Courtney Barton's Three Paint Colors That Make Antiques Pop
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Time to read 2 min
Courtney Barton has been shopping Round Top for more than a decade. She first came as a shopper, later as a designer sourcing for clients and eventually found herself on the other side of the booth as a shopkeeper. Her store has even been named one of the most beautiful shops in America by House Beautiful.
That history has given the designer and collector a particularly good eye for the relationship between a room and the finds we bring home to fill it, especially Round Top Finds.
When you're shopping the show, it's easy to come home with a truck full of wooden furniture, art and antiques, and suddenly it's hard to achieve the 'layered and collected' look we're inspired by. However, with the right paint color, it can make all the difference.
We asked Barton for the colors she’s loving right now for a home filled with antiques. Her first caveat? There are no absolutes.
“Right now I’d probably say these three, but I reserve the right to change my mind next week. Paint is so dependent on the room, the light and everything else living in it.”
Beata Heuman No. 24 John’s Pantry
“Earthy, warm and wonderful with dark wood.”
Barton’s first pick is John’s Pantry No. 24 by Beata Heuman, a warm, earthy shade she particularly loves alongside darker woods.
It’s an important distinction when decorating with antiques: rather than trying to brighten or neutralize all that patina, the right color can lean into it. Against a warm wall, old wood becomes part of the palette rather than something fighting against it.
Beata Heuman
Beata Heuman
Benjamin Moore Vintage Vogue or Dark Olive
“Both beautifully murky greens that make almost everything around them look better.”
If there’s a theme to Barton’s current palette, it may be that the best colors aren’t always the easiest ones to describe.
Vintage Vogue and Dark Olive are the sort of muddied greens that can act almost like neutrals while still bringing depth to a room. Against antiques, that murkiness is precisely the point: old woods, brass, art, textiles and collected objects have something substantial to sit against.
Farrow and Ball Studio Green
“If you think you need black for a window, door or trim, I urge you to try this instead.”
For Barton, Studio Green offers the depth people often seek from black without eliminating color entirely.
“It gives you that same depth, but having actual color in it makes it far more interesting.”
Used on a window, door or trim, the nearly-black green can frame a room without feeling as stark as true black, especially in a space already layered with pieces from different periods and places.
Farrow & Ball, Bryan Graybill
Don't Forget Your Finds
Barton reminds us to consider what already is in the room and the light within the space. Antiques bring their own colors with them: aged wood, worn leather, faded textiles, patinated metal. Instead of choosing paint in isolation, Barton’s favorites suggest looking for colors that make those imperfections and variations feel even richer.
