'I feel most qualified in matters of color': Home Town's Erin Napier reveals her paint color secrets

Erin Napier's decorating style has garnered fans across the nation. 

But while it's often the choice of authentic fittings and furniture that get the most attention from viewers of HGTV's Home Town, there's no denying that Erin's consistent color palette is what makes many of the spaces she works her magic on successful. 

Happily for us fans, she revealed her favorite room color ideas in a blog post on her Laurel Mercantile website. 'People often compliment my use of bold color in homes, but in actuality – I keep it surprisingly neutral on the walls and sometimes introduce an unexpected bold color on the trim, or just in the furnishings we bring into the room,' she shares. 'The key to choosing colors that feel part of their surroundings, that feel aged and part of their environment rather than a brand new color that feels just a little day-glo [...] is... Dinge.'

Below, we reveal what Erin means by 'Dinge', and her favorite paint colors.

Erin Napier's favorite paint colors

Before we share Erin's list, what does she mean by 'Dinge', and why is it important?

'Choose whatever color you like that has a bit of yellow in it to make the color feel integrated and truly part of its environment instead of too-new, too bright, not quite right, and out of place. 

'It is so subtle, but an important delineation between a house that's comfortable in its color vs. a house that's squeaky. I mostly use neutral palettes of white and green and build on that with the furnishings [...] You may think green is not neutral, but I say it certainly is. Look out your window and tell me what naturally occurring color you see the most of! These are my favorite paint colors, each one with its own little bit of "dinge".'

Sherwin-Williams Dover White SW6385

This is Erin's go-to white paint, and the one she most often use on the trim (below) of her own home. 'It makes any room feel warm and crisp,' she says.

You can buy Dover White at Lowes.

Benjamin Moore Misty Air OC-44

This Erin used in her kitchen and laundry room (above) as a subtle contrast to the Dover White. She says it reads as 'perfectly cozy and worn and creamy in the late afternoon sun.'

Benjamin Moore Celery Salt OC-136

Erin used this soft green-yellow in Rice Cottage (Season 1 of Home Town) as a neutral for the house walls. 'It’s so cheerful!' she says.

Valspar Brown Buzz 6005-3B

Erin put this color on the walls of the Carson dining room (Season 1 of Home Town). 'The dining room needed to be a non-descript and aged color that reminded me of the wall colors I’d seen in old French country homes,' she explains.

You can buy Brown Buzz at Lowes. 

Sherwin-Williams Rock Bottom SW7062

Erin describes this color as 'a chameleon in the changing light. Sometimes it’s black, sometimes it’s green, sometimes it’s deep blue.' She says it's a dramatic shade, but never cold; you can see if as the exterior trim on the Smith home (Season 2, Home Town).

You can buy Rock Bottom at Lowes.

Sherwin-Williams Comfort Gray SW6205

You'll see this shade on every single episode of Home Town. 'This is the perfect southern ceiling porch paint. Do not bother searching for another,' says Erin.

Sherwin-Williams Woodland Lichen HGSW3283

This deep color is one that Erin used on daughter Helen's nursery because she didn't want anything too baby-focussed. 'Her room is up high in the trees and feels like being inside a treehouse when you look from the windows,' says Erin. 

Benjamin Moore Caldwell Green HC-124

This paint color went into Erin's master bathroom; she chose it, she says because it was 'light (but not too light) and historic (in a 1920s way, not a 1990s way).'