Neutral paint colors aren’t flashy. I like to think of them as a blank canvas that allows other accent colors, finishes, and decor in your home to attract all the attention.
In the context of paint colors, neutral means without color. Neutral paint colors are extremely versatile, and a well chosen neutral color will serve as the foundation for a cohesive interior design plan.
Neutral paint colors easily coordinate with other finishes and colors in your home.
The paint colors in this article are organized into the following categories. Touch or click a category to jump down to that section, or just keep reading to see all of the Best Neutral Paint Colors:
- Neutral White Paint Colors
- Neutral Off-White Paint Colors
- Neutral Gray Paint Colors
- Neutral Greige Paint Colors
- Neutral Beige Paint Colors
- Neutral Brown Paint Colors
- Neutral Black Paint Colors
OK, let’s get into my Top Neutral Paint Color Recommendations.
Best Neutral White Paint Colors
For a light and airy look, neutral white paint colors are simply the best.
Neutral White Paint Colors are the obvious choice if you’re looking for a versatile paint color that will look good paired with almost any other color.
Let’s start with one of the Best Neutral White Paint Colors:
Pure White (SW 7005)
Pure White – LRV: 84 (LRV, or Light Reflectance Value is a scale commonly used by design professionals where 0 = absolute black and 100 is pure white.)
Pure White by Sherwin-Williams is one of my absolute favorite Neutral White Paint Colors. It’s extremely light, bright and neutral.
It has very few undertones, and appears true white in almost any lighting condition. And it does all this without being bland, boring, or stark – this is what makes Pure White so special.
Grab a Peel-and-Stick sample of Pure White here.
Want to see some more of my favorite Neutral White Paint Colors? Check out these top picks:
All of these Neutral White Paint Colors are featured in my article: Neutral White Paint Color Guide. I do a deep dive on 11 different white paint colors, with color analysis, LRV’s, undertones, and of course, pictures in real homes!
Or, if you’re looking for a whole house paint color, please see Best Whole House Paint Colors. This is my curated collection of paint colors that are perfect for painting the entire interior of your home. The colors range from white, to gray, with beige, tan, and everything else in-between.
Best Neutral Off-White Paint Colors
Neutral Off-White Paint Colors are basically just white, but they have an added hint of gray, beige, cream, or brown. This small infusion of color makes all the difference.
When it comes to neutral paint, off-white is hard to beat. I’m always drawn to clean bright colors, and Neutral Off-White Paint Colors usually fit the bill perfectly. The best colors have a good balance between simple and interesting.
Off-white paint is sometimes very susceptible to color shift from warm or cool light.
A good example of this is:
Calm (OC-22) by Benjamin Moore
Calm – LRV: 75.83 (LRV, or Light Reflectance Value is a scale commonly used by design professionals where 0 = absolute black and 100 is pure white.)
Also known as Benjamin Moore: 2111-70
Calm by Benjamin Moore is a Neutral Off-White Paint Color with the perfect amount of color. It’s a soft white with a touch of warm gray… absolutely stunning!
However, in certain lighting conditions it tends to look a bit purple. You really have to be careful with undertones in this paint color category. This is why I always recommend sampling paint colors in your home.
Pssstttt…a better way to test paint colors on your walls 👇🏻
Before we get too much further, I need to let you know about my all-time favorite way to sample paint colors…
The hack? Peel-and-stick paint samples!
Using peel-and-stick samples saves you a ton of time, and it’s so much easier than getting small sample pots mixed, and painting splotches on your walls!
Calm by Benjamin Moore is one of my favorite off-white colors, but because of the undertones, I never recommend it as a whole home paint color. It’s appearance exhibits a little too much color-shift between warm, and cool light.
With that being said, I love Calm, and it looks absolutely amazing in many rooms!
Grab a Samplize Peel-and-Stick Sample of Calm here.
Here are a few more of the Most Popular Neutral Off-White Paint Colors that I recommend.
