Paint colors you love. A plan you can follow.

From palette to plan

Five colors, and where each one goes.

A palette on its own still leaves you standing in the room wondering which wall gets what. Every story decides that part for you, room by room.

The canvas color holds the open walls, so the room stays quiet while you work in it.

The blend sits on the lower cabinets and the island, and the trim white keeps the uppers and the ceiling clean, so the run of cabinetry reads as one thing instead of three.

The statement stays out of this room. It has the fireplace face in the living room, and that is enough dark for one floor.

House rule: no ceiling takes the dark color, anywhere.

The canvas

Carries the walls in most rooms

The blend

Cabinets, built-ins, the island

The statement

One dark move per room, never the ceiling

The accent

A headboard wall, the inside of a shelf

The trim

Trim, doors, uppers, ceilings

The home you already have

Your floors are already chosen.

Most of the room is decided before you pick up a paint chip. The floor stays, the cabinets stay, the sofa stays. A color has to live with all of it.

Take a warm oak floor.

This palette sits easily on top of one. The greens and creams are warm enough to meet orange-toned wood without arguing with it, and the dark one gives the room a place to land. Put the same five over cool grey tile and they have to work harder: the greens go colder, the creams start to look yellow beside the grey. Not impossible, but a different palette would make it easier, and I would say so rather than sell you this one.

What I can narrow down, and what only a sample can settle

I can tell you how a color behaves in your light, morning through lamplight, and which of the five belongs on which surface.

I can read the same color across brands, so you can buy it at the counter you actually drive to.

I cannot see your floor. Paint two coats on a board, hold it against the floor and the cabinets, and look at it at the hours you are really in that room.

Look again after dark, under your own bulbs. That is where most of the surprises live.

Good questions

A little clarity before you start.

What is a Color Story, and how do I use one?

A Color Story brings five coordinated paint colors together with pictured rooms and guidance on where each color belongs. Start with a feeling you love, use the placement guidance to plan your space, then try physical samples in your own light.

What can I explore for free?

Browse the Color Story library, open the free sample stories, and use the free color tools. A free account lets you save your favorites. The pass opens the full guides and paint recipes for every story, plus the paid planning tools.

Will this work with my floors, cabinets, and furniture?

Start with the finishes you're keeping. Compare paint samples beside your flooring, cabinets, countertops, and larger furniture, in daylight and under your usual lamps. A Color Story gives you a coordinated starting point; samples help you decide whether it belongs in your home.

Can I start with just one room?

Yes. Use a Color Story to guide one room and carry the colors into other spaces when you're ready. You don't need to use all five colors in every room. Start with the wall and trim choices, then decide where an accent would feel at home.

Can I use my preferred paint brand?

Yes. Choose from the supported brands, including Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, Behr, and Farrow & Ball. Changing brands shows the closest available colors, not an exact match guarantee. Compare physical samples before you buy your paint.

Will the paint look like the pictures?

Use the pictures for direction. Gesso homes are imagined scenes made with generative tools, not photographs of completed customer projects. Your lighting, finishes, and screen can change how a color appears. Sample the paint beside the materials you're keeping and look again after dark before buying gallons.