IMO if people who aren't living in the house and/or aren't paying the rent/mortgage don't like what you have found makes you the happiest, they can cram it where the sun don't shine. ;-)

The PO of our house painted the walls white and the trim a deep cream color. It's not to my personal taste - I've become a shameless color junkie, although I started out adamant that walls must be white/off-white and color added through the "stuff" in the room - but it's garnered positive comments from other people. (I don't stress about changing colors to reflect trends because I don't follow trends. :-)) I think some of my friends would be very content with white walls if it weren't for the fact that not-white walls tend not to show dirt and scuffs as much! LOL I am very stubborn about my white ceilings, though. I just do not like colored ceilings (although I do make exceptions for tin ceilings and certain wallpapers). But I wouldn't tell someone that their colored ceiling was horrible, that's just mean.

I think a whole lot of people paint their walls white :)

I had some friends flabbergasted that I painted my upstairs white as I have always used deep, rich colors all over my house downstairs. I like the change is gives from rich and warm downstairs to bright and airy upstairs. I just look at them, smile and say: "you know, WHITE is a color..."

My mom has all white walls. She has fabulous early American antiques and they are the focus of the house. I think white walls can be lovely. I just happen to like colors too and I don't have a great art collection or fabulous antiques to show off.

And I've seen some white rooms in magazines lately, I actually wondered if they were more "in style" right now than colors. (Mandatory disclaimer: Of course it doesn't matter if it is "in style" and everyone should do what they like. But I still think it is interesting to see what is current/trendy.)

Catherine

A friend just painted her walls Lancaster Whitewash and they look fabulous.

If that's what you want, then there shouldn't be a problem. I second what johnmari said about "where the sun don't shine"!!!

Actually, white isn't a color. LOL Taken from Wikipedia:

"White is technically achromatic, and not a color, since it has no hue".

Just teasing - resume the discussion. :-)

I think light walls are being shown more than they used to in decorating magazines. Sometimes I like them, sometimes I look at a picture and think the room needs some color to liven it up. I have had dark warm colors on my walls for a very long time. The reds and golds and sages alot of people are using are 'over' for me. I've had those colors on my walls for 10 years. I find I'm going back to the lighter colors now, I love SW Muslin. My eyes are tired of the heavier colors. People come into our house, having known us to have lots of color on the walls, and do a double take. It's as if they can't quite adapt to the idea that yes, you could LOVE lots of color but you could also decide that hardly any color is great too! It's funny how surprised they were, as in 'I didn't think you were a white walls person,' like it signifies a totally different personality or something!

Yeah, quote one part of the passage to prove your point!
:) :) :) :)

Back to the topic under discussion:
I think what Judithn said is probably true for me. My burgundy went up years ago and I have been tempted to change it at times. That is probably why white was so appealing to me for the upstairs.

I am also getting tired of seeing things in various shades of sage. Okay, so we all know the taupe to chocolates are all the rage now, anyone want to predict the next color??????

The house that I built in 1990 was pure white -- ceilings, walls, tiles, cabinets, counters. I didn't start putting up color until after 10 years of living there. I could still go back to an all white (warm) and be happy with it.

I'm seeing a lot of pales in the families of grays, browns, and aquas in Parade Homes. Soothing colors, but I don't know many folks who have the right colors in their furniture to move into those home. While being truly beautiful, it would require purchasing new furniture for many people.

In our current home -- We have a lot of beautiful golds, which I love, but I need a break from it in a few places to keep it from being too heavy. Too much of a good thing! On many of our ceilings, we actually have SW Muslin that Judithn mentions and really do love it. It is stunning with pure white, green or the right gold (SW Netsuke, SW Ecru).

We have SW Grassland (light sage) on the walls of many rooms with Muslin on the ceiling. I still absolutely love walking into any of those rooms. The green works with so many other colors that it's more like a soothing neutral. I could put aqua or cobalt with that green, but I'm using natural beiges in layers with dashes of persimmon and merlot.

I painted our beadboard stairwalls in white when we built to break up the color and allow different colors on the 1st and 2nd floors. I love having that lighter look in the middle of the house to break up the gold walls.

I'm about to go against everyone's advice and repaint our kitchen walls white like the trim. The feedback on my kitchen here was that our white trim contrasts too much with the rangehood and tile and I should paint a gold/beige. However, I've been putting up samples and guess what looks best? That white erases the windows and doors that were a distraction. It actually makes the rangehood a focal point and the windows and doors recede.

