Pros & Cons Of Painting The Whole House One Color (With Pictures!)

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Last updated on February 28th, 2024 at 11:16 am

Wondering if you should paint all of the rooms in your house the same color? Well, look no further because I have your answer!

Painting the whole house the same color saves money and time by using the same paint, makes the house look consistent and cohesive throughout, and lets furniture be moved from room to room and still match.

Pros Of Painting The Whole House One Color	Cons Of Painting The Whole House One Color
Makes The House Appear Consistent	Can Be Overwhelming Depending On The Paint Color
Furniture Can Be Used In Any Room	Some Rooms Need A Focal Point
Saves Time & Money
Can Help The Home Sell For More

Now that we’ve got the basics out of the way, let’s break into the details a little further so you can more easily choose paint colors for your home.

Let’s dive in!

Quick Navigation: Pros & Cons Of Painting The Whole House One Color

1. Benefit One: Makes The House Appear Consistent
2. Benefit Two: Furniture Can Be Used In Any Room
3. Benefit Three: Saves Time & Money
4. Benefit Four: Helps The Home Sell For More
5. Drawback One: Can Be Overwhelming Depending On The Paint Color
6. Drawback Two: Some Rooms Need A Focal Point
7. Other FAQs About Painting All Of The Rooms The Same Color
8. Final Thoughts

Benefit One: Makes The House Appear Consistent

The first benefit of painting the entire house one color is that your home will look more cohesive and consistent.

Whether it’s a guest, one of your family members, or yourself walking through your house, our eyes naturally want to see consistency.

When we walk from one room that’s pure white with a strong rustic vibe to another room that’s got a pale blue and tan beach theme to another room that’s got an olive green and wallpapered board and batten look, our eyes get confused on what we see.

Nothing flows together and our brain thinks none of it makes sense. That naturally makes the entire home feel like it’s in disarray or worse like you’re in a totally different house every time you switch rooms.

Instead, when all of the rooms are the same base color (specifically a light neutral color), then your home will feel significantly calmer and put together.

That doesn’t mean you can’t still add subtle differences in the decorations of each room. In fact, this is the best, easiest, and cheapest way to give different rooms a little bit of character while still letting the whole house feel cohesive.

Benefit Two: Furniture Can Be Used In Any Room

The next benefit of painting the whole house the same color is that your furniture can easily be moved from room to room because the main color is the same in all of the rooms.

Being able to move the furniture like this is an awesome benefit because sometimes we buy something for one room, but it actually would be better suited for another room.

If the main wall color was totally different from room to room, you’d be forced to return the new furniture, or you would feel obligated to get new furniture or refinish your existing furniture to match the different colors in the room you’ve moved the piece of furniture.

As someone who loves home design, but is also naturally frugal, I hate wasting money AND I hate looking at a piece of furniture that doesn’t suit my room the best.

When the main color flows through each room, pieces can be moved around to create a new look and feel without needing to spend extra money or get rid of perfectly good furniture.

Benefit Three: Saves Time & Money

The next benefit of painting the entire house one color is that you will save yourself time and money by using the same paint throughout all of the rooms in your house.

When you can use the same paint for all rooms, you can paint faster (no swapping out paint between rooms), and you only need to keep one can of paint for future touch-ups instead of 5 cans of different paints for each room in your house.

Using the same paint saves you money because you can buy significantly less paint and waste less paint. And it saves you time by being able to paint/touch-up all rooms in the same go.

I don’t know about you, but I always love options that save me both time and money.

That’s one of many reasons why we chose to use the same light gray satin paint throughout our entire home. The satin paint works best in kitchens and bathrooms, and also looks good in bedrooms and living rooms.

So we were able to use an 18-inch roller and roll on 2 coats on all walls inside our 1,500-square-foot house in 8 hours.

Plus, I have one partially used gallon of paint left over instead of several partially used gallon cans as I would if I had swapped colors and sheens.

