shape
carat
color
clarity

Has Anyone Painted Their Interior White?

House Cat

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Messages
4,602
After living in my new home for six months, I can't take it anymore!!! My living room is blue, my kitchen has hot pink grasscloth wallpaper, my dining room, kitchen nook, and hallway are light lemon yellow, my guest room is LEGO YELLOW, my master bath is the color of flesh, and my master bedroom is sage. I am feeling true color overload.

I want white... crisp, beautiful, bright, lovely, peaceful, white...


Did you know there are ten quadrillion shades of white out there? I originally thought I would want to paint the walls cream and all of my trim very white. I have since decided that I want to paint everything the same shade of white instead.

There are some very popular shades of white that everyone seems to be using. For those who have gone white, what did you use? Why was it your favorite?

I am leaning toward Alabaster by Sherwin Williams and White Dove by Benjamin Moore. I have seen brighter whites, which I might try, but I was told they show every flaw in the walls. Is this true?
 
Q

Queenie60

Guest
Housecat: I highly recommend you do a swatch of color in each room before making a final decision. It will look different during the day as the natural light moves around. Some whites have blue undertones, some have pink undertones and so on. You may want to use a different white for different parts of your home. I use white in my daughter's room and we used a Benjamin Moore - Ballet white. You can purchase the small cans of samples for about $5 each.
 

kenny

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Messages
33,220
Almost 20 years ago I bought this house with white walls.
Works fine.

What kind of white?
I don't know, don't care.
 

stracci2000

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
8,344
My house has walls with adobe-style texture.
All walls are painted satin white.
Sure makes decorating easier, and brightens up all the rooms.
 

MissGotRocks

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 23, 2005
Messages
16,266
I would suggest that you stay with your original thought of a creamier wall with white woodwork. The contrast is lovely and you don't get that monochromatic look to everything. I will second another poster on shades of white and undertones. That is a real thing and if you don't like pink, blue, lilac or orange undertones be very selective with your paint and always paint a swatch on the wall to double check. White walls give you many options for decorating but they will show flaws. If much of your wall space is eaten up with furniture, draperies or wall art the problem is not as bad.
 

marcy

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 27, 2007
Messages
26,273
Our last house had all white walls and ceilings and I loved it. I think it was called eggshell; it was a matte soft white.

Our current house has cream color walls with white trim. It's okay but I think I preferred white.
 

dk168

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 7, 2013
Messages
12,492
Always have white everything, walls, ceilings, skirting boards, stairs, etc., for all the properties that I lived in that are not rented.

For my current house, my late partner painted the interior, and in the kitchen, he painted a patch on the ceiling with a different finish, thinking all "brilliant white" paints were the same, DOH! Quite endearing everytime I see that patch, as it brings back happy memories.

DK :))
 

cflutist

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 12, 2004
Messages
4,052
My ceiling is SW Alabaster while my walls are Kelly Moore Acoustic White, and Navajo White (very light beige) in the LR/DR.

Alabaster is the "whitest" of the bunch.
 

arkieb1

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 11, 2012
Messages
9,786
About 8 years ago I got a really stark white and got the paint place to custom mix a very slight hint of blue into it, it created a colour that looked white to the human eye but also appeared crisp and fresh without people knowing exactly why. I also have a mid blue feature wall that works with the white.

I just started painting downstairs again about a month ago and no-one could colour match the colour, so this time I repainted it a very light blue grey colour which is also fresh looking.

Both colours were crisp and clean looking but relaxing without being stark or difficult to maintain...
 

BeekeeperBetty

Shiny_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 15, 2015
Messages
272
I prefer cool whites, personally.

Our current house is all white. I have no idea what color they chose. Unfortunately, we have solid wood ceilings throughout, and they painted those white as well. And covered up the hardwood floors with white tile (and ruined them), and painted the solid wood cabinets white. Every single surface in this house, even the countertops, are white. It's white overload, so we're adding in some color. But I do like white, in general. It really brightens things up and makes the rooms feel more open.

