The deed is done. Behold our freshly painted foyer:
The space already feels about a foot taller and at least two feet wider. That’s the simple, transformative power of paint.
This photo probably shows the color most accurately. It’s a soft neutral that shifts with the light—part sand, part greige. It’s neither too cool nor too warm, and it looks lovely against crisp white trim.
When it came to choosing a color, we shared a bunch of swatches we were considering and laid out a small palette to compare. In the end, one color stood out.
We settled on Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray. Despite the name, it reads warmer than a true gray—more of a greige—and it reacts dramatically to different lighting conditions. Funny enough, this color looked awful in our last house, but here it’s beautiful. It goes to show how much the direction a room faces, the light it receives, and surrounding finishes can change a swatch.
The foyer connects to four rooms on the main floor, flows up the stairs, and opens into a hallway that leads to six more rooms. Because of that, we needed a color that would play well with many different palettes and transitions throughout the house, so choosing something versatile felt essential.
Before we painted, we filled nail holes with spackle and primed any repaired spots and areas of raw drywall left from peeling wallpaper. Once those repairs were dry, we started rolling.
We used Benjamin Moore’s no-VOC Natura paint in an eggshell finish. The walls only needed two coats, thankfully, though the trim required four. John handled the rolling and I cut in—around chair rail, crown molding, baseboards, and seven doorways. Cutting in always takes far longer, but the results are worth it.
I love this color so much I could break into a little song about it—though my dancing would probably make that regrettable. The hue changes throughout the day: at times it reads like a pale platinum cloud, and at others it warms up like coffee with cream swirling through it. It feels open, airy, and calm—almost beachy.
After painting, we swapped the old yellowed outlets and switches for clean white ones. It’s a small, inexpensive update, but together with fresh paint it makes the room feel noticeably updated and brighter.
We’re excited to start hanging art and adding finishing touches. We’ll also be painting more rooms in the house eventually, but for now we’re enjoying this win and focusing on one project at a time.
I like having a pop of color on the door; the surrounding white trim, neutral walls, dark floors, and dark hardware keep everything grounded. The light fixture is on my list to replace with an oil-rubbed-bronze option.
There’s a shot where the stair spindles look almost black instead of periwinkle blue. We’re leaning toward painting the spindles white—when we find the energy for four coats—and eventually we’d love to stain the top part of the railing dark to match the hardware. That darker accent would tie everything together nicely.
For now, we’re savoring the satisfaction of freshly painted walls, newly finished trim, and a foyer that finally feels cohesive and welcoming.
Change is good.
More Of Favorite Paint Colors
If you’re struggling to pick the right paint, here are some deep-dive posts and popular options worth exploring:
- The 12 Best White Paint Colors
- Benjamin Moore Simply White
- Sherwin-Williams Pure White
- Sherwin-Williams Extra White