Painting Tips That HGTV's Nate Berkus & Jeremiah Brent Swear By

Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent know paint. The couple has decades of combined experience in the interior design space, and with that comes dozens of painting tips that they absolutely swear by. While known for encouraging folks to prioritize personal tastes over passing trends, and looking to their daily lives (and things they already own!) for design inspiration, there are other tips of theirs that don't change — no matter the project.

For example, certain tones of white are better than others if you are painting a living room and not a hospital ward. When picking out a color, just looking over the swatches in line at the paint store won't give you a good enough idea of what you need. Plus, there are even shades — such as black — that you might have avoided in the past because you didn't know how to handle them, but which can be used to great effect. And while they're both high-end designers used to working with upmarket spaces, Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent give realistic advice about picking a paint color for your home. Thanks to this blend of professional-level taste and down-to-earth sentiments, the couple's tips can guide you on your painting journey, whether you are a seasoned professional yourself, or just starting out on your DIY journey.

Natural light can really impact the way a paint looks. Before committing to a certain color, you need to be sure you love the way it shines from sunrise to sunset — and every time in between, too. "People often choose their paint color without considering the lighting of their actual space," Brent told Homes & Gardens. "What you see in a store with fluorescent lighting is very different from the natural light that will change with every hour in your home." In fact, forgetting to do this is one of the massive paint mistakes Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent want you to avoid.

To save yourself the issue of a brown that looks too muddy after dark, or a cream that's blinding first thing in the morning, Brent recommends taking a few samples home and seeing how you like them over the course of a few days. "I recommend gathering swatches of paint, putting them on the wall in the actual room you'll be painting, and watching how their hue evolves throughout the day," he said. If you still can't narrow things down from just a swatch, purchase a ½ pint of your top two or three choices. Seeing the actual paint on the wall can sometimes help break a tie.

Both Berkus and Brent are well-known in the design space for mostly staying out of trends. This attitude extends to painting as well. No matter what colors are currently popular, the pair is adamant that you need to stick with your personal tastes instead of adopting fads. This way, you end up happier in the long run — because you're the one who actually has to live in your house, after all. "Choosing a paint color is always a super personal thing," Berkus said in a TLC clip, per YouTube. "I think that the easiest thing to do is look in your closet and see what your favorite sweater is or your favorite dress and take that color. 'Cause chances are if you like wearing it, I think that you're going to like living with it."

If you find that you wear a lot of pink or red, for example, consider finding ways to incorporate the shades into your home. If you don't like the idea of a bold wall, painting smaller things bright or loud — like the trim in the room — can pair well with a more neutral set of walls. If you don't end up liking it, paint is easy enough to change, even if you aren't the best at DIYing. "Break the rules," Brent added. "It's the one design choice you can make that you can change instantaneously."

Many people choose to DIY the painting of their home's interior, which is a great choice, as it's a relatively easy home improvement task. Unlike plumbing or electric work, you can't really cause too much damage if you don't do things perfectly. Nevertheless, for those who undertake this, Berkus believes there is a certain order you should follow when painting, so it all still looks as professional as possible. "Paint the ceiling first (start by cutting off the corners with a 2" brush)," he wrote for Oprah.com. "Then paint the walls. Then the baseboards and moldings."

The reason for this is that if you do the ceiling first and the paint drips or splatters, it won't run down and ruin the rest of your work. The walls are more broad, while the baseboards and moldings are more detailed work. They might take a little longer, so if you finish the walls first, you'll feel more accomplished and keep your momentum. Berkus recommends doing the windows and then finally the doors, "Leaving the entry door last as you exit the room," he wrote. As with any painting job, be sure to use drop cloths on the floor, so it doesn't get stained — and use painter's tape to ensure you get crisp, clean edges.

