Dreaming of transforming your home into a charming French countryside escape? Look no further! In today's blog post, we are talking about the best French country paint colors that will bring that cozy, warm, but elegant aesthetic to your home. So grab a cup of tea, settle in, and get ready to swoon over this French country color palette that will whisk you away to a quaint French farmhouse.
We all know that the French country home is about the perfect blend of cozy rustic natural finishes with elegant touches, and the right paint color is the key to setting the scene. Neutral colors are the most popular choice, but the rich, muted colors set these French country paint colors apart.
In this post, I am sharing the best colors by Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore, and Behr but also including some favorites by Dixie Belle chalk paint because if you are painting furniture, chalk paint will genuinely give you that countryside look.
We all know that fresh paint is a great way, and the easiest way, to change the look of rooms. Let's begin with the neutral and then end with rich, colorful French country palette ideas.
French Country Paint Colors
Knowing where the French country style began will help you design your home and select colors. In the 17th century in France, when people wanted a little of the opulence of Versaille, they began to add elements of the elegant style to rustic homes.
Acquiring these decor elements was not easy, but they gradually began crafting more ornate pieces that included more vibrant colors—or maybe I should say as vibrant as they could get.
Fast forward to WWI, when the American soldiers were in France. While there, they saw the gorgeous French country-style home, and they brought the love of the style back to America.
In the early 1900s, Americans started incorporating color and mixing the classic simple farmhouse with the elegant ornate furniture that built the French country farmhouse.
Now, a century later, we still love this style, but with a modern twist. So, let's begin with some of the best French country neutral paint colors.
French Country White Colors
White is probably one of the most popular french country paint colors because it is easy to work with, touch up and a timeless color. These are popular colors for the living room, dining room, and even the bedroom. Here are the best french country white colors. You're sure to find the perfect color for your French style home.
Sherwin Williams Alabaster
When selecting a white for the French country style, keep your eye on a warm white. Alabaster is an excellent choice for a clean white that is warm.
Now this is a white-white color, so if you are looking for a good white paint color, then you are in the right place. The best places to use this color are everywhere – walls, trim, doors, ceiling, furniture, cabinets and more.
Sherwin Williams Pure White
Another timeless white color for your French country style is Pure White by Sherwin Williams. This warm-undertone white is crisp, and I feel this one is even whiter.
I used Behr Pure white in my small guest bedroom and it is very similar to Sherwin Williams Pure White. Here is a photo so you can see how it looks on the interior walls and trim in a bedroom. I love how the white trim and walls make the room look bigger.
Great places to use this color are everywhere, just like Alabaster—walls, trim, doors, ceiling, furniture, cabinets, and more. Make sure to use this color in a matte or satin finish. Matte finishes lend to that farmhouse style.
Swiss Coffee by Behr
If there is a perfect neutral white color, it is Swiss Coffee by Behr. This warm color shows as a fair beige next to a white-white, but by itself, it could be read as white. When in doubt about picking an off-white color, go with Swiss Coffee.
This color is so close to Behr Blank Canvas that I thought I would show you an example in my butler's pantry makeover. Look at the side wall color. That is Blank Canvas by Behr.
If you like warm neutrals, this is a great choice. Like all the other whites, great places to use this off-white are the same – walls, trim, doors, cabinets, ceiling, furniture, and more. It's also a great choice for a small space like my butler's pantry or a powder room. It looks wonderful with natural elements like the woven baskets and drying herbs.
Atrium White by Benjamin Moore
Benjamin Moore recommends this white as a great French country color. Its pink undertone lends to its warm feelings.
This beautiful white hue will work anywhere in your home, from walls to furniture, so consider it if you love anything with a pink undertone.
Now, let's move toward neutral colors. If you want to warm up your room, consider a neutral.
French Country Neutral Colors
If white walls are not your thing and you need color on your walls but you want a color that will match almost anything, then look at these neutral beiges, greiges, and grays.
Sherwin Williams Accessible Beige
Recently, while helping my daughter decorate her first home, we used accessible beige on the walls, beadboard, and shaker peg shelf we made. This is one of Sherwin Williams popular neutral paint color and a best seller.
When it comes to French country decorating, light neutral colors are an easy go-to. Look at it here in my daughter's cottage-style kitchen. Painting the walls and shaker peg board we made gave the space a cohesive look and allowed the decorations to be the main event.
This soft neutral with a hint of warmth is a fantastic color to use anywhere in your home. My best recommendations for where to use it are on walls, trim, ceilings, floors, furniture, and cabinets. It also looks lovely with natural materials like the woven basket, plants, and wood accessories.
Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray
Another fantastic French country neutral color is Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray, which is one of their best sellers. The beauty of this color is its warm undertone gray. If you love gray but not the coldness it illuminates, then this is your color.
