The Best Dining Room Paint Color

What do you think most people would say is the best color to paint a dining room? Ten years ago you might have heard most people answer “red.” Actually if you polled a bunch of random people today, many would still say “red,” then quote something about how red stimulates appetite. I’ve never really understood that reasoning, unless you are just wanting to gain weight.

best dining room paint color

 

The last time I specified a red paint color for a dining room was about eight years ago. The room had very traditional and formal cherry wood furniture, and I chose a bright red that leaned a bit towards orange (rather than purple). I’ve since learned that a red paint color is a particularly bad backdrop for cherry, mahogany, or oak furniture because it either competes with the color of the wood or else the furniture blends right into the wall – neither of which is ideal.

red dining room

at least I did a good job with grouping and hanging the art!

 

That’s why I now stay away from red, orange, and coral paint colors for a dining room with lots of wood furniture. My recent client wanted to keep her existing dark wood furniture in the formal dining room of her new home and needed help choosing a new paint color for the space. Here’s the before of the dining room:

7O3A8951

 

I loved the existing chandelier and wanted to really set it off with a rich color. Obviously, I wasn’t going to choose a red! Here’s the after:

blue designer dining room

 

We wanted the room to remain formal, but updated and somewhat fresher. When I saw this rug in a local store, I knew this would be the perfect choice for brightening up the look of this traditional room. It was actually very affordable because it’s synthetic – which makes it less stressful to have family meals in this room!

blue dining room paint color

 

Blue is always a good choice for a dining room. What’s your favorite paint color for dining rooms?

If you want to learn more about choosing paint colors for your own home, check out my two hour instructional video here.

78 Comments

  1. Lija

    I’ve got to have that rug for my sunroom! Can you share any details that might help me track it down online?

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Lija,
      I can’t remember the name of the company, but I know it’s a company that is only available to the trade and retailers. I’m sorry I don’t know more – just that I found it locally at Brentwood Interiors, just south of Nashville.

      Reply
  2. Jenny B.

    I love the blue you chose. I love blue in general, though. 🙂 A friend of mine recently repainted her dining room (which is full of dark cherry furniture), and she painted it maroon. I was so disappointed. I mean, it’s her house, and if she loves it, then more power to her, but I felt like it went from looking just fine (with neutral taupe walls) to instantly looking very dated. It could have been SO much prettier. Oh, well… 🙂

    Reply
    • Jenny B.

      P.S. Amazing how the chandelier pops against the darker blue walls. I didn’t even notice it was there in the before shots! 🙂

      Reply
      • Kristie Barnett

        Thanks, Jenny! It looks so much more sparklier, doesn’t it?

        Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Jenny – Ah, maroon. Maybe she heard about Pantone’s super-bad color of the year . . .

      Reply
  3. Debra Kling

    I enjoyed this post, Christie. On of the favorite Dining Rooms I have ever done for a client is this navy blue one, complete with silver leaf ceiling!

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      BEAUTIFUL work, Debra!!!! What a gorgeous dining room!

      Reply
      • Debra Kling

        Thanks, Kristie. Tried to correct a typo in my post, but could not get back in there 🙂 “One”–

        Reply
    • Beth Lester

      Gorgeous room!!

      Reply
  4. Cherie

    The newly painted and styled dining room does look pretty. The beautiful traditional wood furniture looks especially good against that blue, and the rug is perfect. I’ve commented before about how much I love traditional dining room tables and chairs. To me they speak of legacy, of heritage, of history, of…well…tradition! That’s me! : ) I have another comment, though. The best color for a dining room would depend on the colors in the rest of the house and on the colors the owners love. I like blue, but do not have blue in my house, so this would not work for me. But again, you made the dining room look very pretty.

    Reply
  5. Kathy

    Love this room!, as usual you created another beautiful space….What color blue did you use? I have a queen ann style dining room in cherry but it has a bit of gold undertones to the wood….currently the room is a golden color but would like to update the color to a grey/blue. How did you select this blue?

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Templeton Gray – I chose in because of some of the other paint colors we chose for adjoining rooms. Hopefully I can show those and how they all work together when we get farther along with the decorating!

      Reply
  6. Natalie

    Did you specify which color blue this was? I also love a blue dining room or half bath:)

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Natalie,
      The wall color is Templeton Gray by Benjamin Moore.

