Closet Paint Colors: Should You Match or Contrast the Bedroom?

When painting a space or bedroom, it's easy to overlook the closet. But your closet is its own space, with its own challenges and considerations when it comes to painting. Think about it: your closet is a huge part of your daily routine. The vibe and color of your closet can set the tone for your whole day, and it's important to consider how you want yours to function. After all, the lighting of your closet is probably very different from the rest of the room. A shade that looks great on your bedroom wall may look too dark in a closet with a single overhead light bulb.

Of course… The best way to determine the best closet paint colors is by ordering paint samples from Samplize. Below are some general tips for narrowing down the best paint colors for a walk-in closet or storage space.

Should Closet Paint Colors Match The Bedroom?

Not necessarily! Your closet likely has different lighting than the main bedroom area… This means that a paint color that looks great in your bedroom could look washed out or too dark in a dimly-lit closet area. However, there are times when matching the closet and bedroom can improve the look of your space.

If you’re working with a small bedroom with a small closet or storage space, matching the paint colors can do a lot to open the space up and make it feel larger. But keep in mind that this will only work if the lighting in both areas is similar… Which it likely is not. 

Before matching your paint colors, you should also consider what your closet is used for. If the bedroom space is a bold or bright color, matching your closet to that shade could clash with your daily outfit selections, making your morning routine that much more challenging.

When To Choose Contrasting Paint Colors

Painting the closet a different color is another design opportunity! Plus, there are plenty of situations where contrasting paint colors will function better in your space. Closets often have varied lighting, especially compared to the larger bedroom space. Choosing a closet paint color that contrasts with the bedroom can add dimension, making the room feel much larger and more open. This is one of the many reasons it's so important to sample different paint colors in every part of your space, including the closet. You simply don't know what a paint color will look like by testing it on one single wall with particular lighting conditions... But Samplize makes it easy to test closet paint colors in the exact conditions that you'll be living with after the project is complete.

Consider the function of your closet or small storage space before painting. Depending on what you’re trying to achieve in the space, there are lots of situations where contrasting paint colors can be appropriate.

Small Spaces

Say your guest bedroom has a small closet that you plan to use as a storage space. Choosing a contrasting, darker color for this space is a great option, as it won’t draw attention to all of your junk in storage. Consider trying out a bundle of neutral, but contrasting paint samples like Medium Cool Grays or Light Medium Taupes. This will give you an idea of what your selections will look like under your closet lighting and help achieve the look you want. 

Walk-In Closets and Wardrobes

For a luxury walk-in wardrobe or closet, you’re likely considering using the space to show off more of your personal style. A walk-in closet can give your space more personality and stand out from the other parts of your house or apartment. An all-white or neutral walk-in closet space almost feels like a missed opportunity! You could consider putting together a boutique-style closet with dark or bold accents, creating a cozy atmosphere while you're starting your morning or winding down for the day. 

Don’t be afraid to get creative or take big swings… At least while you’re sampling. Samplize has a variety of collections that can help you see what contrasting colors look like in your walk-in closet space and achieve the style you’re going for. Samplize even has color collections, like Summer Paint Colors and Mediterranean Paint Colors, that can help get your creativity flowing.

Best Paint Colors For Closets

Typically, when thinking about what color to paint a closet, people tend to choose neutral colors like gray, beige, or white. These shades are more likely to contrast with your clothes, helping streamline one of the first decisions you make every morning. But even when searching for the perfect neutral shade, lighting makes a massive difference.

If your closet has a lot of lighting or windows, cooler neutrals like Classic Gray, Accessible Beige, or Balboa Mist can tone down the brightness and make your space look warmer, yet understated.

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Dimly-lit Closets

The truth is, colors tend to look better in natural lighting. Artificial sources like lightbulbs can emit yellow-toned or blue-toned lighting, which can completely change how your paint looks in a closet. Cool neutrals with blue-toned lighting can make your closet space look too dark, while warm neutrals with yellow-toned lighting can wash out the room. 

Sample a wider variety of shades before making a decision. Especially in small, dimly-lit closet spaces, it’s really the only way to ensure that you’ll love the finished project. For instance, if you know you want your closet space to be painted white, try sampling with both Cool Whites and Warm Whites so you can properly test the colors in your exact lighting conditions.

Closets with Natural Lighting

Closets with windows or a lot of natural lighting can offer you more choice in what colors to paint your closet… Which is a challenge in and of itself. Apply your Samplize paint samples to the wall and see how they look throughout the day. The direction the light is coming from – north, south, east, or west – greatly impacts lighting in your closet, so don’t hesitate to choose a wide variety of samples. You’d be surprised how much different a paint sample can look between the morning and the afternoon!

Walk In Closet Paint Colors And Design Ideas

If you're looking for walk-in closet paint colors, you likely have more space, better lighting, and a lot of options to choose from. Seemingly limitless options can be overwhelming, but there are lots of methods to narrow down your decision making.

Two-Tone Color Schemes

Two tone color schemes can add a lot of personality to your bedroom or living space. When deciding on what colors to choose from, consider choosing those on opposite sides of the color wheel. This provides a complementary contrast, making each tone more prominent. If you’re not sure, try testing a few options out with our sample bundles or curated collections.

Bold Closet Interior Designs

A bold closet interior design can make a big difference in your space while showing off your individual style. If you're looking for closet accent wall inspiration, you should choose a color that stands out from your closet color palette as well as the other walls in the space. Accent walls are a great way to add a pop of color without it feeling like overkill!

What Color To Paint A Closet To Make It Look Bigger?

Something as simple as the color of your closet can do a lot to make your space look larger. It’s good to stick to warmer shades, neutrals, and whites to make a closet look bigger, as darker hues tend to do the opposite. This is especially true if the closet doesn’t have the best lighting.

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White vs. Off-White

White is a great choice to help make your closet look bigger. From there, you need to consider what kind of white you need. Pure white reflects the most light, making the space appear bigger and drawing attention to whatever is in the space (like your clothes, for example). But the drawback is that pure white can look very stark and overwhelming, even in a small space. The right shade of off-white can help with this. It has undertones like beige, cream, ivory, or gray, and each of these will look different in your own unique lighting conditions. Luckily, Samplize has sample bundles in shades of white and shades of off-white so you can test out what works in your space.

Choosing The Right Paint Finish For Closets

When it comes to the paint finish for your closet space, you can't go wrong with satin finish. The soft sheen of satin has a mildly reflective surface that bounces light from the walls to other areas of your closet, helping improve visibility. Semi-gloss is another great option for closet paint finishes, but high-gloss paint can be too shiny and overwhelming in smaller, interior spaces. 

Sampling Closet Paint Colors With Samplize

Even seemingly small decisions like choosing closet paint colors can be overwhelming. This is why sampling is important, especially for often-overlooked spaces like closets. Lighting in a closet can be vastly different from the wider room, and you want to ensure that your paint job will achieve the look and feel you want. But Samplize makes this process simple. Our paint samples are peel-and-stick and made with two coats of real paint so you know exactly what you're getting into before beginning your project. 

Explore

To get started with Samplize, start by browsing our huge collection of samples from leading brands like Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams. You can browse our collections curated by color experts or find 1000s of color samples on your own, organized by color families and themes. Once you decide on some options you like, the samples will arrive at your door the next day.

Apply

Test your samples on a wall inside of your closet, where you'll get the best look at what your paint will look like in that particular lighting. 

Decide

Lastly, make your decision! Take your time with this stage, observing how the paint colors look at different times of day or on different walls of your closet. You can always try more samples by repeating the steps above until you find the perfect color.

For more inspiration on the best closet paint colors, check out the Samplize blog.