I live on the East Coast and Dad lives on the West Coast. While I definitely notice the differences you mention in magazines, blogs etc. in East Coast/ West Coast it didn't actually hit me that it is real until I closed your post because I didn't think that I had anything to add.

And then I thought about it and you are absolutely right! I thought about my dad's homes and rentals on the West Coast and all of those homes of friends that I have been in on the West Coast. Honestly I don't think I ever encountered a wall color in any one of them!

Here on the West Coast though I don't know of any home that has all white walls or walls of the same neutral color throughout. Funny!

Climate has a lot to do with it...color is helpful through the drab winters. Warm colors work better in the east vs all the bright sunshine and warm temps of ca which would favor cooler tones.

While I tend to agree, Annie, on the other hand, I think in parts of the West coast, the intense sunlight can stand up to some of the brighter colors, too, at least on the inside of the house. When we were building, when we decided on a metal roof, I adored some of the ones with nice colors, such as a royal blue or a deep red. Thankfully I had been paying attention, because I noticed how quickly those colors faded in just 2 years. That explains the preponderance of earth tones here in the southwest. I am actually surprised that with the Mexican influence, (other) people still are rather conservative in their color choices.

Another New Mexican here. Out here, we are at at least 5,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level. Thus, our sun is much more intense here. Most days are sunny and clear. We have 20 to even 50 mile sight lines in many areas of our state. And so, outside we tend to think neutral earth colors so that our homes blend into the landscape, and those viewing it see the beautiful vistas, not a dozen muti-colored homes breaking up/ distracting from the view. Inside, many of us opt for neutral colored walls because this state, this part of the country, is a major artist magnet. Our neutral walls are the perfect foil for our art collections . . . Which is easy and fairly inexpensive living in this artists' mecca. Anyhoo, that's just what makes me, and my neighbors and friends choose the colors we paint our homes, inside and out. I agree, though, when I was living in Michigan, rooms were routinely painted various colors. Personally, I now prefer homes that blend in to the landscape rather than standing out and disrupting the view

I think that you will find more color in homes in Texas and Florida (bright sunlight), and more neutral colors in Colorado and Washington (colder and/or darker environments).

I moved from the Boston area to Los Angeles and all the paint colors I had used before in MA, did not work in the CA house. Most of our plants/trees are green year round and for the most part the weather is sunny and bright. In MA I had more neutral furniture/decor with stronger colored walls ... now in CA I have more color in my furniture/decor with neutral walls. The house styles can also be quite different between the coasts and I went from a newer colonial to a newer spanish syle.

My area here in CA also has a lot more immigrants compared to my area in MA, which adds another influence to the decor and more importantly to any major remodeling. I can now pretty accurately guess the nationality of the owners/sellers in my area by looking at the real estate photos online. Even more interesting, once the house has been remodeled by a certain nationality, it will then only sell to someone of that same nationality, due to the remodeling choices that were made.

Older homes will have individual rooms while newer homes will have open floor plans. That is another reason, I think, you will see different colors on walls in homes on the East Coast, where there are older houses. If you look at newer homes on the East Coast that have open floor plans, I think you'll find that neutral/lighter color theme as well.

I've always lived in New England - most always stayed in hotels when traveling - so GW actually introduced me to the regional diversity in real homes in the U.S. It's been eye-opening and I've come to appreciate more decorating styles than those I'm drawn to by familiarity.

I agree that older NE homes tend to have separated rooms and people tend to paint those rooms different colors to further define the spaces. Also, traditional homes are often painted in rich historical colors that, at least in NE, help impart warmth during the long winters when there's little color in the landscape.

One thing that turned that idea on its head for me, though, has been visiting with DS's family who live in Denmark. The backdrop to almost all the homes' interiors is white. Bleached white wood floors, white painted trim and walls. Light wood furnishings, etc. They do their color pops with a few large and well-chosen textiles and accessories. Almost opposite of homes here Boston & North. Very interesting...

I've visited a number of friends who have moved to Florida from here and cannot believe the riot of bright colors they adopt when they move South. Not sure if they're adapting to the locale or just releasing a pent up penchant for color they've been suppressing ;)

Hmm, I grew up all over and lived on the East Coast most of my adult life until we moved to CA. Here's my in-progress kitchen remodel

Does that mean I'm an east coaster for decorating purposes? What about the mid-west (which is what I usually claim as where I'm from)? Oh, and I live in a 1926 house in CA. As far as weather goes there's a pretty big range along both coasts. Seattle is much gloomier than LA. And parts of SF are in fog much of the summer. . . .

The open floor plan/separate rooms thing doesn't work when you're looking at bedrooms and baths. But this is a very interesting discussion. I was raised in the south, but in extreme modern/MCM style homes, so I get the reference to Danish/Scandinavian style.

Neutral doesn't mean just boring beige. I think it's helpful to have rooms enlivened by a little bit of color for real estate purposes, esp if the house is sparsely furnished. Nothing makes a house look colder and less welcoming to me than to see every room in "builder white". Especially if you have a problem situation, say an awful color tile in the bathroom, painting it in a neutralizing color can take the "sting" out of the tile.

I'm near Dallas and I've perused countless real estate listings online in recent days. Almost without fail, the rooms are painted deep, dark colors. Maroon, forest green, dark browns (lots of browns). I've seen some very nice homes painted in hideous colors too, but I try to remind myself that "it's only paint", and that I too once had some really wild colors on my walls! The deep mustard with the poopy brown glaze was especially, uh ... memorable.

I have noticed the differences between East and West. Not sure how the mid-west fits in, but probably more Eastern? Our country was mainly settled in the East, and then people migrated West. There are many more historical minded people in the East. California has a lot of Spanish influence, and many of those homes have a lot of color in various rooms. One such home had a roof fire a while back, and driving by, I was amazed at the various colors inside that house! Pink, mint, aqua, orange, lavender....wow!

There are many new developments here, and for many years those homes come in one color on all walls. Maybe people think "new" should be neutral, so they continue with the trend. If they buy "old," they tend to paint all the walls a neutral color to update it. Our entire home is painted a soft neutral beige with white wood accents except for one room. The ceiling is painted dark navy blue and the walls a deep brown. That room is where we go to watch TV and gather with friends. We call it our "Pub."

There are differences between Northern and Southern California too. San Francisco has a lot of color. Maybe because of the fog? Whoever said weather has an influence is probably right.

Many colors can work well if they are coordinated appropriately.

I lived in coastal Maine for 20 years and had every room a different color. Here in the Outer Banks, most homes are neutral, some a pale soft yellow, or a creamy white, one recently built and painted a soft gray went on the market and the first thing the real estate agent said was to repaint.

I grew up in SoCal but have lived in the east for almost 40 years. In all houses bedrooms have been different colors to suit the taste of the occupant, but main living areas have at least coordinated if not the same color.

I have lived on both coasts and in the midwest. Of course there are regional style differences but that can be exaggerated by price point.

I tend to think there are more similarities by price point and vintage then by region.