      Reply
  7. tom lambert

    what is the paint color in dining room? looks great?

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Tom, the paint color is Benjamin Moore Templeton Gray.

      Reply
      • Cris

        What color did you use on the bottom of the blue dining room?

        Reply
  8. Pam

    I think my favorite DR color was a teal. Friends in Georgetown back in the 80’s had an incredible dining room in red. I always felt like it stimulated animated conversations (vs. eating).

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Yes, teal can be beautiful in a dining room with dark wood furniture!

      Reply
  9. Phyllis E.

    Beautiful dining rooms, Kristie and Debra Kling! It is nice to see how a simple color change (and, ok, a fantastic rug , too!) can make such a difference! It is also nice to see, in both these dining room, that it is possible to achieve a beautiful, and “fresh” looking space WITHOUT having to paint the table and/or hutch!

    Thanks, Kristie, for being brave and showing us the photo of the dining room with the “not-so-fantastic” red paint color. Not only is it actually encouraging (for those of us who have made many paint color mistakes) to see that talented designers also make don’t always get the colors “spot-on” perfect, but it is such a great “decorating lesson” to actually see it–you know– about a picture being worth a thousand words, etc.

    Thanks again.

    Reply
  10. Lynn

    Would you please tell us what color blue you used? It’s beautiful!

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      The wall color is Benjamin Moore’s Templeton Gray, Lynn.

      Reply
  11. Sandy

    I’m curious about the number of homes that have plate rails and paneling below, or just plate rails and 2 colors, both in this post and others shown. Is that a traditional style that’s still favored? Or are these historical homes? My house, (in the South) built in the late 1970s and not at all historical, had plate rails in the 2 front rooms. That looked like an affectation to this midwesterner, plus, I didn’t like the way they bisected the space. I had them taken out — did I make a mistake?

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Sandy,
      Those are actually called chair rails, because they are supposed to keep the dining room walls from being scuffed by chairs that are pulled back from the table. If you don’t like the look of them, it wasn’t at all a mistake for you to remove them. Many people used to paint two contrasting colors above and below the chair rail, but now that color placement choice looks dated. I like to stay white like the trim below the chair rail and only apply the “color” above it. Keeps it classy!

      Reply
      • Sandy

        Ah – chair rails, of course (why did I type plate rails?) — thanks for answering. I love the gray/blue, and it is especially classy with the white trim.

        Reply
      • cynthia ruh

        I had to paint my dining room gray owl to flow with the living room, but under chair rail and wood work is simply white, it works

        Reply
        • Alena

          I love your dining room! I could have so much fun decorating that room. Love the fireplace in there!

          Reply
  12. Mrs. H

    This blue dining room is beautiful. I am planning to paint our dining room red. Not because of any psychological reasoning, but because I’ve had a fancy to do that for the last twenty years. Now I have the opportunity to do so!
    Thanks for the tip about the furniture blending in with the walls. I’ll have to remember that when choosing paint and furniture shades.

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Thank you! If you wanna go red on the walls, the best choice you can make for the furniture is a clean brown wood – not a hint of orange or red in the wood. So no oak or cherry wood. Good luck with your project 🙂

      Reply
  13. Judy

    My dining room is Palladian Blue. At the moment, it’s my favorite room in the house. I love the grey-blue you used in this room, too, Kristie. It really brings out the beauty of the dark wood and the crystal chandelier. Now if I could just find a living room color I love… Thank you for another inspiring post. 🙂

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Palladian Blue – what a wonderful color that is! I’m sure your dining room is gorgeous, Judy!

      Reply
  14. kelly

    Looks gorgeous Kristie! I also love Templeton Gray and have not suggested a red in the dining room in years. Beautiful color, beautiful room!

    Reply
  15. Jacquie

    Hi Kristie,
    I know it may not be the hottest trend but my dining room is pink! It too is a Ben Moore color and is on both the ceiling and walls. I have a husband and two sons so I took care not to make the house too girlie but took the liberty in the dining room. It is a soft and happy color and in my opinion, it automatically evokes a sense of calm and decorum which results in better manners in “mom’s ” room. the rest of the house is in soft creams and grays so this is a happy surprise once you notice the color.

