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maxmillion_gw

White paint help

maxmillion_gw
9 years ago

We want to paint all of our interior walls white, and we have a lot of white elements all over the house. (We love white.) Would it be strange to paint different rooms different whites, depending on what white elements are in those rooms?

Everything I've read about selecting white paint is about using undertones to convey a mood, nothing about matching existing elements. Am I thinking about this the wrong way? We do not have baseboards or ceiling trim to paint a coordinating white, the doors and jambs are walnut, and the ceilings are a light stained redwood. Other elements and furniture are white, wood, or pale gray with pops of bright colors.

For example, the bathrooms have white quartz countertops, polished white floor tile, and matte white wall tiles. They are slightly different from each other. Should I paint the walls a white that matches the wall tile, so that the vertical surfaces are the same color?

Not exactly our bathroom wall tile, but similar:

Cambria White Cliff countertops - they are not as cool as in this photo:

Bathroom floor tile (they are using it on the wall here, we are using 17x17):

The kitchen has a lot of white backpainted glass (cabs, backsplash, ovens) which lean cooler than the bathroom due to the iron content in the glass. The countertops are the same as in the bathroom. Should I paint the kitchen and adjacent open living room / dining room with a white that goes better with the kitchen cabinets instead of using the same one as the bathroom?

Kitchen cabinets:

Ovens:

What about the bedrooms and hallway? Should they have their own white or match the bathrooms (warmer) or the kitchen (cooler)? There is a mixture of white and wood furniture, all white sheets, and this fixed white shelving:

I guess the question boils down to: Should I pick one white to rule them all, or choose different whites for different rooms to match the permanent white elements already chosen such as wall tile, cabinets, or fixed shelves.

Comments (13)

  • PRO
    Lori A. Sawaya
    9 years ago

    Choose different whites for different rooms to match the permanent white elements already in place.

    I don't do the undertone thing. Colors in the off-white and white classifications are indeed colors - it's just their levels of chroma are low and levels of value are high.

    Low chroma and high value are what makes them look like white.

    But they're not "true" white. They're colors and they belong to hue families.

    I just wrote a post about white Friday that speaks to some of the things you're asking about.

    Here is a link that might be useful: How To Find the Whitest White

  • PRO
    BeverlyFLADeziner
    9 years ago

    Knowing that any color white appears different based on light through windows at different times of the day and times of the year, along with types of artificial lights used, I would attempt to minimize the number of white paints used through the home or you'll drive yourself crazy.

    Maybe this link will help you narrow your choices.

    Here is a link that might be useful: 11 Designers on the Perfect White Paint

  • maxmillion_gw
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    The more I read about it, the more confused I get with such conflicting opinions! Does anybody else want to weigh in?

    I know I can't avoid a mixture of whites. In the bathroom alone, the bathtub, toilet, sink, floor tile, wall tile, and countertop are each from different manufacturers and are sure to have variations. Given these options, what would you do:

    1. Aim for a white that is the most neutral within the range of whites I have. Use 1 white for the whole house.
    2. Same as #1, but go by room.
    3. Try to match wall paint with the other vertical surfaces, i.e. wall tile in bathrooms, cabinets / backsplash in kitchen.
    4. Choose white paint based on intended "mood" and assume the other whites will blend in with that.
    5. Something else.

    If you have an all-white or mostly-white kitchen or bathroom, how did you choose a white paint?

    I think I want to avoid this, but maybe it would look okay in the context of a whole room with a lot of different whites:

    The different whites here are okay except the sink sticks out to me as so much cooler than everything else.

    [Modern Bathroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~s_2105)

  • Dallas Arts Salon
    9 years ago

    We just painted our home in Pratt & Lambert Seed Pearl (we have SW color match). I agonized over 900 shades of white and after much sampling this was the one we found had a touch of warmth without any blue, yellow or mauve undertones. Bright white but not clinical. We bought an older home that had a different color in every room with 8 foot ceilings and wanted a blank slate. We are pleased with the results.

  • voila
    9 years ago

    Good advice from above. Funcolors has taught us all so much about paint colors, just take time and listen. Beverly27's list of designer's favorite whites is actually very useful, especially in reading their reason for choosing their favorite. If you look at your inspiration pictures, some of the most appealing to me, have a little depth and contrast to the walls. I think the trouble with trying to match white walls to appliances, tile and bathroom fixtures, is that you should probably book your room first in the ...oh, never mind. You are painting on walls with different light reflectivity than the other surfaces. That's why Carrera marble looks nice with white. It has that grey for depth, instead of matching. Another problem that I have seen, is using bright white paint next to white tile, and finding that now the tile doesn't look very white anymore. If you give yourself some latitude and simply pick colors with "some" contrast , whether gray or greige, all your whites will look white and your walls will be neutral. If your pale neutral works in all or most of your rooms it will save you a lot of stress. Hope that helps.

