The cottage-style design showcases a perfect blend of French vintage, shabby chic, and rustic charm, creating a cozy and homely ambiance. Its unique character takes to the color scheme the inspiration that connects the cottage-style design to its natural environment.
In the manner that cottages by the beach will emphasize watery blues, sandy browns, and sunny yellows; at the same time, garden cottages accentuate pastels, floral pinks, and leafy greens throughout the interiors. Choosing the best cottage interior paint colors is about creating a natural ambiance that looks and feels light, bright, and airy.
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Cottage Home Style Color Palette
The cottage color palette is usually expressed through casual furnishings with plenty of patterns, painted furniture dominated by white, antique wooden furniture, weathered finishes, and other accessories mostly made with natural materials.
Think about a color scheme inspired by nature and the surrounding landscape and decorate in earthy, natural tones. Cottages are linked with rustic ambiance with soft weathered textures of natural materials, heritage prints, and the gentle colors of the countryside, which can be a great color palette inspiration.
Using natural wood furniture such as warm, blonde-hued wood complements the rural features of a cottage and creates a cozy, welcoming vibe. Choose warm shades such as earthy stone pigments, terracotta, warm pink, and honey-yellow to enhance the warm and homely feel of your cottage home.
Light neutrals such as creams, white, and warm gray walls create the perfect backdrop in your cottage color palette. Other colors that you can use are pastel shades such as light apricot, pale blue, soft pink, sage, and muted yellows.
A splash of bright colors, including sunflower yellow and cherry red can be incorporated as accent colors through selected décor pieces or can be used sparingly on patterns and fabrics for curtains, upholstery, rugs, or bedding.
We recommend a beach cottage color palette from Sherwin-Williams – SW 7007 Ceiling Bright White, SW 9051 Aquaverde, SW 6080 Utterly Beige, SW 7611 Tranquil Aqua, and SW 6071 Popular Gray.
The springtime vibe is also associated with the cottage color scheme, dusky violet walls in a gray-toned shade like that of Benjamin Moore’s Majestic Mauve 2115-60 is a perfect backdrop for a spring-inspired palette.
To complete the look, add some touch of Benjamin Moore’s Super White OC-152, Marilyn’s Dress 2125-60, Coastal Path AF-380, Manchester Tan HC-81, Misted Green 2138-50, and a splash of French Violet 1427.
Timeless Cottage Paint Colors
The cottage style has one main element: simplicity, which offers a welcoming and airy atmosphere. The monochromatic all-white color scheme is the timeless cottage paint color, because of its impressive simplicity.
From white walls continuing to the woodwork and onto the other furnishings and upholstery, an all-white color scheme combined with slightly cool undertones conveys a sense of elegance and romance.
Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace OC-65 is one of our favorites because it is the perfect white that is not too cool or too warm. This shade is the best backdrop for all other color tones, it has the cleanest look that will never go out of style.
Sherwin-Williams Snowbound SW 7004 is another all-time favorite white for the softness it brings to any interior and it works well with both natural and artificial lighting fixtures as well as pairs easily with other paint finishes.
Having white in a two-color palette works well in areas where decorative elements are limited. Choosing one color with a cottagey hue such as blue, that would complement white as the dominant color while still making its presence known without overpowering visual attention.
Benjamin Moore Beach Glass 1564 is a blue-green paint color that offers a serene vibe for any interior space, including a cottage kitchen. Another of our best picks is a beautiful French blue color from Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint – Shutter Gray that is perfect for a furniture finish if you wish to add some pizzazz to your cottage-style furniture.
Benjamin Moore Stingray 1529 is another timeless paint color with its moody gray-green hue, reminiscent of a misty summer morning, and works best when applied on trims, doors, and cabinets. This color brings an impeccable greige warmth to the space.
One more popular version of a timeless cottage color scheme involves three hues that are applied in equal, balanced amounts – white, pink, and blue. This palette should neither be too pale nor too intense for this color scheme to work at its best. Benjamin Moore French Canvas OC-41 with its lovely off-white and ivory tone works best in bright spaces adding a warm gentle glow.
Benjamin Moore First Light 2102-70 is a sophisticated color choice with its pale blush-pink shade that offers a subtle, cool elegance. Benjamin Moore Soft Chinchilla 2135-50 is a light blue paint with just the right amount of gray, adding depth and a relaxing vibe to the cottage concept.
Other neutral colors that are timeless choices for cottage paint colors are Sherwin-Williams Morris Room Grey SW 0037 a warm hue of grey, this color the new beige as well as some warm colors from Benjamin Moore’s Affinity Color Collection such as Cotswold AF-150, Boudoir AF-190 and Carob AF-160.
English Cottage Interior Colors
The true English cottage look has an eclectic and evolved look that evokes cozy living with its crisp, clean, and back-to-nature sensibility. It is typically characterized by its low ceilings, arched doorways, rustic wood beams, stone flooring, and whitewashed walls. These homes have a charming feel that makes people feel instantly relaxed while the setting feels both elegant and intimate, embodying the English aesthetic.
English cottage interior colors utilize the approach of keeping the walls remarkably simple, while including a collection of color and texture in the form of fabrics and patterns. The interior color palette typically reflects the colors of the outdoors such as that of a botanical garden or floral prints since in England, gardening is more of a passion.
