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As I often tell home decorating clients, a new coat of paint can work wonders. In the interests of maintaining as much light and neutrality as possible, often the paint job will involve more than a little white.
However, as you will quickly realize if you walk into the paint department at any home store, there are a LOT of shades of white to choose from. And which one you opt for can make a difference that is bigger than you might ever imagine.
So just how should you make the right choice? A lot will depend on the natural light you have to work with as well as the ambience you want to create. One of the biggest goals of home decorating is to create a space that is alive and welcoming, one that you and your family will enjoy living in, and can reflect your personal style.
With all of this in mind, let’s take a look at some things, room by room, to keep in mind as you navigate your way through those aisles and aisles of paint chips.
In the Living Room
If there is good natural daylight: To create a lively, welcoming, family-friendly vibe, choose a cool white with a hint of orange or gold. If you want to evoke a more relaxing ambience, then add a hint of calming green, such as sage.
If there is poor natural daylight: Warm shades of yellow and gold compensate for cool light. So in the interests of making your living room feel cozy and welcoming, try using honey white or primrose white.
In the Bedroom
If there is good natural daylight: Calm greens and blues are perfect for encouraging a good night’s sleep. If this is the feeling you want to impart, choose a white with a hint of teal or moss. But for a revitalizing lift to indicate that getting out of bed in the morning will be an invigorating pleasure, opt for a white with a touch of gold, such as light caramel.
If there is poor natural light: Warm mauve and delicate lilacs are wonderful relaxing colors. To create a tranquil bedroom, choose a hue like violet white or blueberry white. But if you’d prefer a warm, sunny look throughout the day, then pick a white with tones of cream and peach.
In the Bathroom
If there is good natural daylight: To make the most of a small space, it’s best to choose a cool white such as pearl or almond. Or for an understated, contemporary look, pick one with a touch of green or blue, such as robin’s egg blue.
If there is poor natural daylight: If you want your room to appear larger, then choose a white that tends towards a warm blue, perhaps with a hint of purple.
In the Kitchen
To create a calming effect in a busy family kitchen, it’s best to use a white with a touch of fresh pastel green or blue. But to soothe a stressed cook, add a hint of a chalky green, such as olive, to your white. If you have a contemporary kitchen and want a modern, calm look, try adding a touch of amethyst to your white.
Wonderful Whites I Love
Just need a good white? Some spaces really do call for that simplicity. However, again, it’s not easy to make the right choice. Even ‘standard’ white comes in so many shades!
To help, I’ve assembled this little cheat sheet featuring some of my favorite shades of ‘decorating white’.
Du Jour
Valspar’s Du Jour is a very classic white that boasts just a hint of gray. The shade works well in any room and pairs nicely with other neutrals, pastels, or even brighter colors.
White Dove
Benjamin Moore’s White Dove is one of the company’s bestselling whites, and it’s not hard to see why. Some whites are too bright for many rooms – especially those that already receive plenty of natural daylight – but this shade is just cool enough, as it has a hint of gray that softens it. It also does not yellow when it dries, something that some white shades do.
Swiss Coffee
Another offering from Valspar, this white is an excellent choice for large bedrooms or living rooms that need to feel more welcoming. It has a nice warmth that will help achieve that easily, and it pairs very well with the pastel shades that many homeowners have chosen for their bedrooms.
Wimborne White
Farrow and Ball is an English company, and this paint is named after the town in the south of England the company is based in. The town is known for being a bright, sunny tourist haven in the summer and the tiny amount of yellow in this shade of white reflects that. This shade is excellent for adding light and warmth to darker spaces and has a nice warmth that can soften a very angular, contemporary look perfectly.
Delicate White
Delicate White by Olympic is one of the best choices you can make if you need to touch up trim, windowsills or other similar details. It’s cool and creamy without being too stark and it will complement almost any color it is used alongside.
White Paint Selection Tips
Whatever white shades catch your eye, testing them out at home before you buy them is a must. As I mentioned earlier, the undertones in any white shade tend to become more prominent once applied, so the shade you see on the paint chip might turn out very differently. The good news is that most paint stores do offer those tiny sampler paints. Make sure you paint an area of two to three feet square though, to get a proper feel for the way the color would look if it was the option you eventually chose.
Need help decorating your home to match your personal style? Just Organized by Taya not only organizes all kinds of spaces, we also indulge our love of – and expertise in – home decorating to make newly organized spaces even more beautiful. Book a free 15-minute Zoom call here, so we can discuss how we can help you.
Working with Taya and her team is easy. You can book an appointment easily on her website, or contact her directly at 832-271-7608
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