  • maxmillion_gw
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Ok, I've read a lot more of funcolors's blog (very informative!) and think I understand white better. I'm still not sure how chroma is different from saturation, but they seem similar?

    Voila - I like the idea of a pale neutral. How pale do you think that can go to still contrast? Is it possible to go pale enough to have some contrast but still have the walls read as white?

    Beverly - Thanks so much for your thoughts. Unfortunately, the tub got changed due to an unexpectedly long lead time on our original choice. I looked at the sink again today, and it is so blue! Honestly, I hadn't thought much of matching whites until paint selection came up. Most of the whites don't touch each other... just the wall! I have read about how difficult it is to choose a white paint, so maybe I am overthinking it.

    I was hoping there might be a rule for choosing white paint when there are existing white elements. If I mapped out the chroma, value and hue of each element I have, where should paint fall? Should it be the average of all the others? Should it have lower chroma and value? Match hue to closest elements? Should it be distinctly different? I can see reasons for each, but I have reached decision fatigue!

    I spent quite a bit of time at a paint showroom, viewing large paint swatches next to my other samples. Some of them looked decidedly off, but I have 12 whites in my "maybe" pile. My head is spinning. Hopefully one of them will sing to me when I view the swatches on site.

  • PRO
    Lori A. Sawaya
    9 years ago

    Chroma and saturation are the same thing for all intents and purposes. Colormetrically they can be differentiated but in a general sense it's not necessary to do that.

    Maxmillion, I have to say you certainly have described a range of white color conundrums with quite a lot of detail. With all the pictures and comparisons and examples I thought I was on someone's color blog there for a minute! :)

    I have to admit I'm not sure what your question is any more, lol.

    What exactly do you need help with? Is it a new bathroom you're putting together, an existing bathroom, or something else?

    Can you post pictures of your actual project? Your space(s). The products you have to work with that can't be changed, etc. That would really help us help you find a solution.

    The good news is all of the pictures posted so far are examples that may not even apply to your situation - maybe you are overthinking this.

    This post was edited by funcolors on Wed, Oct 22, 14 at 13:27

  • maxmillion_gw
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    funcolors - That is a good question. What is my question now?! Lol.

    My goal is to have a very modern white color palette. I love art galleries and rooms that others would describe as "sterile". We are in the midst of an extensive whole house remodel down to the studs. I would show photos of the space but honestly do not know how helpful they would be in their current state.

    I need help picking a white (or two or three?) that will help me with my intended goal, but I also have to work around all the other elements that are already chosen and ordered. I'm worried that if I go super bright white with the paint, all the other elements will look dirty. On the other hand, if I go creamier or grayer to bring out the whiteness of the existing elements, then the walls won't be art gallery white. What will give me the crisper, modern look that I want?

    I showed the paint samples to my husband, and he likes Kelly Moore Swiss Coffee. I agree that it looks good with our swatches, but the color itself reads as creamy grey to me.

    The pictures in my original post were to show actual elements we have in our house, except those are the manufacturer's photos which I know do not show true color at all. Interestingly the wall shelving looks very white in their photo as well as in the store, but it is the creamiest element I am working around.

    Here are some photos I took of some of the bathroom elements. In real life I felt the sink looked much bluer than everything else.

  • maxmillion_gw
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Sorry, I don't know how to upload more than one photo. Here are the bathroom swatches next to Swiss Coffee. As you can see, they are really close.

  • maxmillion_gw
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    And this is Swiss coffee next to the kitchen counter (same as bathroom counter) and kitchen cabinet swatches. I couldn't take these from the showroom, unfortunately.

  • maxmillion_gw
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    So Swiss Coffee looks pretty good to me with the other elements. But it is a really a creamy grey. I'm worried I won't get the sterile art gallery look, but DH says I am overthinking it and that it will read as white. Will it??

  • PRO
    Lori A. Sawaya
    9 years ago

    Just FYI Kelly Moore Swiss Coffee's color notation is 3.9Y / 9.3 / 0.5

    Without being able to test it in the space, it's hard to say if it will read white or not.

    Another idea is to emphasize your desire for a sterile, gallery look. Use the structure, the house, to create a stark white envelope. By doing so everything that's in that envelope is 'given permission' to not match in terms of whiteness.

    To achieve this, all you need to do is be consistent with the white on every part of the envelope that is the house. It's called color hierarchy; only the envelope can be the stark white.

    The color I would seriously consider to create that stark white envelope would be an Ellen Kennon color called White Opal. It's a full spectrum white and I think the full spectrum aspect would also be key in creating a consistent envelope that could successfully 'contain' a range of whites from different hue families.