Who paints their entire inside of their house the same color?

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Who paints their entire inside of their house the same color?

Joe S.Pro Member
Investor · San Antonio · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes

Who paints their entire inside of their house the same color?  We have been painting most of the inside of our houses two color coordination. I am considering doing a light cream of some kind for ceilings walls baseboards etc. The thought is once we mask it off we can make some serious headway with a paint sprayer. These are not flips these are properties we are going to keep in our rental for folio. Who all uses one color and what is the color you recommend?

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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
4y

We white for the ceiling and trim, light grey on the walls. I try to use the same colors in every rental so we always have leftover for touch-up jobs without maintaining 30 different cans.

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  • Blake Choisnet
    Investor · Tyler, TX · Member since 2021 · 34 posts · 31 votes
    4y

    I paint the entire inside Repose Grey with New House White as the trim. It bounces light really well and gives a modern look quickly. In my experience, colors with a yellow/beige tone quickly date the property. 

    10Reply
  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    4y

    We white for the ceiling and trim, light grey on the walls. I try to use the same colors in every rental so we always have leftover for touch-up jobs without maintaining 30 different cans.

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    15Reply
  • Joe S.Pro Member
    OP
    Investor · San Antonio · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    4y
    Originally posted by @Blake Choisnet:

    I paint the entire inside Repose Grey with New House White as the trim. It bounces light really well and gives a modern look quickly. In my experience, colors with a yellow/beige tone quickly date the property. 

     So you paint the ceilings that color as well? Have you considered doing everything one color including the trim? 

    2Reply
  • Joe S.Pro Member
    OP
    Investor · San Antonio · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    4y
    Originally posted by @Nathan Gesner:

    We white for the ceiling and trim, light grey on the walls. I try to use the same colors in every rental so we always have leftover for touch-up jobs without maintaining 30 different cans.

    What shade of gray do you use? Have you considered doing everything one color Including ceiling and trim?

    2Reply
  • Blake Choisnet
    Investor · Tyler, TX · Member since 2021 · 34 posts · 31 votes
    4y
    Originally posted by @Joe S.:
    Originally posted by @Blake Choisnet:

    I paint the entire inside Repose Grey with New House White as the trim. It bounces light really well and gives a modern look quickly. In my experience, colors with a yellow/beige tone quickly date the property. 

     So you paint the ceilings that color as well? Have you considered doing everything one color including the trim? 

     Great catch - we paint the ceiling white, not grey. I've seen some houses that are all one color inside but believe that it decreases the rentability, so I continue with the grey/white combo. 

    1Reply
  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    4y
    Originally posted by @Joe S.:
    Originally posted by @Nathan Gesner:

    We white for the ceiling and trim, light grey on the walls. I try to use the same colors in every rental so we always have leftover for touch-up jobs without maintaining 30 different cans.

    What shade of gray do you use? Have you considered doing everything one color Including ceiling and trim?

    We keep trim white. I think it would look boring to have everything one color.  

    The color we use is Behr Toasty Gray. It's considered a "griege" (a mix of grey and beige).

    Sample picture:

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  • Theresa HarrisPro Member
    Member since 2019 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
    4y

    I've heard some who have, but honestly I would do the ceiling and trim white.  also the ceiling is usually done in a flat paint, walls in eggshell and trim in a semi-gloss.

    7Reply
  • Raju V.
    Investor · Severna Park, MD · Member since 2016 · 32 posts · 39 votes
    4y

    I paint everything one color. A light cream. Floors, ceilings, baseboards, etc. It's really easy for my contractor, one sprays and one uses brushes. I guess general rule would be if rent is less than $1500 one color ok, more then $1500 I would do the 2 colors. 

    2Reply
  • Joe S.Pro Member
    OP
    Investor · San Antonio · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    4y
    Originally posted by @Raju V.:

    I paint everything one color. A light cream. Floors, ceilings, baseboards, etc. It's really easy for my contractor, one sprays and one uses brushes. I guess general rule would be if rent is less than $1500 one color ok, more then $1500 I would do the 2 colors. 

     what is the one color you use? 😊

    0Reply
  • Jim K.
    Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
    4y

    @Joe S.