It sounds like your previous owners were very colorful people.
 

ksinger

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 30, 2008
Messages
5,083
My living room walls are Benjamin White Sand - OC-10, a creamy...lightest tan/sand color. It provides a bit of color while not being the least bit darkening to the room. But the kicker is the color of all my trim and doors in the house, Benjamin Moore Cloud White - OC-130 - in a semi-gloss. I adore this white. It is not a cool white, it has a touch of warm, but only a touch. It is a gorgeous luminous white that picks up the light beautifully. I have found the only white I will ever truly love, and Cloud White is it.
 

librarychickie

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jan 25, 2008
Messages
452
We used Sherwin Williams "Pure White" in our home. It has some black in it, which makes it a nice, soft non-bright white. It's neither warm or cool. We love it.
 

packrat

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Dec 12, 2008
Messages
10,614
We painted our entire interior, save one room which we did a pale blue, white, when we first got married. I was SO unhappy I thought I might pull my hair out. Every room looked so dingy and blah. The only time I felt at peace was in the computer room-the pale blue room--tho compared to the other rooms it was holy crap blue. I went out and just got whatever for colors, repainted and then was still unhappy w/two of the rooms-spent some time thinking about what I *wanted* in those rooms, and now I've been happy as a lark w/the colors I chose after that.

You need a lot of light in rooms that are white, and need to be careful of undertones in not only the paint but in your furnishings and fixed elements as well. I think Maria Killam is wonderful w/her whites/off whites/creams/undertones etc. I have one of her ebooks. http://www.mariakillam.com/category/white/
 

TooPatient

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 1, 2009
Messages
10,295
I have seen white done well and it looks great. I have also seen it done without the careful planning...

One house we were in when I was younger had all white walls/ceilings (except the bright yellow kitchen :knockout: ). It showed EVERY speck of dirt and blemish that came by. It also sort of reflected the color of furniture and carpets so just always looked a bit off.

My grandmother did beautiful white walls, white carpets, and white leather couches. It was stunning in her home with dark woods, high vaulted ceiling, huge windows, and great lamps/paintings/etc.

Also be careful because the colors you describe are prone to show through white paints. Even if you don't quite see them, they can tint things terribly.
 

Lady_Disdain

Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
Jul 25, 2008
Messages
3,988
I love white walls and, fortunately, they are the standard around here. With bright tropical light, coloured walls can get overwhelming very, very fast.

My current apartment has very, very light cream walls and white trim and ceiling. It looks ok but I would prefer all white.
 

ame

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jul 7, 2004
Messages
10,869
Our house was all white when we moved in, with the dark wood original hardwood trim. We have like two rooms painted and the rest are still white. I basically wanted to kill myself after painting the living room and that was the end of painting for me.
 

House Cat

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Messages
4,602
The people who lived here were very colorful. I think the reason the colors in my house are so terrible is because they had no concept of undertones. I actually suspect some colorblindness because the previous owner stated that my living room is gray and it is clearly denim blue.

I think that they meant for the kitchen to be red and it is hot raspberry pink. I also think the pale lemon yellow was to be cream and finally the flesh bathroom was probably meant to be a beige tone of some kind. Because they knew nothing of undertones, all of these colors are disastrous.

I am really sensitive to undertones. It is strange to think that white would be such a big painting decision. I have one room that is darker than the rest, maybe I will paint my samples there?

This is the look I am going for when I say that I want the woodwork and walls the same beautiful white:
9592a4d4e39f2d14928a08a90ed4c672.jpg
 

House Cat

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Messages
4,602
packrat|1459051566|4011565 said:
We painted our entire interior, save one room which we did a pale blue, white, when we first got married. I was SO unhappy I thought I might pull my hair out. Every room looked so dingy and blah. The only time I felt at peace was in the computer room-the pale blue room--tho compared to the other rooms it was holy crap blue. I went out and just got whatever for colors, repainted and then was still unhappy w/two of the rooms-spent some time thinking about what I *wanted* in those rooms, and now I've been happy as a lark w/the colors I chose after that.

You need a lot of light in rooms that are white, and need to be careful of undertones in not only the paint but in your furnishings and fixed elements as well. I think Maria Killam is wonderful w/her whites/off whites/creams/undertones etc. I have one of her ebooks. http://www.mariakillam.com/category/white/
This blog has some good advice. She says that BM Simply White us her favorite, which is what I just posted. I think I will grab a sample. Thanks for this!
 