    Reply
  16. Alena M Gale

    My dining room is actually a chocolate brown. It’s very pretty. I rent, and the owner was an interior designer. I was surprised by how much I enjoy the brown.

    Reply
  17. Vicki Graham

    I love the blue you used in the dining room, but I would’ve painted the ceiling as well, using the soft gold from the upholstered chairs and drapes. Jacquie’s pink dining room is very distinctive. Color is so powerful!

    Reply
  18. Lisa

    Your design and color choice is beautiful! Thank you for sharing the name of the color! We have cherry furniture with red walls. Looking for a change and plan to totally redo like this one. Thanks so much!

    Reply
  19. Charlotte

    What sheen do you use, especially on the white and did you paint the chair rail and baseboard the same color/sheen white as the wall? Ultra pure white or tinted?

    Reply
  20. Pamela

    I really like the Templeton grey paint color along with the chair rail and panels on lower half of wall. Iam going to be painting my dining room this color. I do have the chair rail and bottom half of wall white already. My question is Iam really confused on color of curtains I would use?? Any ideas?? I do have Cherry wood dining room furniture and cheery wood dining room floors. Would appreciate type of colored curtains that would look best??

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Pamela,
      I’d do a printed fabric – not a solid for curtains. Just choose a pattern that ties in with Templeton. It can be a lighter or darker version of it, even!

      Reply
  21. Deona

    I have yellow toned wood floors in my dining room and dark mahogany dining room table and chippendale stye chairs plus sideboard..there is a kithen bar top that extends out to dining room in a medium gray tone and there is a backslash in kitchen that also extends into dining room that is in a light ,tan stone, a darker tan glass and stainless steel that borders the opening from kithen with gray fabric barstool …
    I just bought a very light beighy creme leather sectional to lighten up the place and try to go.more modern , I have creme Mongolian lamb pillows and gray and tan mixed pillows on the sectional..It is a open concept very large area kitchen dining room …The walls were yellow and Need a color for living room and dining room to blend everything together
    The living room and kitchen floor is a tan color stone..
    I don’t mind painting the living room a separate color because all though it is open concept the dining room is Framed out to give it a separation look…
    Pleasssseeee help I am So confused on what to do
    Deona

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Deona,
      How about doing a nice gray-blue in the living room and a darker, richer gray-blue in the dining room? Or even a light gray-green in the living, and a darker royal blue or even navy in the dining room? Greens and blues as a backdrop will both make wood look richer against it – so much better than yellow. I hope that helps!

      Reply
  22. Alice Taylor

    I’m currently building a home and that color would work perfect for what we’re trying to achieve. What color is that?

    Reply
  23. Betsy

    Hi Kristie,

    I have used your post as inspiration and have painted the walls above my wainscoting in dining room Templeton grey as well as the back of the living room built in bookcases and love the color. I have an older colonial that is not really open concept. I have always painted the trim throughout the house the same color to bring more continuity throughout (BM Linen white). I have now painted the trim and below the wainscoting BM crisp linen to modern it up a bit and am feeling a little unsure about the brightness compared to linen white. Any recommendations on which trim you think may actually be best? I have living room painted BM Flowering Herb and Kitchen Grant beige. If you could also suggest a third assessor color that could be used through out it would be appreciated. Furniture is mostly a mid light brown and antique ebony colored pieces.

    Thank you for the inspiration,
    Betsy in Boston

    Reply
  24. Lisa

    I would LOVE to know which dark grey blue to use for my dining room. Driving myself crazy trying to decide. Adjacent rooms are FB Old White and FB Dropcloth. Any tips are MUCH appreciated!

    Reply
  25. Jim Morrison

    Dear Decorologist:

    What color white did you use on the ceiling and on the trim/wood work? Flat or gloss ?

    Thanks!!!

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Jim,
      The trim color is Ben Moore White Dove in semi-gloss finish, while the ceiling is also Ben Moore White Dove, but in flat finish.

      Reply
  26. mpheisner

    Beautiful! Can I ask what colors you used in the adjacent rooms? We currently have antique cherry chipendale furniture in our dining room and I’m trying to make it blend with our modern farmhouse decor. When we moved in a year ago, I painted the dining room SW tauny taupe and the rest of the downstairs SW accessible beige, but I’m not loving the taupy color in the dining room any longer. We are getting ready to install SW Alabaster colored cabinets in our kitchen. Our house is an open concept. I would love to marry it all together. The only color that really needs to stay is the Alabaster cabinets.

