Over the last few years, we have renovated a 1926 farmhouse on a few acres into our home. The previous owners added a lot of modern touches to the house, but we wanted to try to bring back some of her former vintage charm and honor the original time-period of our home. When renovating our farmhouse, I spent a lot of time considering cottage paint colors or whimsical wallpaper for each room.
I wanted our home to feel cozy, inviting, warm, and bright. I love neutrals, but I wanted to play around with splashes of color throughout our home. Here are some of my favorite paint colors and wallpaper choices for our farmhouse in the city.
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My Best Budgeting Tip when Choosing Cottage Paint Colors
In my opinion, Farrow & Ball has some of the best paint colors for old farmhouses and cottages. However, at $100 a gallon and an entire house to paint, it was far out of our budget. I ordered a free color card from Farrow & Ball’s website. I took it to Home Depot and they were able to color match very close to the original color for me! It might not be quite the same, but it fit within our budget and the results are beautiful!
Also, it’s cheaper to spend a few dollars on paint samples than to re-paint an entire room. Get the samples if you aren’t sure. You could use the extra samples to paint picture frames later on!
Sunroom
We actually decided to keep the paint color in our sunroom. It is sort of a mushroom gray/brown color that I normally would not have chosen, but it really feels like it was made for this room.
This sunroom is one of the most well-lit rooms in our home. This color is neutral and warm, and it reflects light beautifully. I think it pairs well with the white trim and natural wood tones of our floors and ceiling in this room.
Living Room Cottage Paint Colors
When we moved into our living room, it was an extremely dark brownish/gray color. Our living room gets very little natural light, and it honestly felt like a cave. We wanted to lighten it up and accent with little touches of color!
My in-laws generously helped us paint several coats of a bright white paint on this room.
We chose Snowbound by Sherwin Williams. I do love how this white brightened up the room. My only dislike is how it sometimes feels stark due to the lack of natural light. I think a slightly warmer shade would have helped with this, but it is a huge improvement from before!
Dining Room Wallpaper Choices
Our dining room is one of our favorite rooms in our home! We added bead board to the walls and painted it the color Snowbound by Sherwin Williams. Then, we added the wallpaper Lilja in the color Beige from Wallpaper Direct.
This wallpaper was an investment, but I still love it several years later! It’s a warm, light brown with cream and gold accents. I love the subtle pattern, flecks of gold, and neutral tones.
Kitchen
We actually still have not painted our kitchen, and the walls, ceiling, and cabinets would all benefit from an extra coat of paint!
However, I actually really love the paint in this room. I’m not sure on the actual cabinet paint color, but it looks very close to Jamestown Blue by Benjamin Moore.
Bathroom 1 Cottage Paint Colors
We originally planned to use wallpaper in the bathroom, but the walls were really textured in here and we had concerns about the wallpaper sticking. We also were worried that it would peel or potentially mold in the bathroom. Instead, we decided to texture the walls, add beadboard on half of them, and paint the top a soft green.
We color matched the color Mizzle by Farrow and Ball and painted the trim and bead board Snowbound by Sherwin Williams. Even though this bathroom doesn’t get a lot of light, I love how these colors look, and we get compliments on it all of the time!
Stairs/Stairwell
Our original plan was to sand the stairs; however, we found out that they had lead paint so sanding wasn’t an option. Instead, we opted for several layers of deck paint on top.
We color-matched the color Pigeon by Farrow + Ball, painted the walls a creamy-white called Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore, and the trim White Dove by Benjamin Moore.
In addition, we added this floral/bird wallpaper from Home Depot on the tall wall with the window. We hired out this job due to the tight space and height of the wall. It added so much to this area of our home!
Wood Floors Cottage Paint Colors
Our upstairs floors were also painted with lead paint, and covering them with new floors was not in our budget. I loved the idea of white painted floors thanks to Amanda Watters of The Homesong Blog. I, similarly, used white matte deck paint by Behr.
The downfall of this paint is that it scuffs easily and shows everything. They do clean up nicely when mopped, but we’ve had to repaint them already. I’d much prefer non-painted hardwoods but I do think the white is beautiful when clean!
Hallway
We decided to use the wallpaper that was going to go in our bathroom in this hallway. It was a pretty affordable wallpaper, and I love the simplicity of it! It is Miniature Motif in the color Blue from Wallpaper Direct.
Bathroom 2
We actually tried to color-match the blue that was already in this bathroom because I thought it was so beautiful! I am not sure on the exact color, but it looks similar Jamestown Blue by Benjamin Moore. The bead board is painted in Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore.
Bedroom 1 Cottage Paint Colors
Originally, this room was a dark navy blue. I wanted to lighten it up while still keeping some color. We color-matched Mizzle by Farrow and Ball, and it’s the perfect soft green! It pairs so well with our beige bedding from Quince and Loloi rug. See our whole bedroom renovation in this post.
Bedroom 2
This bedroom sits right above the sunroom. We used the same color in that sunroom, and I think it reflects the light beautifully!
Bedroom 3
We opted for white in this room because it is so small. The walls are Snowbound by Sherwin Williams and the trim is Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore. I love how the trim is slightly darker than the walls.
Choosing Cohesive Cozy Cottage Paint Colors and Wallpaper
When choosing paint colors for our home, we tried to stick to whites, greens, blues, and warm neutrals. It feels cohesive but not stark. Playing around with color can be scary when you are used to all-white walls, but I truly love the depth that color adds!
Painting Supplies
Here are a few links to painting supplies if you are getting ready to paint your home!
- Painter’s Tape
- Roller Frame
- Extension Pole
- Paint Tray
- Drop Cloths
- Putty Knife
- Ladder
- Paint Brush
- Paint Roller
- Edger
Wallpaper Supplies
Tips for Renovating Your Own Farmhouse on a Budget
Taking on a whole-house renovation is far from easy. There are a lot of aspects and details to organize and navigate.
After renovating our home, my husband and I created this Home Renovation Planner and Home Renovation Budget to help others save money and stay organized!
They can be purchased individually or as a bundle to save!
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