However, the English cottage’s interior colors are not limited to earthy neutrals and pastels, some saturated colors can be found in English cottages including a muted palette highlighting faded blues, sage greens, and pale pinks. Meaning, that blues are more of the color of the robin’s egg, greens are more of the color sage and reds are more of the rust color. The walls might all be painted white or cream and accentuated by moldings with colors that complement the room’s other hues.
Here are some examples of an English interior color palette:
Sherwin Williams Creamy 7012: It is an off-white color with a subtle yellow undertone that looks cream-colored on the wall while not reading too white or too yellow.
Sherwin Williams Modern Gray SW 7632: It has purple and pink undertones making it appear taupe in some lights reflecting a gray hue in some rooms, and very warm in others. It pairs nicely with the off-white cream color such as the Creamy by Sherwin Williams for the trim and baseboards.
Benjamin Moore Stone Hearth 984: This one is another taupe color that pairs well with the Snowbound by Sherwin Williams.
Sherwin Williams Snowbound: This is the perfect white though it leans a little off-white, but not as much as Creamy by Sherwin Williams.
Sherwin Williams Meadow Sage: This green gives an English-inspired paint color that goes perfectly with the brick finish of an English cottage.
Modern Cottage Colors
Make your modern cottage colors feel extra cozy with natural greens, browns, grays, and blues. Mixing tones and textures offers a modern spin as well as adding interest to the classic clean white palette. By blending classic and modern colors create a cottage interior colors that’s relaxing and welcoming. Cool neutrals, warm browns, and beige create a truly cohesive look that is fresh and organic.
Warm browns and beige such as Sherwin Williams Camelback 6122, Sherwin Williams Favorite Tan 6157, Sherwin Williams Otter 6041, Sherwin Williams Smokey Topaz 6117, and Sherwin Williams Virtual Taupe 7039 provides a contrast tone to cool urban greys. The options include Sherwin Williams Online 7072, Sherwin Williams Repose Gray 7015, Sherwin Williams Chatroom 6171, and Sherwin Williams Rock Bottom 7062.
Cool neutrals like Sherwin Williams Greek Villa 7551, and Sherwin Williams Maison Blanche 7526 with a splash of Sherwin Williams Indigo Batik 7602 and Sherwin Williams Riverway 6222 add a touch of nature to your color palette.
Here are some more modern colors to choose from, guaranteed to give your cottage home a modern twist. Our best picks for a soft white backdrop – are Benjamin Moore White Dove, BM Decorator’s White, Sherwin Williams Alabaster, and BEHR Polar Bear. These colors are best for layering creamy shades on walls with pure white accents for your molding, ceiling, and trim.
For a rustic neutral look, here are our best picks for a perfect blend of gray and beige colors – Sherwin Williams Crushed Ice, Farrow & Ball Comforth White, Benjamin Moore Rockport Gray, and BM Cumulus Cloud. These shades are great for large areas giving an airy vibe that doesn’t feel flat.
Gray-blue colors are a popular choice for a modern color scheme that offers a bold and classic vibe to your cottage home. Examples of this gray-blue color are Benjamin Moore Andes Summit, BM Oxford Gray, Sherwin Williams Distance, and Sherwin Williams Bracing Blue. A lighter shade of these colors can brighten any space as well as a darker shade of these colors adds depth and works best when considering accent wall colors for your home.
Painting an accent wall in a darker or more vibrant color is another way to make your focal point stand out. – Designs That Sell, Gloria Hander Lyons
Speaking of grays, a gray with a green undertone can elevate your modern cottage color palette to the next level of coziness. Try out our top choice of green-gray colors for a modern cottage vibe – Sherwin Williams Silver Strand, Sherwin Williams Sea Salt, Farrow & Ball Cromarty, and Benjamin Moore Gray Owl.
Similar to gray with a green undertone is the sage color, but with more green pigment. Sage is a muted soft green color with a bright hue that can be used as an accent color. This includes Benjamin Moore Rolling Hills, Sherwin Williams Agate Green, Farrow & Ball Lichen, and Green Smoke.
The dark, moody color of charcoal also brings a modern touch to a cottage interior. This color might be bold and heavy, but it is an excellent accent color, especially in a room that has lots of natural light. Choose from Benjamin Moore Charcoal Linen, Sherwin Williams Charcoal, Valspar Almost Charcoal and Glidden Charcoal Coast.
Remember that we have mentioned Robin’s Egg Blue shade as one of our best recommendations for a cottage interior color? Here are some of our top picks – Benjamin Moore Bird’s Egg, Sherwin Williams Open Air, SW French Moire, and Farrow & Ball Blue Ground. This soft blue tone is a great accent color for a modern cottage interior color scheme.
Although more of a French Country style, today’s modern pinks have gray undertones with a rosy shade, as well as pinks with peach undertones, which work well for an aesthetically soft modern color accent. Interested, try Farrow & Ball Calamine, Glidden Ballerina, Benjamin Moore Playful Pink, and Rose Garden.
The minimalistic style of modern interiors will look lovely against a unique and colorful garden-inspired shade of pale violet found in Benjamin Moore Violet Dusk, Glidden Pale Orchid, Valspar Watercolor Grape, and Purple Mist.
Always consider the existing elements in your cottage home when choosing the right modern interior colors. In order to achieve that clean, welcoming, and modern cottage style remember to keep the wall colors more muted and incorporate bold and colorful accents for a more elegant and dramatic appeal.
