" The color white is never a trend."
"When you use it as a background color, everything else stands out.
When it's used on furniture, everything around it stands out."
-Jenny Peters
There are thousands of different whites
and we encounter them every day, whether we realize it or not.
But how might we better understand whites
and put them to use in our own spaces?
Jason Cass, host of One House, Two Looks and Canadian distributor of Farrow and Ball, the venerated English paint brand, says " People misunderstand white.
Often, it's assumed that white is a 'standard,'
a tone that is uniformly agreed upon. In fact,
white is a wide range of tones and hues like any color."
You will often find
white with blue-gray undertones in modern spaces
where clean - lined furniture with rich textures dominates.
" Don't be afraid of pure white. "
"People have a tendency to think it's harsh, so they add a little blue or a little ochre,
but pure white is really beautiful. The thing about mixing different whites is that they shouldn't be just a little different: You should be able to see that the difference is intentional.
I love ivory- or bone-colored fabrics with white walls."
—Abigail Turin, designer
white with blue-gray undertones in modern spaces
where clean - lined furniture with rich textures dominates.
" Don't be afraid of pure white. "
"People have a tendency to think it's harsh, so they add a little blue or a little ochre,
but pure white is really beautiful. The thing about mixing different whites is that they shouldn't be just a little different: You should be able to see that the difference is intentional.
I love ivory- or bone-colored fabrics with white walls."
—Abigail Turin, designer
"Warm whites soften areas and add a sense of comfort."
-Elle Decor
"When decorating with fine antiques and rich wood floors,
I opt for whites that are slightly yellowed.
This adds an authentic patina to traditional rooms since white pigments used prior to the 20th-century had a tendency to darken and yellow with age.
In contrast, for modern lofts, I nearly always work with stark whites or blue-whites. Again, an authentic choice since brilliant wasn't invented until the 1920's. For powder rooms and dining rooms, my first choice might be a rosy or blush white."
Walls painted white contrast
with mahogany furniture and beautiful antiques,
giving traditional rooms a lighter feel.
White accents bring attention to an area,
such as a dado, the inside of a bookcase, or a painted floor.
such as a dado, the inside of a bookcase, or a painted floor.
Designer Jay Jeffers: "I love using all white accessories in a colorful room. I once did a wall of bookcases with only alabaster objects. It was fantastic!"
WHITE MOLDINGS
WHITE MOLDINGS
Don't forget the moldings ! Select a complementary shade of white or create a little contrast with a glossier finish. Some trim colors to consider are Dove Wing and Decorator's White by Benjamin Moore, Wall White by Farrow and Ball, and Off-White by Pratt and Lambert.
Via her blog Color Me Happy, Maria Killam gives expert color advice:
"When it comes to whites for trim, the best white for you is
the one that works with the fixed white in your home.
Via her blog Color Me Happy, Maria Killam gives expert color advice:
"When it comes to whites for trim, the best white for you is
the one that works with the fixed white in your home.
If your kitchen cabinets are screaming white, then your trim colour could be Benjamin Moore's OC-117 Simply White or OC-65 Chantilly Lace. If your entry floors set the tone of the fixed white in your home with a creamy marble, then you find one that goes with that and it might be OC-38 Acadia White, OC-85 Mayonnaise, or OC-90 Vanilla Ice Cream to mention a few."
Your ceilings should relate to your walls !
Designer, Natalie Umbert uses Benjamin Moore's Cotton Balls OC-122:
"I rarely use plain white on ceilings because the contrast is too stark, especially if you're using saturated color on the walls.
My technique is to find a white that has the slightest bit of the wall color in it. This has some blue and green and gray, which means it works well with those colors. Your eye doesn't immediately go to the ceiling, which makes that transition smoother."
My technique is to find a white that has the slightest bit of the wall color in it. This has some blue and green and gray, which means it works well with those colors. Your eye doesn't immediately go to the ceiling, which makes that transition smoother."
When I worked at Parish-Hadley, Albert often suggested
putting a little pink in the white of a ceiling
to make it more of a flesh tone. It just sortof blushes, and the reflection is more flattering. You could heighten the effect by lacquering it to add depth."
putting a little pink in the white of a ceiling
to make it more of a flesh tone. It just sortof blushes, and the reflection is more flattering. You could heighten the effect by lacquering it to add depth."
"White brings a sense of clarity and soothes the mind. I particularly enjoy it in residential bathrooms for its calming effects." -Shelly Handman, designer.
"Just ask any woman who’s tried to match her off-white shoes with her purse. When selecting whites, keep them in the same color family; this includes yellow-white, pink-white or bright white. View whites by placing other materials that are in the color scheme next to them, as they influence the white’s color. White is typically the last color to be introduced to the color scheme."
-Color Expert, Denise Turner via her blog "Color Talk - Colorfully Inspired"
"To paraphrase Le Corbusier, architecture is the play of light on form, and I think that's the reason I love white. Its luminous quality heightens the effect of shadows, magnifying lines and curves, yet at the same time it unifies space. There's a physical and psychological purity to white. It also connotes wealth (somebody has to clean it!) so in that way, white rooms are the modern-day silver." -David Ling, architect
layering it in a variety of materials. I worked on a kitchen with white plastic chairs, a rustic table painted white (the effect was similar to a Brancusi sculpture), frosted white glass cabinet fronts, and a glass backsplash that was back-painted white.
The key to a sophisticated look is to forget about making it "perfect."
Don't be afraid to experiment with textures and different shades of bright white.
—Robyn Morgenstern Rosenblatt, architect
PHOTOS: 1. design principia 2., 7., 11. elle decor, 3. gingerella 4., 5. a life of beauty and grace, 6. 17 blocks from barney's 8. 9. unknown 10. the decorista 12. withasoutherntwist 13. fime, 14., 16. via vogue living 15. unknown....Quotes and information from Colour Me Happy, ColorTurners, and HomeEnvy Blogs + Elle Decor, Southern Accents, Metropolitan Home and House Beautiful Magazines.