    Reply
  27. Ann

    I have an open floor plan throughout my main floor. My dining room is right when you come in the front door to the left. it can be painted a separate color than the main floor. I was thinking of a blue color kind of like the Templeton Grey but my question is what color would go with that throughout the rest of the house with the open floor plan. Right now its a light tan.

    Reply
  28. Beth Donahue

    I have same question as Ann above!

    Reply
  29. Shirley

    Love this color but what would I do my kitchen walls that are right next to dining room? My furniture and cabinets are cherry

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      It depends on your countertops and backsplash, but a lighter grayed blue or grayed green would coordinate nicely with a dark grayed blue dining room!

      Reply
  30. Linda

    Love the dinning room! I have Revere Pewter. With navy blue accents. Could you tell me what are the prints on the wall? Love them!! Thank you

    Reply
  31. nicole

    Love it! but whats another good color besides the blue?

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      I also like warm and dark greens for dining rooms, Nicole!

      Reply
  32. Mary Pavlik

    It’s interesting that you said red doesn’t make a good back drop for mahogany furniture in a dining room because that is what I ‘m struggling with. Don’t like it but at least now I know why. Thank you.

    Reply
  33. Holly

    Love that color!! Love the chair rails also. Would you suggest using them even if I don’t have a lot of wall space visible?

    Reply
  34. Angelina

    I longer those room but don’t see the color listed. Am I missing it??

    Reply
  35. Kristen

    Hi! I recently bought a home and yes there is a red dining room too. I LOVE blue and this will look perfect! What is the finish of the wall paint? Also, where did you buy the chandelier? M

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Kristen,
      The finish of the wall paint is eggshell. I did not purchase the chandelier – it was existing in the house, but it looks so much better now!

      Reply
  36. Margaret

    The dining room blue is beautiful. What color is it?

    Reply
  37. Eileen

    This blue paint color is gorgeous. What color is it?

    Reply
  38. Sue Weeks

    Did you paint the crown molding the dove white also?

    Reply
  39. Madeline

    What kind of curtains did u do on the windows in this room?

    Reply
  40. Shannon

    I just bought these dining chairs today and I do not know much about them! Do you have any information on where these chairs are from?? Thanks!

    Reply
  41. Kristi

    What is the name of the paint you used in the dining room?

    Reply
  42. Kim

    What is the name of the color paint you used??

    Reply
  43. Brian Fenske

    Oh my goodness I’ve been trying to get the landlord to realize that she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She painted the dining room because she wanted a romantic room. She painted a dark blue she painted the ceiling and the walls. The floor is dark cherry wood. It’s a cave and it’s not romantic, it’s depressing. She refuses to let me repaint anything in this house and it’s all gross. Sitting from my living room you can find 12 colors just from my living room couch. Some people have no clue how to set a room. It’s not done just buy paint it’s done by Decour as well. These are perfect examples.

    Reply
  44. rosie

    I see many people ask, but I dont see the answer. What color is are blue walls ??

    Reply
  45. Rose Jordan

    I love the dining pictured using Benjamin Moore Templeton Grey and I purchased a large paint swatch of that color. It looks more green than blue in my room. I have moved the swatch to other rooms and it is still more green. Is it the lighting in my home or does this color have green in it?

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Rose, it definitely has green in it, but it generally reads more blue when painted up – but it always depends on your lighting and what other colors you have in a given room.

      Reply
      • Rose

        Thanks…with natural light today it looks blue. It is green late in the day and evening. Guess I will get two colors for the price of one! Thank you for getting back to me!

        Reply
        • Kristie Barnett

          Rose – yes, artificial lighting will definitely bring out the green in this color! Just as long as the color looks good with your furnishings and decor in both daylight and nighttime artificial lighting, you are good!

          Reply
  46. Gene

    I have the same chandelier in our formal parlor. Love it- and I love the room you did as well!

    Reply
  47. Angela

    I have gold and white in my living room should I use a preety blue in my dining room

    Reply
  48. Kim

    The dining room is beautiful! You did a wonderful job!

    Reply
  49. Oxymoeron

    We have adjoining dining and living spaces. Could we use silver mink in the living area?

    Reply

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