It seems the number one question that I get asked is about paint colors. There are so many choices, undertones and paints look different in different lights. I’ve found seeing other people’s paint choices in their houses really helped me pick paints for my own. So, today, I'm sharing paint selections for my home renovation.

I picked the paints at-move in, and had a day to do it. I started with Sherwin Williams paints and after painting a couple samples on the walls, two colors really stole the show for me and ended up in nearly every room in my house.

Shoji White

Shoji White is the paint I picked for my old living room, bathrooms and bedrooms. It's such a lovely neutral. It's warm, bright, and really worked with my floor stain, pure white trim and brass accents.

Popular Gray

Popular Gray was my other winning color. It was in my dining room and office. It's also a warm paint that looks killer with brass accents.

The test of a good color to me is if it can be used in multiple rooms in the house with different natural light. (If you're interested in these colors - check them out in more rooms in my house here.) I loved these colors for the two years I lived with them. I was SO close to just putting the same colors back on the walls. Easy, right?? But with a new kitchen that will be all white and open to the living room and with trim to paint this time...I went back to Pinterest.

When I'm looking for paints I'm always tempted to try colors that aren't always talked about, but there is something to be said for the paint colors that are talked about a lot. If that many people are going crazy over a paint color especially a white it says something about its versatility.

Here are the 8 paints I narrowed it down to, and I'll be sharing on my walls today:

White Dove, Benjamin Moore
Kitty Gray, Benjamin Moore
Classic Gray, Benjamin Moore
Glacier White, Benjamin Moore
Sea Salt, Sherwin William
Constellation, Benjamin Moore
Hale Navy, Benjamin Moore
Simply White, Benjamin Moore

They say when you pick paints for your entire house all at once you should start with the main living space. For my house, that is the kitchen and living room.

The kitchen cabinets are going to be painting White Dove. I really loved these blue or gray cabinets, but at the end of the day I wanted a classic white kitchen.

I have learned a lot about White Dove these past few days. It’s white, but white paints can some times be the most tough colors to choose. With White Dove, when you put it next to a stark or pure white the yellow / creamy undertones really show. If you are going for this kind of contrast like Monika Hibb's home—which is lovely—this is your paint combo. (Her walls are White Dove and Simply White is the trim).

If you want it to look truly white, keep reading.

The trick is not to put it next to a stark white, and then it looks well..white! A lot of people I've seen will paint entire rooms out of this color from walls to trim. In my opinion it looks fabulous, especially with wood work.

Ok! So, here is my house. This is the future kitchen. Try to look past the stark white paint from the sheetrock and to the paint samples in the middle of the wall...

In the kitchen, the trim color was easy. It has to be White Dove to match the cabinets. The decision was what to do with the walls. White Dove? Or go a bit darker with Glacier White? To me, Glacier White was a bit too beige for the white look I'm going for. So, White Dove won for the kitchen and main living space.

Side note: Did I mention my new floors are in?? Not stained yet, but they look so lovely in their true white oak form.

Here's the view from the kitchen looking towards the future dining area and stairs. White Dove is on top.

I went a bit overboard with the paint samples and painted a sample on nearly every wall. Overkill? Maybe. It’s a pretty big room, so I really wanted to see how the light hit it in all areas. I actually really liked the Glacier White and even the color that was painted for the framing—its more beige/tan, but nice.

I tried Classic Gray in here just to see—but I'm sticking with White Dove for the walls, trim and ceiling beams.

Thee room off the new kitchen is a new space—enclosing the old sunroom into a new sunroom or family room.

The paint on the walls and trim will be White Dove. The *fun* thing in this room will be the ceiling! It will be a blue to give a nod to our the historical age of the house and southern Colonial architecture and one of my favorite cities, Charleston, SC, where blue ceilings are a common occurrence.

Look at the different hue when it's on the wall vs. ceiling! This is why painting on every wall or the actual space is necessary! The color is Constellation.

In one of the rooms, I really want to go bold with color. If there was a room to do this in the house it would be this next room. It will likely be a study for the time being and I have always want to do a bold blue. Soo pretty. Those cabinets, love.

The dark paint I tried on this wall is the popular, Hale Navy. I was so surprised by how dark it looked actually on my walls. It nearly looks black. What do you guys think? Are you into the blue from House Beautiful camp or Hale Navy?

The backup if time runs out this go-around is this pretty blue/green/gray, Moonshine.

Heading upstairs, I’m pretty much going with this whole bathroom look after seeing this lovely color combo on Studio McGee. The walls are Sea Salt.

More green in my lighting, but I think it'll look nice.

And now to the main bedroom! Last go around on paint colors, my one paint fail in my book was the main bedroom. I went with a beige...and I just wasn’t a fan. It felt too dark. This go around, I am sticking with white.

Simply White was named the 'color of the year' in 2016 and for good reason. It's a lovely white found in some of my favorite homes like Erin Fetherston's L.A. home.