Cameron

I do. I love sun and light. We have a warm off-white, which sets off our art, furniture, floors and counters.

Nate Bercus showed his home on the Oprah show recently and he painted it with white walls. He even painted the wood floor white. He said he wanted a clean fresh backdrop for his things. I was a little surprised he painted the floor but it looked okay.

I think white walls can look good or not good just like any other wall color. Personally I like a little warm color on my walls but everyone should do what they like.

I rented an old farmhouse last summer that was painted top to bottom in the same rich creamy color, with each room set off with different colored trims (sage green, light blue, white, etc.). At first, I was off-put, thinking it was safe and dull. But, the more I lived in it, the more it felt really soothing and coherent. It really fit the house very well, and I'd love to adopt it sometime.

White walls are really timeless, it's a classic look. One I think can look smashing or perfectly dreadful. I think it can be terribly difficult to handle from a decorator's point of view, and that point is often lost on many. I don't think white is "simple", at all! Crisp and clean can become cold and cheerless in pretty short order if there is no "master plan" in place. JMO

For me, I equate white walls with very chic 1940s "modern" interiors or primer.

Done well, I think it is terrific! the trouble is, most people aren't really able to "finish" the rooms in accordance with the color (or lack thereof).

I'm in the same place as Piper---childhood issues for me having to help paint and it was always some shade of white.
My Mom didn't think a room was clean unless it was painted white.

My husband grew up in apartments with their standard apartment white walls.

Both of us have white issues so both of us love color in our rooms.

On the other hand, my cousin, who is in the creating fabric design world, will only have a form of white walls in his home.
He says he is saturated with color all day long, sometimes 15-18 hours a day and wants something soothing and calm to come home to. I can definitely see his point.

Getting ideas, inspiration and opinions is wonderful but in the end, it's whatever makes YOU comfy in your home that matters.

Perhaps it was the combination of taupe and white which someone dind't like. I can't picture white walls with taupe trim. I'll admit it sounds a bit different.

I can picture it the other way around though. I had navaho white walls and white trim in my old house and liked it. In this house every wall has color and I like that better. Post a photo if you want.

All the walls in the new home we're building are creamy white with snow white trim. The only exceptions are the laundry lav & master bath which are pale grey.

Biggest reason is the open floor plan in the main living areas. I'm sure some can pull it off beautifully, but I've seen a number of homes with open rooms where a wall in one color abuts another in another and, to my eye, it just doesn't work.

No art or furnishings in our new place can compete with the views outside, so we put in lots of large windows to bring the scenery in. Having white walls almost makes them politely recede to allow the undeveloped landscape to be the focus.

Even in my current home, which is in a neighborhood, I have all white walls. They came with the house and I intended to choose colors when we repainted. After a year living with them I realized I really liked them and repainted all white.

There are so few things we can choose in life, I agree with all those above who said to paint your walls the color that pleases you!

I vowed never to paint my walls white after years of dormitory and rental-apartment living, with all walls done in flat boring Landlord White. When DH and I bought our current home, we went color crazy. I've lived the last eight-plus years in a place with beautiful warm Donald Kaufman colors on the walls and every room a different color. It's inviting and interesting...and I'm sick to death of it. :)

Never thought I'd say it, but white/cream is a strong possibility for the parlor floor (main public rooms) in our new house.

White can be gorgeous! Mariette Himes Gomez (or however her name is spelled) makes beautiful rooms with white or very pale walls. I tried hard when we were painting this new house to get that feeling - I had almost twenty paint swatches up the staircase alone! Ultimately none of them felt right, I figure I am too noisy and outspoken for serene white walls, but I do love white done right.

Also, your trim treatment is very timely. Martha Stewart is on this big kick to paint trim a *darker* color than the walls.

Nicole

Here is a link that might be useful: Mariette Himes Gomez website

Nicole, Thank you for the link to Mariette Himes Gomez Website. I love the lighter walls and the white walls. I love most of her rooms so much which gives me some ideas.

