The deed is done. Behold our freshly painted foyer:
The new color makes the space feel at least a foot taller and a couple of feet wider. That’s the power of paint.
This photo captures the color well. It’s a soft neutral that shifts throughout the day—part sand, part greige—neither too cool nor too warm. It plays beautifully with crisp white trim.
When choosing the hue we tested a handful of swatches and assembled a small palette to compare.
Can you guess which one ended up on the foyer walls?
We landed on Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray. Despite the name, it reads warmer than a true gray—more of a greige—and looks different depending on the home and lighting. It didn’t work in our previous house, but here it’s stunning. Lighting, room direction, and surrounding finishes make a big difference, so it was reassuring to see it translate well in person.
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 wanted a color that would play nicely with many different palettes throughout the house.
Prep work included filling nail holes with spackle and priming those spots plus any raw drywall left from wallpaper removal. Taking time on prep pays off in a smooth final finish.
We used Benjamin Moore’s Natura no-VOC paint in an eggshell finish. The walls took two coats; the trim demanded four. John rolled while I cut in around chair rail, crown molding, baseboards, and seven doorways—a lot of edges to tackle, but worth the effort.
Rolling was quick, but cutting in took much longer. Still, I love the result so much I could sing about it—though I’ll spare you the performance.
The color shifts with the light: at some moments it’s a pale, airy wash like cloud-blue light; at others it warms to a richer, creamy tone. It brings a breezy, coastal feel without feeling overtly blue.
After painting we swapped the old yellowed outlets and switch plates for crisp white ones. It’s a small, inexpensive update that, like fresh paint, helps the space feel updated and cohesive.
I’m excited to add art and accessories next. For now I’m focusing on enjoying the newly refreshed entryway and not thinking about all the other rooms that need paint.
The door’s pop of color balances nicely against the white trim, neutral walls, and dark floors and hardware. The light fixture is still on my list to update to an oil-rubbed bronze finish.
I like how the blue spindles on the stairs read almost black from some angles. We’re leaning toward painting them white eventually and ebonizing the top portion of the railing to coordinate with the darker hardware—something that will add contrast and polish.
For now we’re savoring the win: a lot of trim, doors, chair rail, and crown molding finished and fresh walls that brighten the whole space.
Change is good.
More Of Favorite Paint Colors
If you’re struggling to pick the right hue, here are some detailed deep-dive posts about paint colors we love:
- The 12 Best White Paint Colors
- Benjamin Moore Simply White
- Sherwin-Williams Pure White
- Sherwin-Williams Extra White