House Cat

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Messages
4,602
dk168|1459036484|4011499 said:
Always have white everything, walls, ceilings, skirting boards, stairs, etc., for all the properties that I lived in that are not rented.

For my current house, my late partner painted the interior, and in the kitchen, he painted a patch on the ceiling with a different finish, thinking all "brilliant white" paints were the same, DOH! Quite endearing everytime I see that patch, as it brings back happy memories.

DK :))
Oh DK, that is so sweet. I would leave that patch forever.

I am sorry for your loss.
 

azstonie

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
3,769
Other than the master suite,my house interior is white---I have art hanging on the walls in each room and I believe white is best. Swiss Coffee.

My master suite is 3 tones of purple: Light, medium, and dark.
 

ksinger

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 30, 2008
Messages
5,083
House Cat|1459093961|4011692 said:
The people who lived here were very colorful. I think the reason the colors in my house are so terrible is because they had no concept of undertones. I actually suspect some colorblindness because the previous owner stated that my living room is gray and it is clearly denim blue.

I think that they meant for the kitchen to be red and it is hot raspberry pink. I also think the pale lemon yellow was to be cream and finally the flesh bathroom was probably meant to be a beige tone of some kind. Because they knew nothing of undertones, all of these colors are disastrous.

I am really sensitive to undertones. It is strange to think that white would be such a big painting decision. I have one room that is darker than the rest, maybe I will paint my samples there?

This is the look I am going for when I say that I want the woodwork and walls the same beautiful white:
9592a4d4e39f2d14928a08a90ed4c672.jpg

Simply White is beautiful!

I just looked my favorite Cloud White up on the BM site Color Gallery, and it is OC-130, AND Cloud White 967. Identical colors, different numbers. (Paint company numbers are weird) And 967 is one of the colors on the strip of "Similar Colors" when I look up your favorite, Simply White. You and I have a similar idea of "white", I see. :)

I confess I was a huge fan of Candace Olson's design show. I thought her color sense was amazing and the colors she picked were always gorgeous. She partnered with BM at one point - she has her own palette of favorite and often-used colors on their site, and Cloud White is one of them. That's how I found my white.

Just for the record, I've keep a little book of every paint color I've used in every room of my house since I bought the house, 18 years ago. I have all my old chips and so can have any paint I need, made to match.
 

blingmyring

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Apr 9, 2009
Messages
209
I LOVE white walls !!! I've lived in 4 different 'white' homes in the last 20 years. For our current home I used Benjamin Moore OC118 Snowfall White - it was a toss-up between Snowfall White and Simply White. I bought some white bristol board at the dollar store and painted one in each color. Snowfall White won out because it looked 'warmer' in my home. Our kitchen cabinet maker also used Snowflall White on our cabinets. All my ceilings are painted 'flat', walls are 'washable flat', and trim is 'Pearl' finish.
 

PintoBean

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 27, 2011
Messages
6,589
The last place we lived in was white washed after renovations and we kept the walls white. Only the bathrooms were different - one was more green tinged white, and the other was more pinky/peachy white to match the tiles DH selected. We hung up a couple paintings I got off overstock in spots that were too white :lol: . For the most part, the bookshelves we had around really took up a lot of the white space.

In the current house, it was white washed before we moved in. I wanted color and used pinterest to find the most versatile and popular of the paint colors I wanted. If that color works well in a variety of homes with different lighting sources, it would definitely work in my place! Pinterest might point you to the best white!
 

jordyonbass

Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
Dec 6, 2014
Messages
2,117
There's many shades of white, don't go with anything too bright. My grandmother did and when I first walked into the house I actually felt blinded and couldn't see properly.
 

kenny

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Messages
33,220
I thought we couldn't discuss race on PS. :confused:
 

asscher_girl

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 29, 2006
Messages
1,155
I love a neutral palette in my home, white, grey and taupe are so calming.

Some of my favorite white paints:
BM Swiss Coffee
BM White Dove
Restoration Hardware Right White

And for a grey'ish tone, my fav is BM Revere Pewter. It takes on different looks depending on the lighting throughout the day. Sometimes a little cooler and other times a warmer tone.
 

