27 Benjamin Moore paint colours in real houses
While Benjamin Moore paint colours may be relatively new to the UK market, having only become available here in 2015, the company's roots go back to the 19th century, when Irish-born American emigré Benjamin Moore and his brother William set up selling “Moore's Prepared Calsom Finish” on a $2,000 investment. Fast forward to 1889 and Benjamin Moore the company was born, going from strength to strength as a go-to paint brand in the ensuing years.
Now, they are very well established as one of the top paint companies in the US, favoured by interior designers and decorators for their strong, lasting pigments and easy-to-paint formulation. Their colours are best described as cool, calm and collected with more breezy blues and creamy neutrals than perhaps you'd find at Farrow & Ball. Indeed, for 2025 they are proclaiming “hushed hues” as the incoming colours we'll all be wanting, spotlighting the earthy plum-toned brown, ‘Cinnamon Slate’ from their collection as the colour of the year.
In the UK, the market favourites tend towards their neutrals (look at the warm white of ‘Swiss Coffee’ and the ever appealing ‘Revere Pewter’ which expertly bridges cool and warm tones) but ‘Hale Navy’ and ‘Aegean Teal’ are also in the top 10. While neutrals may be what they've become known for in their relative infancy to the market here, you need only scroll down to see how brilliant their bolder colours are and gather some inspiration for how to use them in your own house.
Benjamin Moore paint colours in real houses
Ngoc Minh Ngo1/27The walls and vanity in the bathroom of a Hamptons house by Steve Gambrel are painted in Benjamin Moore’s ‘Wickham Gray’ and ‘White Wisp’. ‘Wickham Gray’ has blue undertones which make it excellent in a bathroom and the tonal addition of the cool white is a lovely combination.
Ngoc Minh Ngo2/27In a child's room of the same house, the walls are painted in ‘Cool Lava’ – a dusty pink with orange tones – and the woodwork in ‘Ashley Gray’, both from Benjamin Moore. While they are quite different colours, ‘Ashley Gray’ has violet undertones which complement the warmth of the pink.
Owen Gale3/27When choosing the green colour for the cabinets in this kitchen, trend forecaster Samantha Palmer wanted to emulate the “timeless and evocative green of an old Land Rover Defender”. The colour she landed on was ‘Night Owl’ by Benjamin Moore, a beautiful dark brown-green that works so well with the purple veining of the Calcatta marble.
Art: Sadie Tierney4/27The walls of the guest bathroom in this Colorado house by Salvesen Graham are covered in Antoinette Poisson’s Jaipur wallpaper, paired with paneling painted in Benjamin Moore ‘Galapagos Green’.
Simon Brown5/27Benjamin Moore’s ‘Light Blue’ was chosen for the original panelling of the dining room in Samantha Todhunter's vicarage. It serves as a beautiful sky blue backdrop for an array of mismatched sabre-leg chairs from auctions and local dealers surrounding an antique table. Samantha kept the panelling details and ceiling white to stop the blue feeling too saccharine.
Paul Massey6/27Eildon Hall on the Scottish Borders is full of brilliant colour and here, Olivia Emery chose two tonal Benjamin Moore colours to create a lovely scheme. The walls are painted in a soothing light green called ‘Antique Jade’ and the woodwork in lush ‘High Park’.
Paul Massey7/27In another bathroom of the same house, woodwork in ‘Varsity Blues’ (which is more of a dark teal green than a blue) is softened by a blind in GP&J Baker’s ‘Kashmira’ cotton in aqua.
Paul Massey8/27Olivia used Benjamin Moore throughout, opting for the rich warmth of ‘Caliente’ to showcase photographs from Walter Dalkeith’s To God & To Nature series, hung above Vaughan chairs in Christopher Farr Cloth’s ‘36 24 36’ linen in berry.
Paul Massey9/27In the dining area, panelling around the windows in ‘Van Courtland Blue’ contrasts with walls in ‘Paper Doll’, both from Benjamin Moore. Throughout the house, Olivia opted for colours that have a feeling of history and weight to them, in keeping with the grandeur of the house.
Paul Massey10/27Lastly, in the hallway-come-boot-room, joinery designed by Olivia is painted in Benjamin Moore’s ‘Newburg Green’, a lovely deep teal with plenty of blue in it to work with the colours throughout the rest of Eildon Hall.
Brie Williams11/27This Kentucky house features walls lacquered in Benjamin Moore’s ‘Savannah Moss’, a rich yellow-green which provides a vibrant backdrop for the antique William and Mary-style cabinet behind the windows. The lacquer effect adds to the overall feeling the colour gives of being inside a lush forest.
Jess Isaac; styled by Kate Flynn12/27The laundry room of this house in Montecito could almost have been plucked out of an English country house. The koinery is painted in ‘Blue Jean’ by Benjamin Moore, a lovely blue that emulates the colour of a favourite pair of well worn jeans. The bright blue joinery rubs shoulders with contrasting cork tiles on the floor, adding to the cheerful effect of the room.
