These Designer Paint Secrets Will Completely ‘Wow’ Your Next Guests

The conventional wisdom says that the entertaining spaces in your home – the dining room, living room, kitchen and guest bedrooms – need to be neutral and unassuming. But design rules change over time, and these designer paint secrets are proof positive of that. Here’s how to get jaw-dropping results throughout your home – with just a few layers of paint.

Striking staircase painted in wide black and white stripes with a white hall table set at the bottom with a horsehead lamp, a small stack of books, a potted plant, and a framed agate slice as featured on Masters of Flip on HGTV

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It’s Black and White

Opting for monochromatic interior paint colours doesn’t mean that a space is going to be boring. Painting large, graphic black-and-white stripes in a small, contained area makes a serious design statement without having to cover an entire room or make use of bright eye-catching colours.

Related: 10 Painting Myths Busted

Beautiful light and airy dining area with a long wooden table with a cream coloured table runner, wine glasses and vase full of flowers, two long upholstered dining benches, and kitchen in the background with a teal coloured island and cabinets and light pink walls as featured on HGTV’s Save My Reno

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At First Blush

An exciting new painting trend in the kitchen is to pair a bold colour with a lighter shade of a completely different colour. For example, teal and pink aren’t often matched together, but the rich shade of the cabinets brings out the warmth of the blush-tone wall, making them an inspiring pair.

Funky dining room featuring a large wooden table ringed by black metal and woven seat dining chairs, a black feature wall with a large black and white abstract painting, a colourful rug, and black chandelier that Dave and Kortney Wilson painted as part of HGTV’s Masters of Flip

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Beyond the Walls

When redesigning a room and choosing interior paint colours, designers don’t stop at the walls – they look at what fills the room too. Painting accessories and fixtures (see the refurbished black chandelier over the dining room table) not only has the potential to add cohesiveness to the space’s colour scheme but also gives new life to an object that might have otherwise been passed over.

Beautiful cozy reading nook with two pieces of art hanging above it, an upholstered seat with three tan coloured throw pillows, and walls painted in BEHR Almond Wisp PPU5-12 and Canyon Dusk S210-4, and two side tables on either side

Behr: Almond Wisp PPU5-12, Canyon Dusk S210-4

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All in One, One for All

No matter which room you’re thinking of painting, integrate this designer painting trick into your plan – use colour to highlight a special feature, and always choose a premium product. By adding new BEHR DYNASTY Interior Paint & Primer, an all-in-one, top-of-the-line paint, in the warm, earthy tones of BEHR Canyon Dust S210-4 (Behr’s 2021 Colour of the Year) to the back wall of this sophisticated living-room reading nook, you are instantly pulled in.

Sophisticated dark blue home office with black trim and ceiling moulding with built-in shelves and drawers with brass hardware, light wood floors, a dark wood desk and brown office chair as featured on HGTV’s Brother vs. Brother

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Call It Out

If a room has any special architectural details, such as crown moulding or custom trim, you can highlight them with paint. Bring attention to that unique feature by choosing a different colour than the main wall colour (dark trim is a designer favourite at the moment).

Luxurious guest room with a bold orange coloured feature wall with two pieces of framed artwork behind a bed with a large grey tufted headboard, white sheets and a stack of grey and orange throw pillow, two grey nightstands, and four decorative mirrors on the wall beside the bed

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Go Bold or Go Home

When it comes to guest rooms, design convention has been to keep the palette neutral and calm; these days, though, designers are turning that on its head -modern guest rooms are embracing colour through bold paint choices and experimenting with more flamboyant design concepts.

Behr: Cameo White MQ3-32, Smokestack N220-3

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Panel Show

When a room is grand, spacious and filled with distinctive design features (think crown moulding or faux rafters), interior designers turn to paint tricks and techniques to make the space feel cohesive. Here, to get this look with Behr’s latest premium one-coat-coverage paint, BEHR DYNASTY Interior Paint & Primer try BEHR Cameo White MQ3-32 on the paneling to make special details standout and BEHR Smokestack N220-3 on the upper walls to bring warmth to a formal space.

Open concept living room and kitchen featuring white cabinets, a grey fireplace, two industrial pendant lights, two large kitchen islands with black stools alongside them, light wood floors, and a painted purple feature wall, as featured on Masters of Flip on HGTV

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Open for Business

Having an open-concept cooking and living space has a lot of advantages, such as clear sightlines and ease of entertaining, but one of the main challenges is creating warmth and intimacy in such a large space. By demarcating different zones with paint colours, you create a sense of moving from one “room” to another.

Beautiful newly renovated kitchen with emerald green cabinets, white and grey quartz countertops, stainless steel hood fan, and a small kitchen island with two glass and brass pendants lights hanging above it as featured on HGTV’s Save My Reno

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Crown Jewels

No matter where you want guests to congregate, they always find their way to the kitchen – especially if your cabinets are painted in an eye-catching emerald. Refurbishing your tired cupboards and drawers with an on-trend jewel-tone paint gives you an instant conversation starter.

Chic contemporary living room designed by Scott McGillivray and Sarah Keenlyside for HGTV’s Family Home Overhaul featuring a long tan coloured couch, large geometric patterned rug, light wide-plank hardwood floors, an oval shaped mid-century modern coffee table, two wood and leather armchairs, white and black geometric pattered drapes, a white brick fireplace flanked by two dark navy walls

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Into the Depths

In a room that’s lacking architectural detail, designers use this painting trick to create depth. By flanking the white brick fireplace with midnight-blue paint, the mostly white room all of a sudden has dimension because your eye has somewhere to rest (i.e. where the white ends).