This pair is well-known for incorporating stunning neutrals into their designs, but when selecting paint colors, not all neutrals are created equal. "A lot of you have been reaching out and asking me, 'What are my go-to paint colors when I'm painting a room neutral,'" Berkus said in an Instagram reel. "So are you guys ready? Because here they are, once and for all, I am sharing the swatches that I use most often." Not only does he name-drop the paint brands he likes best, but also the exact shades, too.

From Benjamin Moore, Berkus likes Alabaster, Swiss Coffee, Smokey Taupe, and Snowfall White. While all various shades of cream, these colors have different touches of warm undertones. This way, you can choose what is best for you by deciding just how cozy you want a space to feel. Notice that none have cooler undertones, as this can sometimes lend to feelings of coldness or sterility — not the vibe you would want to curate at home. From Portola Paints, Berkus likes Saint Sauvant, as well as Lisbon⁣, which he described as "a greeny gray." He continued, "It's a beautiful kind of historic color and we used it in the kids' bathroom."

Nate Berkus also shares great paint color advice for homes with open floor plans: One of his best tips is to avoid accent walls and construct a more cohesive flow throughout the house. This creates more harmony within the home, but you still can't go too bold with the color you choose, as it can easily become overwhelming. "I think that accent walls show a lack of commitment, and I think it's very difficult to actually do a bold color in an open floor plan," he said on Instagram. 

With an open living space, you should also not paint your ceilings. If you do, they should never be a noticeable color — just stick with white to keep things fresh. "Keep your ceilings white, and I think you have to pick one shade, one tone," he continued. "It could be pale blue, it could be light yellow — preferably it'll be more like an alabaster, for the rest of the walls around you." If you're feeling a bit put off by the rules here, Berkus insists that by sticking to them, you'll thank both him and yourself later on. "It's sort of the deal that you have to make with yourself when you select a home that has an open floor plan," he said. 

While Berkus has plenty of tips for painting the interior of your home, he also knows that walls aren't the only thing that a little bit of TLC can spruce up. Whether you are redecorating or just designing your home for the first time, even the oldest and ugliest furniture and hardware can find a place in the chicest home — as long as they have a fresh coat of paint.

Here's his take: "Definitely update. One of the first things I do when I'm hired to design a space for somebody is take inventory of what they already have [for] repurposing and reusing," he told Boston Mamas when discussing buying new or fixing up things you already own. "And, you know, adding a coat of paint and new hardware on a chest of drawers, or painting the frame of a vintage-looking chair a bright color and recovering something or making a slipcover for it — to me those are the things that add layers to a room." When painting finishes, like light switch covers, drawer pulls, etc., you might find yourself working with metal a lot. One of the best ways to prevent metal from rusting is to use the right type of paint. Oil-based paint is best for this, especially when used in conjunction with primer, like Corroseal Rust Converter Metal Primer.

When you picture black paint, you might think it gothic or spooky, but one of Berkus' best painting tips is that the shade just might be the next best thing for your home. "Black paint is very much overlooked by people," he said on the Rachael Ray Show. "They're freaked out by it. It's for Day of the Dead parties ... it's for Halloween." What's important to remember, however, is that it's not. In fact, Berkus knows that the color is actually quite the secret weapon, as long as you use it right. "The thing that's great about black paint is that I've used it sparingly, but wisely, throughout the years," he continued. When referring to a kitchen cabinet, he said, "That can be beautiful in a high-gloss finish."

Not only beautiful, but "really sexy," are Berkus' exact words. He explains that as long as you don't do the entire bank of cabinets in black, such as keeping the bottoms white and only painting the tops black, it won't be overwhelming. Instead, it'll just look really chic. "It's a nice, beautiful, sophisticated element to add into a space," he finished.

One of the best painting tips Berkus can offer is that, depending on what you are painting, you will need paints with different finishes. Paints typically come in three finishes. The first is satin. Satin paint has a soft, velvety sheen that adds a subtle glow, making walls appear smooth and slightly reflective. Next is matte, which tends to have a rich, non-reflective finish. It creates a more uniform look, which is ideal for covering up imperfections. Finally there's flat, which has the most muted and chalky appearance of the three. It gives a completely non-shiny surface.

