Aura® Paint Transforms a Beloved Historic Home

Interior designer Erin Fetherston refreshed a 19th-century farmhouse in Napa Valley using Benjamin Moore Aura® Interior and Aura Exterior paints.

The designer used a curated palette of nine Benjamin Moore hues to bring her vision to life.

Now a luxury vacation rental property located within Hoopes Vineyard, the designer’s choice of Aura on both interiors and exteriors ensured unmatchable, rich color and ultimate durability.
“With the Aura Exterior line [which is designed for long-term durability], I knew that it would just have this richness and depth of color that I was looking for and that it would stand up to the elements—important here in the country."

- Erin Fetherston, Interior Designer

Interior Designer Erin Fetherston smiles at the camera holding a tree branch in front of a beautiful, dark green-painted door open to a sunny front yard.

Luxury Paint for a Classic White House

Even prior to this project, interior designer Erin Fetherston was intimately familiar with Hoopes House. As a friend of the original owner, she spent time and played there as a child.

"Locals have called this the White House for as long as I've been alive," says Fetherston. "When we were thinking of repainting it, I wasn't going to break with tradition."

Fetherston chose Capitol White CW-10, from the Williamsburg Color Collection, for the exterior: “It’s sort of the perfect neutral point on the scale of warmth. It's not too cool. It's not too warm, and it looks really beautiful under all those different lights."

For the front door, Fetherston chose Hunter Green 2041-10 for contrast. A verdant shade of green, the hue synchs effortlessly with the surrounding landscape.
A sunlit, soft-white painted living room with gray, white and natural wood furniture, and a white and black patterned rug.

Interiors with a Breezy, Welcoming Vibe

Today, the sunny 19th-century farmhouse welcomes guests who rent the property in a space fully reimagined for the modern era. Fetherston’s curated Benjamin Moore paint color palette sets the perfect stage.

"We really wanted to bring the outside in, making the house feel as expansive and light as possible—despite a floor plan from the 1890s, which is full of small, enclosed rooms!" Fetherston selected nine Benjamin Moore paint colors to meet the challenge.

Fetherston gave the first-floor common spaces an airy feeling with the choice of Steam AF-15, a clean, soft white paint color from the Benjamin Moore Affinity Color Collection.
Pretty wood modern dining table, chairs and sideboard in front of a green-painted wall, with a large mirror, and white hanging light.
"Green brings the outside in, which is always the marriage I'm looking to create in my design."
—
Erin Fetherston
Interior Designer

Deep Neutrals Infuse Subtle, Just-Right Color

High Park 467, a sophisticated herbaceous green, adds an organic pop of color to the dining room. Of the green hue, Fetherston adds, "It's really reflecting the fact that we're surrounded by rows of olive trees, redwood forests, the vineyard." She also notes how the color feels different throughout the day. "In the evening, around dinner time or before sunset—what we call Golden Hour—it is so beautiful and the green feels really vibrant," Fetherston says. "In the morning it's a little more dim, a little cozier."

Other neutrals from the deeper side of the spectrum that Fetherston selected include adaptable Gloucester Sage HC-100 and sunbaked Venetian Portico AF-185.
"We really wanted to bring the outside in, making the house feel as expansive and light as possible—despite a floor plan from the 1890s, which is full of small, enclosed rooms!"

- Erin Fetherston, Interior Designer

A soothing, violet painted bedroom wall with a hint of gray, a wood and beige upholstered headboard, white bedding, wood nightstand and a wicker hanging light.

Beyond White Hues: Colorful Bedrooms

"A bedroom to me is a world unto itself; it doesn't need to flow with the rest of the home,” says Fetherston.

Using a range of Benjamin Moore color samples, including fan decks, Fetherston found bedroom hues that she believes may have been popular when Hoopes House was first built in the late 1800s.

She chose Hint of Violet 2114-60, a pleasing lilac with a cool gray cast, and Morning Dew OC-140, a soothing gray with a touch of green.
"I've found that white paint is my friend when it comes to maximizing light."

- Erin Fetherston, Interior Designer

What’s the Next Step in Your Paint Color Journey?

Wherever you are in making your paint color decision (and we know how hard it can be!), Benjamin Moore has you covered:
Aura® Interior Paint

Aura® Interior Paint

Breathtaking color with unparalleled depth and richness.

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Aura® Exterior Paint

Aura® Exterior Paint

Experience rich color depth, fade resistance, and so much more.

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