Choosing White Paint Sucks

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Ahhh, white. The most confusing of all paint choices.

 

White paint is an extremely popular option for achieving a modern, clean, look in your home. Even though it might be considered boring all by itself, it is the best backdrop for showcasing beautiful woods and accent pieces like artwork.

 

Museums and a lot of images in Home Décor magazines use white walls for exactly this reason – it’s a great blank canvas.

 

When I set out to achieve the Mid-Century Modern/Boho/Coastal-Chic look I wanted in my home – I knew my walls would require white paint.

 

But, HOLY CRAP people! I had no idea how many variations there would be.

 

Why are there 85 million choices? Which one do I pick? How do I know I got the right one? What happens if I pick the wrong one?

 

Will everything in the house look off? Will everyone I know spontaneously combust?

 

 

I am not sophisticated enough to understand all the nuances of a color that seems to me it should have like 2 options – white and off-white. Those are options I get.

 

To me, white doesn’t seem to even be a color, although it is technically all colors, which causes my brain to explode a little bit… if it’s all colors why is that the thing I use to erase colors digitally? Thinking hurts.

 

Paper White vs. Dove White vs. Simply White vs. Oxford White vs. Chantilly Lace vs. Cloud Nine – WTF White would be the one I invent. The names alone are enough to put my head into the carpet – yeah, I do that when I am overwhelmed.

 

I think this was done deliberately so that the average person would be so confused by what should be a simple choice that you feel you need to hire an Interior Designer lest be thrown into the chasm of unforgiveable design mistakes.

 

Okay, I’m being a little dramatic. You’re going to be fine. But, the struggle is real.

 

Even though paint is the cheapest way to transform a room, it still costs money and can add up quickly, especially if you keep re-painting because you have no idea what you are doing.

 

Also, it costs the time and energy you’ve put into the painting itself. Or, the money you’re paying someone to paint your room.

 

How does anyone get past this?

 

First step – relax and breathe.

 

Really, what is the worst that can happen? Well, you might not like the color – that’s okay. That’s fixable.

 

Or, you do like the color – but it doesn’t go with anything in your house, or it clashes with other pieces that are a different white and looks really weird.

 

Still fixable, but annoying AF.

 

All it takes is one bad paint job and your wannabe-decorator dream is crushed. Too bright and people feel like they’re in an insane asylum. Too soft and the color looks dingy and dull.

 

So, let’s not do that.

 

Here’s my advice on how to start your white color paint journey without losing your mind and clumps of your hair along the way.

 

Like everything else in life, if you take it one baby step at a time it will be manageable and do-able.

 

Color School Crash Course

 

First things first – a little education. You can go much deeper into the definitions of hues, tints, shades, all those things you learn in color school (not a thing) – or you can just sum it all up in two words: warm/cool.

 

Warm whites have warm undertones of yellow, beige and potentially other warm colors that make them look, well – warm, like the name implies.

 

So, think of the sun. Which should actually affect your paint choices.

 

Depending on if your rooms are North or South facing will impact your paint; if you pick a cool color but it faces South and gets a lot of sunlight, the room will still look warm. The same goes for if you have warm lighting.

 

I know, like you needed more input in this already complicated decision. But, it’s good to know this stuff now, before your room looks completely different from how you envisioned it would.

 

These are some of the reasons you might go for a cooler white, even if you don’t want the room to look cool. I mean, you want it to look cool (like “the Fonz”), but not cool white. I mean, I hope it looks cool, and I hope it looks white, but not the… OH you know what I mean!

 

Which brings us to cool whites. Cool whites are less cozy but look more gallery-esque, modern and stark. Cool whites have cold undertone colors like greys and blues that make them striking but not very sunny.

 

Knowing if you want cool or warm will be easier when you decide on the look you’re going for and the furniture you’ll be using to complement the room tones.

 

Let’s take the same room and paint it with a warm white and a cool white:

See the difference? It’s subtle, but it is there.

 

There’s also neutral white, which is more of a pure white with no warm or cool undertones.

 

Benjamin Moore’s purest white colors (almost no undertones) are Chantilly Lace and Super White.

 

Keep in mind that whites are going to inherit the surroundings from all angles – so if you have trees close to the windows the white will trend greenish – if you have a dark brown carpet you will get more browns – close to the ocean and you might pick up some blues.

 

The look you might want is to either off-set those colors with a counter-balanced color/tone, or you might be looking to enrich that color more, like using cool tones by the beach to get a stronger shade of blue.

 

Which White Is Right?

 

It would be awesome if someone could just tell you the color you’ll want, but if someone does this without analyzing your specific room, you will probably be disappointed by the outcome.

 

Color is a personal thing, so you are the best person to figure out how you want your room to look – because someone else’s opinion may not be the same as yours.

 

Based on the direction your room faces, the furniture you have in that room (or will have), and the mood you want to achieve, narrow down your favorite white colors as much as you can.

 

Your furniture can help guide you:

• if most of your colors are warm – browns, woods, beiges, yellows, and reds, you probably want to lean towards warm whites.
• if you have any navy, greys, blacks, blues, purples, or dark greens in your furniture colors, you most likely favor cooler whites.

