Picking the Perfect Paint Color and My Top Five Neutral Paint Color Picks That Look Good in Every Home

Hi, Build Omaha Readers! I'm Sarah Stewart, author of the blog Life on Virginia Street. I'm an Omaha-based insurance executive by day and a blogger/DIY-er/home decor enthusiast by night and weekend. My husband and I have built two homes and we are now updating our current new-to-us home to make it our own. I will be sharing tips and tricks I have learned over the years on a regular basis here at Build Omaha. Thanks for reading along!


When building a new home, the list of decisions you have to make can seem overwhelming at times. Cabinets, lighting, flooring, paint colors, upgrades... and the list goes on.

Although paint color decisions may seem minor (how many names and variations are there of beige paint?!?), picking the right paint color can set the right mood in your new home.  By starting with an excellent base color, you can always add accent colors down the road to help limit some of the upfront choices you need to make during the build.

If selecting a paint color seems daunting, try some of these tricks to envision how the color will look in your home.

  • Most paint lines can mix sample pots of paint for a few dollars. Pick up some large white poster boards and cover with the paint color you are considering. Let's face it - most paint chips are not large enough to really get a feel for the color. Tape the poster boards in different rooms throughout your home to see how the color looks in a variety of lighting situations. This small investment will be invaluable in selecting the color that is right for you.
  • Don't forget to compare your paint samples with cabinet/backsplash/flooring selections to ensure colors you are trying to avoid aren't pulled out when compared to one of the other choices (white is particularly a tricky one).
  • If you find a color you love, but your builder uses a different paint line, don't worry! Typically paint colors can be color-matched by other brands. I still like to get a sample of the color-matched paint though, as I feel some lines match better than others. Make sure it is the color you are going after!
  •  Leverage Pinterest, Google or other search engines. I have selected a variety of paint colors for our home, simply by searching out paint colors online and seeing how the color reads in other homes.

Following is a list of a my top five neutral paint color picks that seem to work well in most homes.

  • Behr Castle Path
  • Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter
  • Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray
  • Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray
  • Behr Wheat Bread

If any of these colors are too saturated for you, simply ask the company to do a 75% or 50% saturation of your color (or whatever ratio you would prefer). This keeps the tone and color the same, but simply lightens it.

For additional paint color ideas, feel free to visit my blog, Life on Virginia Street.