williams
- LRV: 73
- Undertone: Soft warm gray
- Best For: Bedrooms and spaces where you want a soft, calm neutral
My Experience:
Eider White is the perfect neutral paint color to make a space feel clean and fresh while still creating some dimension against white trim. We used this warm white in the master bedroom of our third home and it created a calm and inviting sanctuary.
For resale:
Eider White is a consistent white that guarantees a fresh, clean feel. I have used this in flip houses, rental properties as well as our personal home.
Agreeable Gray by Sherwin Williams
- LRV: 60
- Undertone: Warm greige
- Best for: A versatile neutral with warmth
Agreeable Gray (SW 7029) is another fantastic greige or mushroom color that is used by many design experts. It is a warm gray that can hint towards a beige brown in some light.
Just like its name, this paint color is quite agreeable with all homes. Julie Blanner uses this color on her basement cabinets in the image above.
Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams
- LRV: 63
- Undertone: Blue-green
- Best for: Bathrooms, bedrooms, and homes with a coastal feel
My Experience:
Sea Salt (SW 6204) is the perfect blue-green paint color for your home! The subtle gray undertones in this color make it versatile with any style of home.
For resale:
Sea Salt is a universally liked color an the perfect options for homeowners who do not want a white or gray paint color.
Silver Crest by Benjamin Moore
- LRV: 70
- Undertone: Gray-green
- Best for: Bathrooms and rooms where you want a subtle spa-like color
My experience:
If you are looking to add a little more color to your home, Silver Crest is a great option, especially in bathrooms. This relaxing gray-green adds a touch of elegance to any room. It definitely created spa-like vibes in our master bathroom and the guest bathroom in our third home.
For resale:
Silver Crest is perfect for spaces that you want to feel relaxing and calm. Bathrooms and bedrooms are great spaces to use this Benjamin Moore paint color.
The best neutral paint color depends on your home's lighting, existing finishes, and the overall look you want to create. For your own home, choose a color that makes you happy. If you are preparing to sell, think more broadly about how the color works with the entire home and how easily buyers can envision themselves living there.
A fresh coat of paint can be a helpful update, but it is only one piece of preparing a home for the market. If you are unsure which improvements are worth making before listing, I am always happy to help homeowners prioritize updates that make sense for their specific property.
For tips on painting your home, check out these tutorials:
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FAQ's
What does Light Reflective Value (LRV) mean?
LRV tells us how much light a color absorbs on a scale from 0 to 100. The lower the number, the less light the color will reflect and will therefore feel darker. The higher the LRV number, the more reflective the color, making a space feel lighter and brighter.
What is an undertone?
A paint undertone is the color you don’t see that can cause the main color (tone) to feel warm or cool. Warm paint colors have yellow, beige, or pink undertones. Cool paint colors have green, purple or blue undertones.