I don’t have to store as much stuff now. That was a win for us as well!

Benefit Four: Helps The Home Sell For More

The final benefit of painting the whole house the same color is that (depending on the paint color) it can potentially help your home sell for more money.

If you ever plan on selling your home, it will help the house sell for more money if the entire house is painted the same light neutral color.

This is because potential buyers can more easily visualize their own stuff in your home (as opposed to only seeing your stuff and it feels like they’re just visiting a friend’s house).

And when potential buyers buy into the vision of their own life happening in the home, they are much more easily persuaded into a higher purchase price.

In addition, painting the whole house the same neutral color will save you time and money when you want to sell because you won’t have to repaint all of the rooms before listing. You can just do some minor touch-ups and your home will be ready with minimal time or costs on your end.

Now, I understand that you probably want your home to feel like a home instead of a fancy display room. So I’ll let you in on a design/styling secret.

You can get the best of both worlds by putting your unique style, personality, and bright colors into your decorations instead of your wall color.

When you add personality and style to the decor and leave the walls a light neutral color, you can swap out the decor much more easily as you become bored with it or the seasons/trends change.

If the wall is the “paint color of the year”, then you’ll have to repaint the walls every time you are bored and want something new or trendy.

Again, you’re saving time and money (can you see my common theme here?).

If you like the idea of choosing a single paint color for your house, but you’re struggling to pick a color, check out my article on how to pick a whole house paint color.

Drawback One: Can Be Overwhelming Depending On The Paint Color

The first drawback of painting the entire house one color is that the color you pick for the whole house can be overwhelming.

Of course, as for everything in life, not everything is 100% amazing. There are a couple of drawbacks to painting the whole house the same color.

Bright paint colors (basically anything that is not a light neutral color such as white, gray, beige, or greige) will be overwhelming throughout the whole house.

You want your eye to naturally be drawn around the room with pops of color here and there. If the entire room is a bomb of color then your eyes won’t be drawn anywhere and you will fill overwhelmed.

That’s part of why the style secret I explained above is so great. You can have bright, bold colors without feeling overwhelmed.

They will just be pops of color here and there that your eyes will crave as they look around the room.

And finally, if the paint color you choose is a dark color, then the entire room will feel smaller and cramped. Usually, we are going for the opposite feeling; a light and airy home.

So be very careful with your paint color choice if you are carrying it throughout your entire home.

Drawback Two: Some Rooms Need A Focal Point

The final drawback of painting the whole house the same color is that some rooms are just begging for a focal point.

Some rooms (such as the living room or a bedroom) can majorly benefit from a focal point, and paint is an easy and cheap way to create that focal point.

If the whole house is painted the same color and there isn’t a fireplace or other feature to create a focal wall, then the room might feel lacking without an accent wall or focal point painted.

In those scenarios, it could be beneficial to use paint to create drama in one area that the room might be lacking.

Other FAQs About Painting All Of The Rooms The Same Color

Here are some other frequently asked questions about choosing paint colors to help you be more confident in your choice!

Should All Rooms In A House Have The Same Color Scheme?

Having the same paint color throughout is one thing, but having the same decorations and overall color scheme throughout your house is a totally different topic.

To help you decide if all rooms in your house have to have the same color scheme, check out my article here.

Should All Furniture Be The Same Color?

Now that we’ve discussed paint colors, let’s talk about furniture colors. Should all furniture in the house be the same color?

There are some specific style tips you need to check out in my article here before purchasing or refinishing any furniture for your freshly painted home.

Final Thoughts On Painting All Of The Rooms The Same Color

There you have it!

Choosing paint colors is definitely a hard task. That’s why I find choosing only one color to be less daunting.

But I also have made mistakes in choosing a paint color. The beauty behind paint is you can choose a different paint color and try again.

Hopefully, this guide helps make your whole house paint color decision a little easier.

Catch you in my next post!

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