Chris Mottalini13/27When Hendricks Churchill worked with Eva Chen on the renovation of her country house, they looked to Benjamin Moore a lot for the paint colours. Here in the kitchen, the walls and cabinets are painted in ‘Wickham Gray’. In this room, the colour looks more blue and more moody than in the bathroom at the start of the gallery, and just as lovely for it.
Chris Mottalini14/27A downstairs loo also features panelling but this time, it was 'Woodlawn Blue' that was chosen. It's a delicate blue with a touch of green that works so well in a bathroom and tones well with brown accents.
Chris Mottalini15/27The main colour scheme of the house is blues and greys, but Heide from Hendricks Churchill pushed from some red accents on the banisters for contrast, for which she used 'Raphael' from Benjamin Moore, with 'Woodlawn Blue' repeated here on the woodwork and 'Seapearl' on the walls – a colour seen throughout the house.
Nicole Franzen16/27The bar area of a Brooklyn townhouse has been painted in Benjamin Moore’s ‘Mayflower Red’ to create a cheery division between the kitchen and dining area. ‘Mayflower Red’ is the perfect baked earth shade, with equal amounts of red and orange.
Read McKendree | Styling by Alexandra Morris Flint17/27The family room of a Kansas City house by Henry & Co is painted in ‘Smoke’ by Benjamin Moore, a versatile colour that can present as blue, grey or green depending on the light. Here, it has been layered with Michael Smith's ‘Jasper’ fabric via the roman blinds and many other blue tones to bring out that side of it.
Chris Horwood18/27Green is a perennially popular choice for kitchen cabinets, but if you're generally drawn to lighter shades, this is proof that dark green can feel incredibly sleek and elegant. Sophie Warburton, founder of Host Home, kept the existing kitchen in her London house, repainting the units from a pillar box red to the calm green of Benjamin Moore's ‘Guacamole’.
Chris Horwood19/27Sophie has used Benjamin Moore throughout the house, with ‘Skipping Stone’ providing a wonderful warm neutral base layer in the living room.
Chris Horwood20/27When Sophie and her husband set about decorating their London house, colour was the thing that truly transformed it into the tranquil home it is now. A wall of cupboards in their living room is painted in ‘Gallery Buff’, a perfect warm neutral for displaying Sophie's collection of jugs from Umbria. This flows into the living room and tones well with ‘Skipping Stone’ in there.
Christopher Horwood21/27Upstairs, the office is a lovely brick red that works brilliantly in the small space, which is flooded with light from the landing and a large window. The walls are painted in Benjamin Moore's 'Georgian Brick' while the woodwork on the window frame is the same ‘Skipping Stone' as the hallway and ground floor.
Photography: Read McKendree | Styling: Mieke Ten Haave22/27When decorating his beach house, interior designer Max Sinsteden knew he needed neutral walls as a visual break from all of collected trinkets and fabrics he planned to pepper throughout. Max took inspiration from the architect Gil Schafer's house – a man he admires and is friends with – and painted the whole house in ‘Seapearl’ by Benjamin Moore. “I’m obsessed with stuff,” Max admits, “furniture, art, objects – so I said to myself, as a maximalist, maybe I need a visual break at home to accommodate all the things I collect. Giving myself the edited quality of only having white walls gave me permission to pile on my things.”
Photography: Read McKendree | Styling: Mieke Ten Haave23/27In one of his two custom built outbuildings in the garden – dubbed the party shed – Max chose to paint the walls and beams in ‘Avocado’ by Benjamin Moore, which has golden tones that bring a wonderful energy to the room. Max and Alison Carabasi of Hillbrook Collections designed the counter and dry sink and had it fabricated by Alison’s metal roofer. The ceiling is lined with inexpensive garden screening that highlights the golden undertones.
Sam Frost24/27In the family room of this house in San Francisco, panelling painted in Benjamin Moore’s ‘White Dove’ (the second most popular colour here in the UK) provides the perfect foil for an eye-catching abstract painting.
Sam Frost25/27The kitchen also features a Benjamin Moore neutral, this time with units painted in ‘Marina Gray’ – a foggy grey that is complemented by a pale Fireclay Tile splashback.
26/27Rivki Rabinowitz's house, designed by Ashley Montgomery, sports a kitchen island painted in a deep burgundy, Benjamin Moore's ‘Raphael’, paired with Farrow & Ball's ‘Borrowed Light’ on the hood, walls, trim, and baseboards. It's similar to Eva Chen's hallway, where ‘Raphael’ has been used with a light blue on the stairs.
27/27Rabinowitz works from home in this cosy spot off the kitchen. “My goal for this office was a feminine sanctuary with a ladylike palette and fabrics that’s all elegance,” she says. The walls are painted in Benjamin Moore's dusty beige, ‘Old Stone’, and the ceiling is covered in Farrow & Ball's ‘Dorset Cream’. “It’s tiny, so we wanted to make it special,” adds Montgomery.
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