    A lot of my stuff is all white. When for some reason my wife tells me all-white isn't the way to go, it's a very light gray or beige for the walls, all white everywhere else. But my trim paint is usually white gloss oil paint and my bathroom/kitchen fungicide-added semi-gloss white paint is usually a slightly different shade of white than my flat white for walls and ceilings.

    It's usually smart to stick with white trim throughout if you have to do a lot of window replacements and paint over stained, finished woodwork.

    In a home, ceilings are white. Colored ceilings are for bordellos.

    6Reply
  • Johann Jells
    Rental Property Investor · Jersey City, NJ · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 876 votes
    4y

    All my rentals are over $1600, I paint my walls BM Superhide eggshell Navajo White, a warm 'parchment' off white, trim semigloss Behr color Swiss Coffee (though I have it made up in BM Ultraspec) and ceilings flat white. I hate the gray wall trend. My buildings are all 100+ years old, gray is like a miniskirt & tats on a 80 year old!

    9Reply
  • Austin F.
    Investor · MI · Member since 2015 · 227 posts · 478 votes
    4y

    Ceiling white matte, walls Navajo White eggshell, trim base white semi gloss. 

    3Reply
  • Jill F.
    Investor · Akron, OH · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    4y

    Every super low-end property managment company in Akron: Ceilings, walls, trim, everything. For good measure they usually spray all the door and cabinet hardware too. BM navejo white or SW dover white seem to be the go to colors for that group... but you might not want to be in that group.

    4Reply
  • Raju V.
    Investor · Severna Park, MD · Member since 2016 · 32 posts · 39 votes
    4y
    Originally posted by @Joe S.:
    Originally posted by @Raju V.:

    I paint everything one color. A light cream. Floors, ceilings, baseboards, etc. It's really easy for my contractor, one sprays and one uses brushes. I guess general rule would be if rent is less than $1500 one color ok, more then $1500 I would do the 2 colors. 

     what is the one color you use? 😊

    Sorry I don't know the exact name of the paint. I just usually let my contractor buy what is appropriate. I think it some type of eggshell.  

    2Reply
  • Laura Kastner
    Hermosa Beach · Member since 2021 · 40 posts · 9 votes
    4y
    Originally posted by @Nathan Gesner:
    Originally posted by @Joe S.:
    Originally posted by @Nathan Gesner:

    We white for the ceiling and trim, light grey on the walls. I try to use the same colors in every rental so we always have leftover for touch-up jobs without maintaining 30 different cans.

    What shade of gray do you use? Have you considered doing everything one color Including ceiling and trim?

    We keep trim white. I think it would look boring to have everything one color.  

    The color we use is Behr Toasty Gray. It's considered a "griege" (a mix of grey and beige).

    Sample picture:

     Oooo. That looks really good. I was skeptical at the description.

    0Reply
  • Jordan Woolf
    Flipper/Rehabber · Huntsville, AL · Member since 2019 · 117 posts · 57 votes
    4y

    @Joe S. We just did white on the ceilings and I sprayed everything else with satin Swiss coffee. I used a 3 foot spray shield and only taped off doors we did not want to spray. I used Behr marquee and it covered everything with 1 coat just fine. The only thing to consider is painting over a high gloss finish with a less glossy finish. We got around this by rubbing the trim down with ammonia.

    1Reply
  • Cameron Braig
    Atlanta, GA · Member since 2021 · 493 posts · 162 votes
    4y

    @Joe S.

    Thanks for starting this thread. Was very helpful and gained insight into some new ideas. 

    5Reply
  • JD MartinBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    4y

    We paint all walls the same color in all houses. We started out years ago with color coordination for each house and even with an Excel spreadsheet keeping track of what colors went where, it was a nightmare and a big mistake. 

