Picking out the right paint colors for your home can be an endless challenge. Should you embrace lighter hues, or dive into a darker look? If you're not sure which direction to go in, it might help to first know what colors you don't want—and who better to get your advice from than Joanna Gaines? The Fixer Upper co-host is renowned for her ability to curate the perfect color palette in any space. But through her work, Gaines has also been able to get a good idea of what shades are best to avoid. Read on to discover the five paint colors she'd never use in her home.
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1 | Red
iStockWhen Real Simpleasked Gaines about the one paint color she would never use in her own home, the HGTV star admitted that there is a bold hue she tends to avoid.
"For my own home, I typically tend to lean more toward neutral colors and a clean palette," she told the magazine. "I might shy away from reds."
Of course, Gaines said this isn't a hard and fast rule that other homeowners need to follow.
"There is a time and place for any color," she noted. "For example, I do think the right shade of red can add character to a front door and is great for curb appeal!"
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2 | Purple
iStockIn the same interview, Gaines revealed that she tends to shy away from purples, too. This is something she's mentioned in other interviews as well. In an interview with Country Living, she said purple is one of the "hardest colors" for her to use.
According to Gaines, purple is a tricky color to pull off in the home, as it tends to lean too "theme-y." But as with red, she told the magazine that there are exceptions—noting that she does like deep, rich shades of purple in certain contexts.
3 | Orange
iStockWhen talking to Country Living, Gaines acknowledged that she's not a huge fan of orange in the home either. She didn't offer an explanation for why she avoids this hue, but her husband and Fixer Upper co-host Chip Gaines did.
"Ironically, she married the orangiest man on the planet," he joked to the magazine. "I think she got all the orange she can handle in me."
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4 | White
iStockIf you've ever seen the HGTV star's designs, you know she doesn't hold back on neutral shades like white. But not every shade of white works, according to Gaines. In a 2019 post for her Magnolia blog, she explained that choosing the right hue is important.
For Gaines, that is something like Shiplap—which is a versatile shade instead of a stark one.
"Shiplap is a go-to white," she explained. "It's creamier and feels more comfortable in a space than a harsh, sterile white."
5 | Yellow
iStockYou're not likely to find Gaines using a true yellow color in her home—especially because that color is associated with what she has identified as one of her biggest home renovation mistakes.
In a YouTube interview—which has since been taken down—the Fixer Upper co-host revealed that she once tried painting the exterior of her home a light tan, buttercream color, and ended up extremely missing the mark, Real Homes reported.
After seeing a swatch of the buttercream paint, Gaines told her builder to go for it and left while the paint job was happening.
"We get home three days later, and we have neighbors standing outside, you have people driving by shaking their heads. It was highlighter yellow," she recalled. "I remember sitting there crying. It cost $11,000 to paint that entire exterior."