 

Before you pick a paint you should try computer mock-ups to get some initial ideas – and a lot of paint companies have free online apps (like this) to do a virtual room painting so that you can visualize the new look. However, be aware that digital colors often look different in real life.

 

After you have narrowed your selection down, you will want to buy a sample of those paint colors (or get a paint board or very large swatches) and put these up in the room.

 

Some companies are offering inexpensive larger samples of their paints, so you can stick or hang these on the walls to get a better idea of what the color will look like. Samplize is a company that sells large paint stickers you can buy to see your color on the walls without having to actually paint.

 

Once you have samples or sample paint, put this up in your room (ideally on more than one wall to see the differences). Now, observe that color throughout the day and night to see how it changes, because it will change with the lighting changes.

 

The light bulbs and kelvins you use will also dramatically change the look of your paint – so keep that in mind when picking out your fixtures and bulbs.

 

How To Pick Your Paint Brand

 

This comes down to personal preference – although if you are trying to cover a dark painted wall with white paint your best bet is to go for a paint + primer in one, unless you want to do multiple applications of painting, which can be tedious to say the least.

 

A few paint options for strong one-coat color coverage*:

• Benjamin Moore AURA
• Glidden Interior Paint + Primer
• HGTV Home Sherwin Williams Showcase
• Behr Marquee – One-Coat Color Guarantee

 

*hint – you will need to go heavy/thick with your application to cover very dark colors

 

How Colors Compare Across Brands

 

Unfortunately, there are no exact matches in colors across brands (each formulation is extremely specific and composed of different ingredients as well).

 

Ideally, you should use the same brand and color throughout your room – provided you want your walls to match. If you started with one brand’s color and switched to another color – even one that looked identical, most likely there will still be a slight difference.

 

Some people claim you can match across brands – I’m not sure about all that. You can probably get close and if you’re lucky, it won’t be extremely noticeable.

 

Paint stores like Benjamin Moore will try and help you match your colors if you bring them a paint swatch or chip.

 

There are also color match specialists you can hire if there is some specific need to do this (perhaps they no longer make the color your room was painted).

 

If you’re in a situation where you can’t afford to paint the entire room with a new color and can’t match to the old one because you either don’t know the name of the paint or they don’t make it – do the best you can.

 

Decorators’ Favorite White Paints

 

As a good starting place, here are some of the most used favorites from designers and decorators who know a thing or two about white paint.

 

Simply White | Benjamin Moore

 

The overall winner that I see in almost any “this is the perfect white paint” article, is Simply White – so if you can’t figure it out on your own, start with this one. It’s been stated by many designers that this color complements any room. (I personally think it’s a touch on the yellow/warm side – so use your own judgement).

 

Chantilly Lace | Benjamin Moore

 

Runner-up on most designer’s lists for favorite white paint would be Chantilly Lace. This white has mildly cool undertones but presents a very crisp white which can counterbalance excess warm tones in a room.

 

Decorator’s White | Benjamin Moore

 

I like the name of this one because it doesn’t make me work too hard to figure it out. Decorators love this color because it is neutral but still has a level of depth.

 

 

White Dove | Benjamin Moore

 

This soft white is a favorite for those who live in areas where the weather is often grey and gloomy (*cough Seattle) as it can bring warmness to rooms that don’t get much sun.

 

Cloud White | Benjamin Moore

 

Cloud White is a very popular, dare I say it – highly “overused” color for trim, ceilings, and sometimes walls. But just because something is extremely common, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad. It is used a lot because it has a gentle, calming appearance and blends well with other colors like greys and greiges. Just make sure it’s the color you want and don’t choose it because it’s trendy.

 

Dune White | Benjamin Moore

This one is a favorite of many decorators because it is a warm white without a lot of yellow undertones as is usually typical of a warmer white.

 

 

Pure White | Sherwin Williams

– a color that will give any space a bright, fresh look.

 

Polar Bear | BEHR

A cool, classic white with a hint of pink throughout.

Ultra Pure White | BEHR

This is a true white with no undertones. It is used as the base for other colors in the BEHR collection because it has no tints that will make a color veer away from its true tones.

 

There are countless others – but these are just some of the favorites you will see recommended time and again by the pros and everyone else too.

 

Make a list of these (or other ones you like) and go visit your local paint store, or Ace, or wherever you prefer to buy your paint.

 

Again, I highly (cannot stress or bold that word enough) recommend buying sample jars, or stickers, or paint boards, before you commit to your color. You want to see these on your walls in your home. I promise you they look very different in the store’s lighting.

 

At a minimum, get a few of the free paint swatches in the same color and cut/paste them together so you can see a larger example of that color on your wall.

 

Sheen is another factor but will apply no matter which color you go with.

 

Learn about how to pick your paint sheen here.

 

Go Forth and Paint White Walls

 

There’s a lot to consider with white paint – but don’t let this scare you, you can totally do this.

 

Just imagine how clean and spacious your area will feel when you’ve picked and applied the right white to brighten up your room.

 

Now that you know what you need to consider to achieve the look you want – it’s time to get going!

 

Good luck and happy painting!