Interior Design
Is White Right for Your Walls?
Sometimes white may not be right so before you choose white on autocue, consider these 5 things
There are few better ways to bring a fresh start to a home’s interior than by painting it white. This clean-slate strategy is often used immediately upon the purchase of a new home. I’ve known clients who prime the walls white even before the boxes arrive on move-in day.
But the same white paint that makes one room seem magical can make another look frighteningly chilly. As with all colours, white has an associated temperature, mood, light reflectivity and style, along with maintenance requirements and history. Ignore these elements, and your seemingly fresh, crisp white paint can make your space feel completely off. But worry not. Oftentimes, all it takes is just a little addition of another colour to warm things up or tone them down. Here’s what to consider before you paint your walls white.
But the same white paint that makes one room seem magical can make another look frighteningly chilly. As with all colours, white has an associated temperature, mood, light reflectivity and style, along with maintenance requirements and history. Ignore these elements, and your seemingly fresh, crisp white paint can make your space feel completely off. But worry not. Oftentimes, all it takes is just a little addition of another colour to warm things up or tone them down. Here’s what to consider before you paint your walls white.
Rooms that do not benefit from sunlight streaming in each day are good candidates for an off-white that has tints of red, yellow or orange. Warm colour pigments replicate the heat aspect of sunshine and will increase blood pressure, the level of activity and the positive vibe you want with company. Neuroscience, using MRIs, has documented the physiological effects of colour and supported what artists have long held to be true about the power of warm colours to make us feel the heat.
Observe which the side of your home faces the sun at and at what part of the day. White walls are a good choice to cool rooms that received the afternoon sun and the paint can be adjusted with pigmenting options that will address glare. For example, grey softens the reflective quality of white and will help ‘quiet’ the space if there are large windows inundating the living room with strong light.
Know that one colour option could not possibly control all light situations. But if you take a look at your use, you will find that there are times of day when your rooms get the most wear.
Decide to use the walls to either radiate or dampen what comes in naturally by adding the conditioning element of colour.
How to test paint colours
Know that one colour option could not possibly control all light situations. But if you take a look at your use, you will find that there are times of day when your rooms get the most wear.
Decide to use the walls to either radiate or dampen what comes in naturally by adding the conditioning element of colour.
How to test paint colours
If you have already decided to paint your walls white and your home has a breathtaking view, consider painting the trim to match. Eliminating the delineation between the walls and woodwork with white paint will allow the landscape to remain frameless, expanding the view’s presence in your home. This strategy (painting both walls and trim the same), used to drop out the architecture obstructing the view, can be used with any colour, but it is most effective with white because of its reflectivity.
13 designs that show white done right
13 designs that show white done right
2. Reconsider the gallery look
There’s a reason galleries paint their walls and skirting the same bright, white paint colour: It drops out the architectural details and focuses attention on the artwork. The same method works for homes, too.
But if your home does not have a noteworthy collection of art or a breathtaking view, white can be stark and uncomfortable as a backdrop to family randomness and clutter. White tends to show imperfections, marks and disorder. If your family is as freewheeling as mine, you may not want to point arrows at this fact. That’s why galleries paint after taking down a show. And young families often choose to postpone the pristine white that they wish for and instead embrace khaki, which hides a multitude of bumps and bangs.
There’s a reason galleries paint their walls and skirting the same bright, white paint colour: It drops out the architectural details and focuses attention on the artwork. The same method works for homes, too.
But if your home does not have a noteworthy collection of art or a breathtaking view, white can be stark and uncomfortable as a backdrop to family randomness and clutter. White tends to show imperfections, marks and disorder. If your family is as freewheeling as mine, you may not want to point arrows at this fact. That’s why galleries paint after taking down a show. And young families often choose to postpone the pristine white that they wish for and instead embrace khaki, which hides a multitude of bumps and bangs.
3. Use white to expand space
Rooms painted white appear larger due to the amplification of light. Shadows and edges also diminish in white spaces. When creating a palette for your home, try to keep in mind that cool white drops back in space and can be used to enlarge and open your smaller spaces.
But remember that spatial perceptions and human habits of navigation are improved when successive rooms on one floor unfold with subtle shifts in hue, not sharp contrasts. For example, using a white that deepens in colour as the rooms get larger can diminish the size variation from one room to the next.