    The color we use is called Shoji White and it is maybe a hair darker than an antique white - enough color on the wall that white trim pops against it but light enough that it hides wall defects and touch ups are simple. It's a Sherwin-Williams color, but I actually get my paint from Ferrell-Calhoun. I love their paints - thick, roll on easy with no spatter, and better prices than Sherwin Williams - and they keep files on all my properties so they can tell me when we last painted X house. The color goes good with either rooms that need beige or gray, as it's a grayish-beige color. We use eggshell for sheen. 

    All trim gets painted satin bright white. Easy to clean, easier to match up than semi-gloss, and pops against the walls. Using eggshell for sheen on trim guarantees you'll be repainting trim all the time. Even satin is pushing it but generally cleans up pretty well everything except the most egregious stuff. Semi-gloss and gloss is a pain in the *** to touch up, which is why we switched to satin. 

    Painting everything in the house the same color and sheen - walls, ceiling, trim - smacks of low-brow, low-end rentals. I say it depends on what kind of image you want to project. If you want to project an image of someone who really doesn't give a **** and wants to do the cheapest and easiest thing imaginable, paint everything the same color and sheen. Or you can do just a smidge more and present a property people would actually want to live inside. 

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  • JD MartinBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    4y
    Originally posted by @Jim K.:

    @Joe S.

    A lot of my stuff is all white. When for some reason my wife tells me all-white isn't the way to go, it's a very light gray or beige for the walls, all white everywhere else. But my trim paint is usually white gloss oil paint and my bathroom/kitchen fungicide-added semi-gloss white paint is usually a slightly different shade of white than my flat white for walls and ceilings.

    It's usually smart to stick with white trim throughout if you have to do a lot of window replacements and paint over stained, finished woodwork.

    In a home, ceilings are white. Colored ceilings are for bordellos.

     LOL. I agree. Unless you just like displaying defects, ceilings should always be flat white. I've rarely seen a ceiling that was finished so nicely that you wanted anything else on the ceiling. 

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  • Grant R.
    Rental Property Investor · Fort Wayne, IN · Member since 2019 · 132 posts · 51 votes
    4y

    @Joe S.

    Yes, you can use all white, everywhere. Despite common advice, paint has changed a lot in recent history, including finishes.

    Satin is great for hiding defects, but also giving a more elevated look. It's also WAY easier to clean than flat. I've used all white satin for walls and ceilings, same paint. For trim, I use the enamel equivalent from the same company, in the same color, same finish. Only inherent difference is the chemical makeup. You want that tougher enamel-style stuff for base and casing.

    So it's still 2 paints, but 1 color and finish. Touch-ups are a breeze. Visually, it really opens up old spaces, and gives a great foundation for tenants to make it their home.

    Another little known tip: the are dozens and dozens of white colors. Pick one that's always likely to be available.

    1Reply
  • Toby Auer
    Member since 2020 · 27 posts · 9 votes
    4y

    @Joe S. Revere Pewter. I’ve used it on 3 properties. That one the walls and ceilings with white baseboard 👌🏻

    1Reply
  • Kristie Giles
    Rental Property Investor · Salt Lake City, UT · Member since 2017 · 17 posts · 8 votes
    4y

    I paint everything the same off white, but different sheens (low sheen or eggshell on walls, semigloss on trim, satin on cabinets and doors). We used a sprayer on a property with heavily textured walls and ceilings, and we just sprayed the walls and ceiling all the same white (low sheen) and then brush painted the trim with semigloss. My primary residence is also 90% the same shade of white but different sheens. 

    1Reply
  • Matt M.
    Specialist · Easton, PA · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    4y

    My clients rentals I do flat white ceilings, semi gloss white trim/doors, SW Accessible Beige walls.

    My rentals same but I’ll do usually a light gray downstairs and a beige upstairs depending on what carpet colors are available for bedrooms.

    1Reply
  • Luka Milicevic
    Real Estate Agent · Nashville, TN · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    4y

    I have white walls, trim, doors. SW White cotton.

    I have 2 accent walls in the master and the master bath. SW Urbane bronze

    2Reply
  • Ian WalshBusiness Member
    Lender · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    4y

    An old landlord trick to mix a bunch of old white cans and paint the entire property that color.

    3Reply
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