In our master bedroom I used Agreeable Gray by Sherwin Williams on the inside of my mantel bead board and on the electric wood burning stove. This color has such a pleasant appearance to it and matches well with just about everything.
Agreeable gray is the perfect backdrop for all your French country decor. Consider using this color anywhere—on walls, trim, ceiling, floor, cabinets, exterior, and the list goes on.
Sherwin Williams Perfect Greige
Since we are talking about the perfect colors for the French country style, one that has perfect in the name is Sherwin Williams Perfect Greige.
A while back, I wrote a post on the best Sherwin Williams greige paint colors, and Perfect Griege made the cut.
This wonderful color gives your walls more depth. It is gray and beige with a creamy red undertone. If you want a more moody French country color for your walls, consider Perfect Griege, but keep in mind its red undertone.
I recommend using this color on walls, accent walls, and furniture.
Benjamin Moore Bone White
In our house, I have pulled the French country style into play with Benjamin Moore Bone White in our living room. This light, warm neutral is so easy to work with and matches just about everything.
Beige is back in style, and I love the warm feel it brings to my living room. It's no wonder so many people ask about it on social media!
I love how Benjamin Moore describes this color: “A gentle buff hue that brings a warm hint of color to your space.” Places I recommend using this color are walls, accent walls, trim, ceiling, floors, exterior, furniture, and cabinets.
French Country Blue Colors
Now let's look at blue colors in French country because when it comes to colour, blue is very popular in the French country style.
Behr French Colony
I am excited to begin this journey through the blue colors with French Colony by Behr because this is my current front door paint color.
The one thing I love about French countries is their use of rich colors. The vibrant blue of the French colony fits perfectly. This French blue color was so great that I added it to my best Behr gray blue paint color blog post.
French country colors aren't just for interior paint colors. See how pretty this beautiful blue looks on my front door. Front doors are easy to paint, and they don't take much time, so you don't need to do a lot of prep work. I share how easy it is in my how to paint a front door without removing it post.
My top recommendations for painting French Colony are accent walls, front doors, furniture, and more. If you love living with bold color, consider everything else.
Sherwin Williams Stardew
When researching the best French country colors, I came across Stardew and fell in love. The gray undertone makes this a perfect blue color.
Unlike the French Colony color, which is begging to make a statement, Stardew has a depth of color and is a little shy.
Accent walls and furniture are great places to use this color. Again, if you can live with lots of color, consider it elsewhere, such as cabinets.
Benjamin Moore Smoke
Smoke is a tremendous in-between color because it has more vibrancy than Stardew but is more saturated, like French Colony. Benjamin Moore highly recommends Smoke as a French country paint color.
This paint color looks fantastic on accent walls and furniture. Again, if you can live with color, go all the way with walls, trim, cabinets, and more.
Dixie Belle Savannah Mist
I couldn't leave out chalk paint when discussing French country colors because its beautiful chalky finish is a classic French country look.
I want to share a popular and personal favorite blue, Savannah Mist.
When redesigning my kitchen, we created this French country-style range hood. It was a great place for this gorgeous color. The paint process on this hood was a two-part series. I first painted it Savanna Mist and then went over it with brown wax to get the vintage, aged look. A little bit of work created the country-style range hood of my dreams.
Chalk paint is a fantastic paint for furniture pieces, so my top suggestion for using this paint is furniture.
Dixie Belle Robin Egg Blue
Since we are on the topic of Dixie Belle, I am excited to share Robin Egg Blue. Remember me mentioning earlier that vibrant blues go with French country style? Dixie Belle Robin Egg Blue is the perfect vibrant blue-green color to add to your French Country style.
One of the fun things to do when decorating French country is to do the unexpected, meaning an unexpected color on a piece of ornate furniture, or paint it on a fancy mirror and then top it with gold brushes. So, my top recommendations to use this color are for furniture, accessories, and doors.
French Country Green Colors
Next, look at green and the best places to use this French country color. Green is like blue in French country – you will see it used repeatedly. In modern French country, green is really popular.
Benjamin Moore Rosemary Sprig
I want to begin with Benjamin Moore Rosemary Sprig because this is one of their recommendations in their blog post – Benjamin Moore French country paint color palette .
Benjamin Moore describes it as a soft, warm green, but with an LRV of 34, it is much darker than you imagine. Keep in mind its darker hue when using it in your home.
I recommend this color on accent walls, furniture, and floors. If you love to live with dark colors on your walls and you love green, then this is your color, and consider it for everything, even trim.
Sherwin Williams Escape Gray
Sherwin Williams Escape Gray is a favorite because we used it in my daughter's bedroom design. This beautiful green color has a gray undertone and makes a fantastic feature wall color.
If you love green and French country, consider Escape Gray, a subtle, soft green in a medium tone.