Find a white that you like on the paint company’s fan deck that you are using. This colour can be painted on the walls of the smallest room. Then use the next darker value of colour on the next largest room. Use the value (darkness or lightness of colour) to enlarge or reduce the overall size of each space. Your guests will not be aware of the change from room to room, but will compliment you on the calm and comfortable home that you have created.
Rooms painted white appear larger due to the amplification of light. Shadows and edges also diminish in white spaces. When creating a palette for your home, try to keep in mind that cool white drops back in space and can be used to enlarge and open your smaller spaces.
But remember that spatial perceptions and human habits of navigation are improved when successive rooms on one floor unfold with subtle shifts in hue, not sharp contrasts. For example, using a white that deepens in colour as the rooms get larger can diminish the size variation from one room to the next.
Find a white that you like on the paint company’s fan deck that you are using. This colour can be painted on the walls of the smallest room. Then use the next darker value of colour on the next largest room. Use the value (darkness or lightness of colour) to enlarge or reduce the overall size of each space. Your guests will not be aware of the change from room to room, but will compliment you on the calm and comfortable home that you have created.
4. Add texture to white to avoid that sterile look
There isn’t a bathroom or kitchen that wouldn’t look cleaner with white as the colour for walls, countertops, cabinets or fixtures. Culturally we associate white with cleanliness. White’s crisp look is important to employ when you are readying a house for sale and want to make the best impression.
Whitewashing a room can have some drawbacks, however. By reducing the elements of the bathroom’s design to a single colour, you can make this utilitarian space with hard surfaces appear sterile, even boring. Often just the simple addition of a textured wall surface can bring enough interest to the reduced palette to save the day.
10 other ways to add interest to a white bathroom
There isn’t a bathroom or kitchen that wouldn’t look cleaner with white as the colour for walls, countertops, cabinets or fixtures. Culturally we associate white with cleanliness. White’s crisp look is important to employ when you are readying a house for sale and want to make the best impression.
Whitewashing a room can have some drawbacks, however. By reducing the elements of the bathroom’s design to a single colour, you can make this utilitarian space with hard surfaces appear sterile, even boring. Often just the simple addition of a textured wall surface can bring enough interest to the reduced palette to save the day.
10 other ways to add interest to a white bathroom
5. The wardrobe don’t need to match the room’s walls
Most wardrobes lack windows. Plus, the lighting in closets is usually an afterthought. This creates, to put it mildly, a poorly lit and poor viewing space – not ideal for when you’re trying to pick out that outfit for an important work meeting.
The best way to treat wardrobe interiors is to paint all surfaces with light-reflective white for maximum visibility.
As in a gallery, white highlights the distinctive colours that it surrounds. This will allow you to sort out the colour combinations that you want to have harmonious for a well-dressed day.
If you have a bold wall colour in your bedroom, don’t feel the need to automatically make your closet interior match. Instead, tint white paint with a percentage of your bedroom wall colour.
Most wardrobes lack windows. Plus, the lighting in closets is usually an afterthought. This creates, to put it mildly, a poorly lit and poor viewing space – not ideal for when you’re trying to pick out that outfit for an important work meeting.
The best way to treat wardrobe interiors is to paint all surfaces with light-reflective white for maximum visibility.
As in a gallery, white highlights the distinctive colours that it surrounds. This will allow you to sort out the colour combinations that you want to have harmonious for a well-dressed day.
If you have a bold wall colour in your bedroom, don’t feel the need to automatically make your closet interior match. Instead, tint white paint with a percentage of your bedroom wall colour.
White is simple and sophisticated. Its crisp appearance satisfies our craving for a new paint job and a new look. Painting a room or a series of rooms with this cool, calm colour is like taking the leap of faith required for a shorter haircut – new do, new you. Be adventuresome and consider the white option for your home’s design by looking at the site, considering the light and space, and making a sure-footed jump to a clean-cut, chic new interior.
TELL US
Do you have a favourite white? Or any tips for selecting white paint? Let us know in the Comments section.
TELL US
Do you have a favourite white? Or any tips for selecting white paint? Let us know in the Comments section.
Before painting a room white, identify its orientation. Rooms that face away from the noonday sun receive grey-blue light, which is great for a bedroom or home office where you want constancy. A clear white paint will optimise the light of these spaces while keeping things cool.