Both my mother and mother-in-law have white walls throughout their homes. My MIL is especially afraid of color. I think that's why I don't have any white walls, but I saw a small ranch that had beautiful paintings that looked great on those white walls. I haven't even considered white walls with 3 kids, fingerprints are somehow less noticeable on colored walls:-)

Twitchy, A friend just painted her walls Lancaster Whitewash and they look fabulous. I love this color and the Lancaster White and have been thinking of repainting my bedroom this color ever since I saw your post and checked out the color in my bedroom. It has a nice contrast with white and looks great with my Antique White Durham Furniture called Sand White and looks great with my Rustic Ivory Headboard.

I dislike gray and it bothers me that the HC-174 BM Lancaster White Wash color is on the same Benjamin Moore Color Preview Paint Strip as 5 shades of gray.

But I do know that despite loving yellow walls in the home of others and even in my bedroom, I don't like living with walls that have a tinge of lemon in them that seem to clash with what I have in my bedroom to my eyes. I want something more soothing like the Whitewash color. The BM Navajo White I love but it has too much peach in it for my bedroom but was perfect for my bathroom since it was so close in color to the Ralph Lauren Deep Cream but took the tinge of lemon out and put in instead a tinge of tan that looks nice with the Bone White sinks and Jacuzzi and grayish tile in there.

Hence, What color do you see when you look at your friend's walls? What shade/tints seem to come out you in the Lancaster Whitewash Paint color? What color furniture does she have?

I love a picture in a Bassett's Catalogue that everything is white and off-white and antique white in the room giving a soothing monochromatic room that I want for my bedroom after living with bright purple for years and now having such a stressful life.

I know someone on this site painted her daughter's room BM Adam's Gold with the BM Lancaster Whitewash trim and doors that looks great but the Adam's Gold I found to be too dark for me since I am just not use to dark colors and want to keep my room light and airy especially since I only have one wall of windows being that I live in an interior townhouse. But in her room I felt the combination looked wonderful. I love the SW Ivoire but I thought it was too gold for my Rustic Ivory Headboard.

I do! I do!

I have a lot of art, and white walls allow the art to take center stage.

And I love pure white light.

Big difference with you and many others, mclarke. I have seen pics of your home and you have great artwork (and taste!) mclarke, I need your help with selecting artwork in the future, pleeeeaaase.

I think white walls (or lighter walls) are a lovely back drop for great artwork or when there are multiple, beautiful fabrics in a room. A colorful wall color may compete the artwork or multiple fabrics.

lynn2006 - It's kind of hard to say what shades/tint show when looking at her walls. She has an old farmhouse built in the late 1800's, so her house is kind of dark. The Lancaster Whitewash really brightened it up. She has a lot of antiques, also decorates in sort of a cabbage rose print and greens.

I am afraid that I am going to be guilty as charged. Tomorrow the painter arrives to paint my contemporary townhouse, which has an open floor plan, and guess what color (or non-color) we're going for? Yes, white! Granted, it is a shade of white (probably BM Natural Cream) but what else will go with my extensive, albeit modest, art collection? I'll share photos in about 3 months when it's all put back together again, but I agonized over colors and nothing else but a shade of white will work with my space. (My neighbor tried a heavy gold in her LR and it really does not work in these open, contemporary spaces.)

Ignore those who criticize your choice. Sometimes white is the classiest way to go.

youza! That Gomez room!! Walls are great, but can you IMAGINE having all that white furniture!?! I'd have to take a shower and put on clothes right out of the wash to sit on it! And even then I'd be a nervous wreck!
It is pretty tho, .... sigh.

When we first bought this house, I painted every room a vibrant color - I'd spent years living in apartments and I was tired of white. I got tired of the colors, one by one, and have repainted every room. I now have soft muted colors. I painted the bathroom off-white. At first the off-white was shocking (especially since the room had been navy blue), but now I like how the "stuff" in the room stands out more. I have a whole new love of white. Here are some of my favorite white inspiration rooms.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Wow, valzone! What magazine is your house featured in? Those are some gorgeous rooms.

All our walls are white because our northeast rooms don't get much natural light. All our floors are wood, and I like the way they set each other off. I've tried patches of 4 different colors, one of which was recommended by a decorator. (After I foolishly went out and bought 6 gallons of the BM "silken pine" she recommended, I realized we really didn't like it!) So we're sticking with white, which I actually love.

