20+ Paint Color Ideas for a Stunning Apartment Renovation

An airy, loft style living room with a white painted wall and ceiling with exposed pipes, a white and yellow accent wall with tall windows, and gray, yellow, and wood modern furnishings. An airy, loft style living room with a white painted wall and ceiling with exposed pipes, a white and yellow accent wall with tall windows, and gray, yellow, and wood modern furnishings.

20+ Paint Color Ideas for a Stunning Apartment Renovation

Is a full-blown renovation for your apartment not in the cards? Put the power of paint and color to work for a refreshing update.

Color blocking, accent walls, painted furniture: Let our apartment décor ideas and color schemes fuel your creativity. Whether you live in a studio rental, warehouse loft, townhouse, condo, or a penthouse flat, we have paint color ideas that will elevate your space.
A cozy bedroom with deep chocolate-hued walls, a white-painted gallery wall, a bed with black and white striped bedding, pillows and red printed blanket, and a wicker ottoman.

Combine Warmth & Wow in the Bedroom

Small space? Go big! Bold colors get magnified in small spaces. And worry not: you can still evoke calming vibes by opting for a warmer bold hue in your boudoir.

Here, two dramatic accent walls in deep chocolate Wenge AF-180 envelop this cozy bedroom. Other bedroom accent wall ideas for rich, earthy hues include:
Painting is one of the most economic and DIY-friendly ways to customize your space. So why not transform a rental’s standard-issue white walls into a color that really speaks to you? You can even “try on” our paint colors with the Benjamin Moore Color Portfolio® app’s photo and video visualizers.

Ready to get started? Explore how to paint your room in seven steps if you are in a DIY mood. And knock down any trepidation by checking out these 11 painting mistakes to avoid.
A bright, open apartment space with a light blue-painted living room wall, pale gray kitchen walls with a hint of lavender, a white vaulted ceiling, a deep red kitchen island, white kitchen drawers, and black and white modern decor.

Color Zoning in Apartment Spaces

An apartment space often hosts multiple functions. Use paint color zoning to fuel your apartment living room ideas.

Color zoning acts as a visual cue to differentiate parts of the room, with no room dividers or walls necessary. It’s an easy way to compartmentalize the different objectives of your space and opens the door for creative use of color.

Here, a kitchen island in Caliente AF-290 denotes the cooking area, while blue-gray Solitude AF-545 transitions into the living area. Pale lavender Angelica AF-665 rounds out the eclectic look. All three wall colors in the space are part of the Benjamin Moore Affinity® Color Collection, 144 curated paint colors that mix and match effortlessly.
A bright, city apartment living room with a turquoise-painted accent wall, white side wall and trim, two large windows, beige and brown furnishings, and a bike hanging from exposed pipes.

Small Space Inspiration: The Power of Accent Colors

Trim, ceilings, baseboards, and other oft-overlooked architectural details provide opportunities to heighten apartment décor.

Painting basic architectural elements elevates smaller apartments. Imagine your hallway-facing bedroom door in Shadow 2117-30, Hot Lips 2077-30, or Ming Jade 2043-20. Or your floor moldings in the same hue and sheen as walls to create a sleek, monochromatic color envelop. Here, window mullions painted in semi-gloss Black Satin 2131-10 frames an ever-evolving live art piece of the city beyond.

Want to pack an even larger color punch? Any wall can be transformed into an eye-catching focal point. In this apartment, refreshing Cool Aqua 2056-40 speaks volumes. Consider placing a large mirror across from a bold accent wall to double the color impact.
A contemporary white-painted entryway with a blue-trimmed door, and a rich blue-painted rectangle graphic behind a wooden bench, and a wood and charcoal gray-painted island with mesh bar stool.

Pepper Your Apartment with Painted Graphics

You don’t have to paint your whole apartment—or even an entire wall—to breathe personality into your living space. Swathes of graphic color easily perk up any spot. Consider a colorful faux headboard in soft pink or a sliver of a crescent moon in a gentle gray.

In addition to being a spectacular stroke of color, the elegant blue accent rectangle in Fiji AF-525 helps conjure a charming entryway. Another brilliant blue, Lucerne AF-530, frames the door in a glossy high sheen, creating design cohesion.

Considering graphic patterns? Check out...
What you do with color is completely up to you, but remember: Color impacts your mood, so be sure to “try on” your paint color before you buy.
An elegant gray-painted high-gloss fireplace mantel and gray wall, with framed artwork and a wooden chair.

Apartment Living: Neutrals Always Work

Neutral hues are tried-and-true, dependable, and elegant.

Whites and off-whites, grays, greiges, taupes and earth tones are the most popular Benjamin Moore paint colors used in home interiors. A neutral shade makes an excellent backdrop for furnishings and art, and complements a range of accent colors.

You can easily add dimension to neutral hues by choosing different paint sheens. Here, Metropolitan AF-690 creates a sleek monochromatic look from wall to fireplace. The choice of a high-gloss sheen on the mantel adds striking contrast against the elegant soft matte of the wall.

For trim throughout an apartment space, whites and off-whites are a classic choice. Here are a few favorites for white trim: Explore our Off White Collection for more inspiration.
A cheery white-painted bedroom with a hint of blue-gray, a turquoise bench, and a window with white curtains flanked by turquoise-blue painted dressers with a lamp on each one.

Apartment Transformation Idea: Paint Your Furniture

Chairs, side tables, dressers—give old, rescued or estate furniture new life with a fresh coat of paint.

Before you paint your furniture, consider wall color. If you want your newly painted furniture to really pop, opt for a high contrasting or complementary color.

Colors we love for furniture that pops against timeless neutral walls include: Be sure to use Advance®, a paint specifically formulated for furniture and cabinetry. Advance is available in any Benjamin Moore color and cures to a hard, high-quality finish. Update the furniture hardware to reinvent your favorite piece in full.

When it comes to furniture, have fun! Here, Caribbean Cool 661 on the dressers, and Ocean Spray 2047-60 on the bench, create a cohesive look. A subtle hint of violet trim on each dresser adds a playful detail.
A sleek kitchen corner with a coral painted wall, a white tiled backsplash wall and floor, white upper wall and exposed pipes, and three sets of drawers: one painted white, the second black, and the third woodgrain.

Cooking with Color: Apartment Kitchen Ideas

The heart—and hearth—of your home, the kitchen is a special place. Show smaller kitchens the love they deserve with a variety of paint colors and finishes.

Use color blocking, the use of two or more solid colors to create interesting color combinations, to highlight kitchen cabinetry. In this apartment’s culinary hub, the lower left drawers are painted in crisp, clean White Heron OC-57. High contrast comes via neighboring drawers in sultry Onyx 2133-10. With finishes in lustrous semi-gloss, the impact is dramatic. The third set of drawers adds a surprising twist with beautiful natural wood grain.

A sleek accent wall in the Benjamin Moore Color of the Year 2023, Raspberry Blush 2008-30, breathes energy into the small kitchen space. The bright hue also provides a nice paradox to the tiled backsplash wall and floor. Accent wall colors we love for kitchens include Aegean Teal 2136-40, Guilford Green HC-116 and Chestertown Buff HC-9.


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