Here are his top tips. "For wood: Use satin on wood for a low luster finish," he wrote for Oprah.com. "For ceilings: flat [and] for walls: matte or flat." His reasoning for this is simple. "Matte and flat can be touched up without seeing the touch-up due to oxidation," he said. "Paints like eggshells can't be touched up. They require a coat to be applied to the entire surface and also require an additional coat to get their finish right."

Gray can be a great neutral paint to use in plenty of spaces, but just like with any color, you have to get the tone just right. As reported by Domino, Berkus and Brent partnered with The Jennifer Hudson Show and Operation Homefront to redesign a home for a family in the armed services. For the living room, the couple chose a shade called Tranquil Gray by Behr. When asked why that specific color, both had plenty to say. "If I had to describe it as a feeling, it'd be like a hot stone massage," Brent said. "I tend to reach for grays that have an undertone of putty or taupe," Berkus added. "I don't love a cool blue-gray. I don't think it ever reads as sophisticated."

Instead, you should look for grays that have a bit of brown mixed in with them. This way, it looks "maybe a bit more historic," according to Berkus. While the undertones of a certain color are typically listed on the paint can, if you aren't sure, you can always ask an employee at the paint store. As lots of paints are mixed on-site, they'll know exactly what base colors go into them and can point you in the correct direction.

White paint is a great neutral, but not if you're talking about a room that's quite small. One of the couple's best paint tips is to avoid the shade to prevent making tight spaces seem even more cramped. Yes, Nate Berkus says it's actually a design myth that white makes small rooms look bigger. "There's something really interesting in design when you actually go with the worst quality about a room," Berkus said on Instagram. "If you think the worst quality about the room is that it's small, why not try painting it dark, maybe even painting the ceiling dark, because that can embrace that and make it really dramatic and really interesting," he continued.

Instead of trying to fake that your reading nook or half-bath under the stairs is bigger than it is, Berkus encourages you to just highlight its true size. Lean into the cozy vibe that a small space inherently creates, or go the opposite direction and make the space as bold and visually wild as you want with different paints and bright wallpapers — because even the craziest styles are digestible in smaller amounts.

Social media is often a great place to go for design tips, but as someone who has been in the game for a while, Brent is a bit hesitant to accept every single suggestion that comes out of social media apps like TikTok. "You know what I just saw on TikTok? People are painting with socks," he joked in an Instagram interview. "So that's a no thank you from me."

It's a short, tongue-in-cheek video, so Brent doesn't really go into detail about why he doesn't think that people should follow the advice. However, we just have to guess that it's likely for the most obvious reason: If something isn't really broken, then you don't need to go out of your way to fix it. You should avoid this popular paint hack that Jeremiah Brent says no to (and others like it) not because it might not work or be cool, but because the tried-and-true paint brushes and rollers are likely going to be easier to work with. You don't need to reinvent the wheel to paint your bedroom or touch up a dresser. Just reach for the classic tools, especially if you are newer to the DIY world.

This couple tends to be a big fan of neutral colors, like beige. They use it a lot in their projects and recommend it as a safe paint color for most of their fans to use at home, too. "Beige, for me, is the most timeless thing in the world, and I know that's not a sexy thing to say," Brent told Domino.

Yet, there is one caveat for consumers to keep in mind when picking out the beige to use at home. "I can't deal with that yellow or green base, like an 'Under the Tuscan Sun' situation," Berkus said. Instead, to keep a space looking more modern and fresh (and not trapped in a 1990s Olive Garden), the lads suggest reaching for a shade like Behr's Blank Canvas. It's billed as a "warm, welcoming white with limitless possibilities," but is so warm, that it looks more tan — placing it firmly in the beige family.