See how pretty it turned out in her room! With an LRV of 41, this is a light gray green compared to Benjamin Moore Rosemary Sprig and is less vibrant.
French Country Purple & Pink Colors
I am giddy to talk about purples and pinks in French country because if you want to dress a room with character, these are your colors.
Sherwin Williams Queen Anne Lilac
Let's begin with the perfect shade of purple – not too bright and not too purply if you know what I mean.
When you get to pinks and purples, things can go wrong, so I recommend that before we look at Sherwin Williams Queen Anne Lilac, we test the color with a sample can of paint. Lighting and the amount of natural light can make or break a purple or pink.
Okay, now let's look at this charming French country in purple – Queen Anne Lilac. Don't you love the name? It says it all.
This paint color is in Sherwin William's historic color collection, which means they have denoted it as a prominent color from history. It just happens that this color was a trending Victorian color, but it also makes a popular French country purple color.
Great places to use this color are girl's rooms, craft rooms, laundry rooms, accent walls, and furniture. Did you see I started recommending rooms? I couldn't resist because when I see this color, I can imagine it in spaces more so than in detailed areas.
Benjamin Moore Lavender Mist
If you love purple and bright colors and have the courage to use bright colors, consider Lavender Mist. Benjamin Moore recommends this French country color.
When looking at this purple I see it going on very bright but color can be tricky so purchase a sample can of paint and test it on a big area. Leave it for a day or two and see how light reacts to it throughout the day. Here are more tips on how to pick a paint color so you will be sure to make the right decision.
Beautiful places to use this color are accent walls and furniture.
French Country Yellows
When doing my research of popular French country paint colors, I was surprised to see yellow making the top list. But if there is one thing I have learned about the French country style, it is that the peasants wanted a little of the luxurious life, so why not add a bright yellow to our modern French country style?
Benjamin Moore America's Heartland
Let's begin with Benjamin Moore Ameria's Heartland. I couldn't help but laugh that a French country recommendation has America in the title!
To begin with yellow is like purple and pink — it can go wrong quickly so make sure to read that blog post on how to pick a paint color so you don't regret it later.
But don't let me scare you from trying. If you are thinking yellow, then this is a great one to consider.
I love how Benjamin Moore describes this yellow as an ultra-sheer yellow with a faint sun glow. With an LRV of 77, it is bright but not too bright. I think this will be a great yellow to add to your French country style.
Great places to use this color are walls (if you love bright colors), accent walls, front door, furniture, and accessories.
Behr Gold Buttercup
Next lets look at Behr Gold Buttercup. This yellow leans more red and has an LRV of 83 which means it is going to be pretty bright. So if you want a room filled with the sun then this is your color.
Fun places to use this color are walls (remember to test a large sample area), furniture, accessories, and accent walls. It is a great attention-getting color, so consider your front door.
French Country Black Colors
Now we have ventured to French country black hues, and we cannot leave out black because sometimes black is just what you need to add to that perfect detail.
Sherwin Williams Iron Ore
Let's start our journey with one of my favorites, Sherwin Williams Iron Ore. This cool, deep charcoal color has that caulky feeling but is not a saturated black. Its softness makes it a great French country black paint color.
My daughter used Iron Ore for the shutter color of her house. Here is a photo of Iron Ore next to Shoji White. See how Iron Ore is a beautiful dusty black color. This fits in nicely with the french country style.
The options are endless for where to use Iron Ore. Consider trim, accent walls, furniture, accessories, floors (this works great for a checkboard-style floor), and doors, especially front doors.
Benjamin Moore Jet Black
Last I wanted to end our best French country paint colors journey with Benjamin Moore Jet Black. I feel it is important to give you a deep dark black just in case you need that crisp black color.
This soft black-black is perfect for trim, doors, accent walls, accessories, cabinets, floors and furniture.
Final Thoughts
Now, that wraps up all the best French country paint colors I discovered in my research. If you are wondering where and why I chose these colors, then let me share a little about the journey.
Because I am an interior designer of over 25 years, I pulled from my experience of when designing homes that loved the classic French country style. I also personally love vintage historical design and use it in my home. Many times I have pulled those French country colors to design rooms like my daughers accent wall and my kitchen and living room.
Second I searched the internet and read many articles but I have to say that Benjamin Moore had a great article on their website about the French country style and great French country colors to use.
Last, I looked to history to see what was used and honestly from the 1700s til now people have loved the French country style and the colors have shifted.
I hope you have enjoyed reading his blog post, and I hope you have come away with a few colors to try. Other great blog posts to consider that include the French country style are:
Are you ready to run to Home Depot or the paint store for color samples? Thank you so much for stopping by, and please share your favorite color in the comments or if you have a beloved French country color to share.
Happy Decorating!