Twitchy, I'm glad you mentioned someone's using "Lancaster Whitewash" with antiques, cabbage rose prints and greens, because that's what I have and want more of. Maybe I'll try that color tomorrow. Whites are so hard to decide on.

LOL Kitchenkelly!!! No...I WISH that was my home....those are my *inspiration* rooms :O)

Those may be Val's inspiration rooms but she does keep a nice house. I've seen the pics.

Michael

Valzone, I am in love with that creamy bedroom! Twitchy, Thanks for sharing. I will try out both BM Natural Cream and BM Lancaster Whitewash paint when I have time.

This morning I had occasion to talk to a decorator who is new in our area regarding paint for exterior. I wanted her to come see house because until somone seems all the garden, they cannot really visualize it and I wanted someone to "see it with their own eyes."

While I was waiting for her to turn loose of what she was doing when I arrived for my consultation, there were piles of decorator stuff for lurkers and addicts like myself.

It looks like the new trend is toward bland walls. I think it ranged from a muted yellow to a muted taupe, beige, very light pastel greens to glaring white for most of the rooms I was seeing.

So it appears if you are into white walls, you are on the cutting edge.

Oh how funny, valzone. I thought that was your house. (I am sure yours is better.)

I see rooms done in white, like the ones above, that I just love. Soft and glowing.

The problem is, I never get that kind of light in real life.

Love the look, but I couldn't live with it for very long even if I found the kind of light that bedroom has. My fingers would be itching for the paint brush in a few weeks. I am a color lover and encourage everyone to try it :)

As far as art presentation goes, I've found that color on the walls can really make it pop...or bring new focus to certain pieces.
My aunt had white walls for a couple of decades and felt it gave her art pieces the best backdrop until she painted in SW Summertime. She couldn't believe how much better her various objects/paintings were highlighted. In her house, that color gives you a soft, warm hug.

It all comes down to what works for you and your home, though. If your rooms make you feel good, then you didn't make a mistake.

I painted my stucco office walls a whitish color called 'Summer Sand,' and it does look like a white sand beach. The trim is a warm brown. I was interested in a Spanish/Mexican/Mediterranean feel, and the room is dark until late afternoon, so a 'white' seemed to be the way to go. The paints are the house brand of the regional hardware chain out here, so unless one is from the West/Southwest it is unlikely that the brand name would be meaningful.
Our den is painted a color called 'Mint Tea' on the walls, the ceiling is called 'Frosted Moss,' which is a warm but definite white, and the trim is a cooler brown. The doors and the inner parts of the windows are cream. The colors are derived from a desert lithograph we have that we framed in old, weathered, reclaimed wood from the outbuildings we took down on the property.
As for what color walls is good for artwork, I had an exhibit of my watercolors many years ago in a facility that was painted a very warm cream that had undertones of yellow to it. The room had a lot of floor to ceiling windows along the east wall (it was in an old, Victorian Opera House that had been renovated). I found that the creamy color really helped the paintings to 'pop,' even more so than white walls one sees in galleries and museums.

I've seen plenty of magazine inspiration pics of rooms done really well with white/off-white walls, even lighter furnishings, etc. The thing that I really notice, however, is that most of these rooms have loads of architectural details, moldings, trims, arches, beams, etc. to really set off those white walls. I don't think you can get away with white walls nearly as easy in a ho-hum home with nothing special moldings & trims. That, to me, is what makes those WOW white wall rooms work so well. That millwork that is done so well is just such a nice high-end look and you aren't going to get the same effect in a house with none of that unfortunately. My house has 'decent' trimwork, but I don't think I could get away with all white walls.

So, to me....it's gorgeous when done well, but only nominal or boring when you don't have all of that as a backdrop. It's all in the millwork & architectural details to me...oh, yeah...and the natural light coming in a room. That makes all the difference too.

Dragging out an old thread....as we take down the old wallpaper throughout this house, some form of white paint is going on the walls. The upstairs bedrooms and bathroom are all "country white". The new family room is "elegant ivory" above the golden oak wainscot. The kitchen is the same. Eventually the living room, downstairs bedroom and bathroom will be the same or at least similar.

I like white walls because it's easy to show off art work, wood shelves, without the fear that you'll clash with the color.

DonnaR/CA

We just had our whole new house done in BM standish white.
Right now, I love it.....
I wonder how long I will last with it, LOL!