To learn more about these colors, check out my full paint color guide for Neutral Off-White Paint Colors. It goes in-depth on each color – with color analysis & pictures in real homes.
Best Neutral Gray Paint Colors
Not many paint colors can be both trendy and timeless – but if you choose the right Neutral Gray Paint color, you might just get both!
Sherwin-Williams’ #1 best selling paint color of all time comes from this category, so you know it has to be good.
The Neutral Gray Paint Color category is filled with all-stars. There are so many top-notch colors that it’s tough to choose, but I have to lead things off with Agreeable Gray.
Agreeable Gray (SW 7029)
Agreeable Gray – LRV: 60 (LRV, or Light Reflectance Value is a scale commonly used by design professionals where 0 = absolute black and 100 is pure white.)
Agreeable Gray by Sherwin-Williams is an amazing color. It has a good amount of depth, yet somehow doesn’t come across dark or heavy whatsoever.
This paint color is like a true gray, but with an extra little infusion of warmth. I believe that the added warmth is the secret sauce that makes Agreeable Gray so pleasing to the eye, and has lead to its great popularity.
Check out my full review here: Agreeable Gray Paint Color Review
Grab a sample of Agreeable Gray from Samplize here.
Here’s a few more of my favorite Most Popular Neutral Gray Paint Colors:
To see pictures of these gray paint colors in real homes, check out my article: Best Neutral Gray Paint Colors – The Ultimate Guide.
This article includes Light Grays, Warm Grays, Cool Grays, and Dark Grays… more than 25 gray paint colors in all!
Best Neutral Greige Paint Colors
Neural Greige Paint Colors are made by combining gray and beige. The top neutral greige paint colors take the best qualities of gray and beige, while leaving behind some of the drawbacks.
This is an excellent paint color family, with tons of amazing neutral paint colors!
Perfect Greige by Sherwin-Williams
Perfect Greige (SW 6073) – LRV: 42 (LRV, or Light Reflectance Value is a scale commonly used by design professionals where 0 = absolute black and 100 is pure white.)
Perfect Greige by Sherwin-Williams, as the name implies, is almost perfect. In reality, no paint color is truly perfect, but some are much closer than others.
Undertones of red and brown give Perfect Greige a neutral earthy red clay vibe that I absolutely love! This is a well balanced Neutral Greige Paint Color, and it’s a little bit darker than your average greige.
The extra depth and complexity make it a compelling choice, but I usually only recommend it for a full-room that has plenty of natural light (or as an accent color in almost any room).
Grab a sample of Perfect Greige from Samplize here.
Here’s a few more Popular Neutral Greige Paint Colors that I recommend:
To see all of these colors and more, check out my article: Best Neutral Greige Paint Colors. It has tons of pictures in real homes!
Best Neutral Beige Paint Colors
Neutral beige paint colors are inherently warm. A good beige paint color can create a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere.
Traditional beige paint colors have gray-orange undertones, but there’s also tons of popular creamy beige colors that have more of a gray-yellow undertone.
A common complaint with beige paint is that certain colors end up looking greenish (so make sure to test out your paint colors with Samplize!)
Realist Beige (SW 6078) by Sherwin-Williams
Realist Beige – LRV: 59 (LRV, or Light Reflectance Value is a scale commonly used by design professionals where 0 = absolute black and 100 is pure white.)
Realist Beige by Sherwin-Williams is an excellent medium brightness Neutral Beige Paint Color.
While some beiges are overly warm, Realist Beige keeps things much more even keel – it has some pleasant cool undertones that work to partially diffuse the warmth.
Grab a Peel-and-Stick Sample of Realist Beige here.
Here’s a few more of my Tops Picks for Neutral Beige Paint Colors:
To learn more about these Popular Neutral Beige Paint Colors (and more) – check out my article:
Best Neutral Brown Paint Colors
Neutral brown paint colors are earthy, warm, and cozy. While brown is technically neutral, it’s a little less forgiving than the previous colors when it comes to creating a color palette.