Elizabeth35

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Sep 24, 2011
Messages
754
I think white can be very striking, and especially can make artwork the star of the space.
My interior designer always paints a foam board in the potential color and that way we can move it to different areas to see how it looks in daylight, incandescent, overcast, etc. Can also place the board next to furniture/artwork, woodwork, cabinets to see how the undertones work. We do this when selecting colors and have successfully avoided that horrible feeling of painting a room and then having to reprint because it doesn't look right.
Once consideration would probably be the color of your flooring material---wouldn't want the undertones to fight.
I have found some good color discussions, with photos, on gardenweb forum.
Have fun!
 

House Cat

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Messages
4,602
ksinger|1459125176|4011883 said:
House Cat|1459093961|4011692 said:
The people who lived here were very colorful. I think the reason the colors in my house are so terrible is because they had no concept of undertones. I actually suspect some colorblindness because the previous owner stated that my living room is gray and it is clearly denim blue.

I think that they meant for the kitchen to be red and it is hot raspberry pink. I also think the pale lemon yellow was to be cream and finally the flesh bathroom was probably meant to be a beige tone of some kind. Because they knew nothing of undertones, all of these colors are disastrous.

I am really sensitive to undertones. It is strange to think that white would be such a big painting decision. I have one room that is darker than the rest, maybe I will paint my samples there?

This is the look I am going for when I say that I want the woodwork and walls the same beautiful white:
9592a4d4e39f2d14928a08a90ed4c672.jpg

Simply White is beautiful!

I just looked my favorite Cloud White up on the BM site Color Gallery, and it is OC-130, AND Cloud White 967. Identical colors, different numbers. (Paint company numbers are weird) And 967 is one of the colors on the strip of "Similar Colors" when I look up your favorite, Simply White. You and I have a similar idea of "white", I see. :)

I confess I was a huge fan of Candace Olson's design show. I thought her color sense was amazing and the colors she picked were always gorgeous. She partnered with BM at one point - she has her own palette of favorite and often-used colors on their site, and Cloud White is one of them. That's how I found my white.

Just for the record, I've keep a little book of every paint color I've used in every room of my house since I bought the house, 18 years ago. I have all my old chips and so can have any paint I need, made to match.
Ok, wait, am I reading you right? Cloud white and Simply white are the same color?

You are right, we do have similar tastes in white. I loved Cloud White too!! But I am laughing at myself if I brought two swatches of the same color (with different names) home! :lol:

That is a great idea to keep chips in a little book. I'm not a fan of having to paint entire rooms due to mismatched paint.
 

House Cat

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Messages
4,602
blingmyring|1459130278|4011910 said:
I LOVE white walls !!! I've lived in 4 different 'white' homes in the last 20 years. For our current home I used Benjamin Moore OC118 Snowfall White - it was a toss-up between Snowfall White and Simply White. I bought some white bristol board at the dollar store and painted one in each color. Snowfall White won out because it looked 'warmer' in my home. Our kitchen cabinet maker also used Snowflall White on our cabinets. All my ceilings are painted 'flat', walls are 'washable flat', and trim is 'Pearl' finish.
Painting my samples on bristol board is a great idea because the pale lemon yellow room will definitely skew the feel of these colors otherwise. I have been struggling on how to avoid this problem. This is the perfect solution. I can also move the samples around from room to room.

Thanks!!

Why did you choose a flat for your walls as opposed to an eggshell? Are there benefits or was it just a matter of taste?
 

ksinger

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 30, 2008
Messages
5,083
House Cat|1459193187|4012139 said:
Ok, wait, am I reading you right? Cloud white and Simply white are the same color?

You are right, we do have similar tastes in white. I loved Cloud White too!! But I am laughing at myself if I brought two swatches of the same color (with different names) home! :lol:

That is a great idea to keep chips in a little book. I'm not a fan of having to paint entire rooms due to mismatched paint.

LOL! No, they aren't the same color, but they are very close. Simply White is a bit brighter, but looks like it has the same undertone. Actually it is Cloud White has that has same name, 2 numbers.

So confusing.

The important part is we have FABULOUS taste in whites, dahling! :)

**edited to fix utterly messed up quotes....sheesh.
 
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top