Here is a link that might be useful:

My mother has and always will have all white through out her house.
She tells me that color on the walls, is for people who don't know how to decorate or don't have enough interesting stuff to display :( I know..she sucks, lol.

I have the reverse mother issue. I was raised in a heavily ornate, dark wood, heavily patterned victorian home. Now I prefer white walls, clean lines and currently my home has a natural to beachy feel (we're coastal) with a sand color sofa, reds blues and tan, stripes and natural items and textures about (starfish, feathers, branches and shells). I like it because it changes easily from season to season by a switching things out, and from the seasonal views through the window.

I do however need to change the white to a more welcoming shade. If anyone has any idea what color is used in Williams Sonoma let me know.

My cousin has done her living room in white for thirty years. Every few years she paints the walls and woodwork white and buys new white furniture, carpet and drapes. The thing is - every time she does it, the room looks entirely different and it is still WHITE! The old white room is always still gorgeous, but the new white room is always gorgeous-er. The only color in her room is white, no accent colors, except the wood furniture is walnut. She has beautiful art on the walls and beautiful lamps and appointments, but little color. It's amazing what you can do with white!

When I first bought my home, I painted everything Super Bright white in an attempt to obliterate the previous owners dark panelling, and wall colors of pink and institution green. At first I loved it, then as summer transitioned to winter it felt too cold. For the past several years I have had creamy yellow colors, but now that it is time to repaint, I think I will go towards the neutral beige family. I only have real "color" in the bedrooms. My mother has her whole house painted BM linen white with a medium stained trim, and it looks very cohesive.

Loribee, do you have any more pics of the Standish White painted walls in other rooms? I love the color in your living room. It looks neutral and a happy color with a touch of goldish yellow on my monitor and goes so well with your furnishings and decor. How would you describe the color in person?

BM Natural Cream, BM Lancaster Whitewash, BM Standish White paint are colors I now want to try when I have time. I love BM Monroe Bisque and SW Ivoire but I am not sure I can handle such dark colors on my walls. I love the colors on other people's walls but I am thinking I like light colors on my wall. Maybe others will feel I should get brave when I post pics or tell me they like the wall color I now have.

I love the color of my BM Linen Architella Blinds when I am standing next to them since they are so creamy but when I am standing on the other side of the room, they appear darker due to the black-out material and clash a bit with my Deep Cream Walls. I wish I went with the white color despite it not being a great white.

I must post pics of my bedroom for help and to show off my new Durham Antique White Furniture. I am just still not doing well since my car accident in August 2007 with everything being too much for me lately. The stress has finally gotten to me and the pain just never goes away. But I am blessed to have a neat bedroom that stays neat since I had furniture to put my clothes away. I just have to figure out how to post pics again since Yahoo Pics was closed down.

I must be older than most posters. When I was growing up, all walls were painted pastels. Ceilings were usually white. After I was grown, it was considered very sophisticated to paint everything white. Not many went for it until it became more mainstream.

Today, my upstairs is a warm off white. I want the focus to be on the wood floors, stained trim, and antiques, not the walls. I like the light airy feeling.

Downstairs we painted dark gold and sage green. It's fine, but I wouldn't want it upstairs.

I had a hard time finding the right warm white - there must have been over 200 shades!

I haven't had any negative comments, but if I did, I'd just say, "Well we like it".

Lynn....we just restored our computer and lost all our pix! :(
Here is my dining room and you can see more pix at Rate My Space/Lori Bee, ok? It truly is a french vanilla color~
Hope this helps! Lori

Here is a link that might be useful:

LoriBee- I can't find your pics on Rate My Space. I love both of your rooms with your BM Standish White Color. Thanks for letting me know it is a French Vanilla Color.

It is a color that actually may look nice my laundry room to brighten it up since the BM Bone white is dull in that room despite looking wonderful in all the rooms I painted that color in.

I tried every search and can't find your pics on the website you indicated. Please help... I would love to see more pics.

I'm really bad at linking, Lynn...but see if this works! :)
thanks, Lori

Here is a link that might be useful: Lori's RMS pix

Bumping up this post since I would love pictures of rooms with neutral color or white color walls. I am still disliking my choice of the Blackout blinds in the linen color and now must find a window treatment to cover them. At least they insulate my windows and block out the light. Shame I do not love how dark they get at night. I had wanted the shabby chic look.