However, with careful selection and planning, a neutral brown paint color could steal the show in your home.
Pashmina (AF-100) by Benjamin Moore
Pashmina – LRV: 44.2 (LRV, or Light Reflectance Value is a scale commonly used by design professionals where 0 = absolute black and 100 is pure white.)
Pashmina by Benjamin Moore is one of the brand’s most popular Neutral Paint Colors. With a LRV of only 44.2 this paint has a pretty strong presence, but it still retains some of the airiness of lighter neutral paint colors.
Grab a Peel-and-Stick paint sample of Pashmina here.
Want some more options? Check out a few more of my Top Neutral Brown Paint Color picks:
For an in-depth break down of each color, and pictures in real homes, check out my article:
Best Neutral Black Paint Colors
Thanks for sticking around and reading almost to the end. You’ve made it to the final category: Neutral Black Paint Colors.
Black paint probably isn’t what comes to mind when you think of neutrals. But like it or not, black is technically a neutral color.
It’s not well suited as a whole house color, and it can be difficult to integrate into an interior design. But despite its flaws, when it works, it really works!
This is one of my all-time favorite black paint colors:
Iron Ore (SW 7069) by Sherwin-Williams
Iron Ore – LRV: 6 (LRV, or Light Reflectance Value is a scale commonly used by design professionals where 0 = absolute black and 100 is pure white.)
Iron Ore by Sherwin-Williams is in their Top-50 paint color club, which is no small feat (especially for such a dark color).
I love Iron Ore because it’s an authentically dark, bold black, but it’s softened slightly by some charcoal gray. It’s a really attractive paint color!
Grab a sample of Iron Ore from Samplize.
Need more options? Here’s a few more of my favorite Neutral Black Paint Colors:
For the full run down on Neutral Black Paint Colors, check out my article:
Our Top Painting Tips & Resources:
How To Get A Great Deal On Paint
Did you know that you can use budget friendly paint, and have it color matched to premium Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams paint colors? At Joyfully Growing Blog, we always use Glidden Premium paint from The Home Depot.
Glidden Premium rivals the quality of the top paint lines from Behr, Sherwin Williams, and Benjamin Moore.
Any paint store, or home improvement store with a paint section will be able to match colors from most major brands. This means that you can select one brand of paint, but get it mixed in any color you want!
In many cases, affordable paint like Glidden Premium can be up to 50% cheaper than the ‘big name brand’ competition. This can save you a ton of money!
Our Go-To Painting Supplies
- Paint brushes – I recommend ‘Pro Grade’ paint brushes, they’re the perfect budget friendly option. This set comes with both flat and angled brushes to get every nook and cranny. I LOVE the quality and, in my experience, they’re much more affordable from Amazon compared to in-store prices. You might be surprised how cheap this professional quality 5 Brush Set is on Amazon (it’s less than $10!).
- Paint rollers – Cover more surface area with a handy roller.
Tip: I love this one for tall walls or ceilings, it has an extendable handle.
- Paint sprayer – Paint brushes and paint rollers will get the job done, but for serious efficiency and productivity, you cannot beat this Graco Magnum Project Plus airless paint sprayer (Amazon). I personally own this paint sprayer, and have used it on tons of painting projects.
It’s an excellent quality sprayer, and powers through any painting projects in a hurry. Painting with an airless sprayer makes it easy to complete projects in much less time.
- Drop cloth – Skip the mess and grab a reusable drop cloth instead. This will come in handy for future projects. Just pop it in the washing machine after you’re done painting and it will be ready to go for the next project.
- Multi-surface painter’s tape – I always use this brand of painter’s tape, it’s great for smooth or lightly textured walls, trim, baseboards, tile, or even glass. It sticks quick and is easy to remove.
- Sanding sponges – For smoothing and prepping surfaces, you’ll need a couple of sanding sponges in different grits.
Want my proven method for decorating a room that’s cohesive and cozy?
