It may seem like a simple idea. Painting a room white should be exactly the same as painting a room any other colour, right? In most ways, yes. However, there are some particular considerations to keep in mind when wanting to paint a room white.
What colour?
But we already said this was about painting a room white, didn’t we? Yes we did. But there are many shades of white to choose from. For example in the Dulux range of white interior paints there are 15 colours to choose from. Yes 15 white paints, from just one brand. If going to a paint store to pick out your white colours, you’ll need to choose from different brands as well, so don’t be surprised to pick from 100 different whites.
So how can you decide on the right shade of white? You’ll need to consider the warmth of your home and the furniture in the room. If your home is sunny and bright, then you can opt for a more light and stark white, however if your home is often cold, you’ll want to heat things up with a warm white.
The same goes for your furniture. If you have a lot of warm coloured furniture then that might just heat up the room enough to let you paint in a stark shade of white. On the other hand, a lot of neutral, cool colours and you may need to choose a warmer white to liven up the room. If of course you have your heart set on a particular shade already, you may need to get new homewares to make it work, so it’s important to consider carefully.
White everything
You’ll also need to consider the white you’re painting the ceiling. In most cases it’s best to have a whiter ceiling than your wall colour. This is the case with most rooms in any colour; a white ceiling and a coloured wall. This is what the eye is used to in a room, so it’s often best to stick with a lighter shade when choosing your ceiling colour. This means you’ll need to pick 2 different shades of white. You’ll also want to paint the architrave the same colour as your ceiling. You can however opt to paint it the same colour as the walls instead but make sure you have two separate whites going on your ceiling and walls, no matter which colour you decide to paint your architraves.
If you’re thinking about painting the skirting boards and wooden windows of the room as well, rather than staining the wood, again you’ll need to consider what white to choose. You can make the room look larger if you choose the same white as the walls to paint your skirting boards and windows, or you can make them look distinguished by choosing a warmer shade of white than the walls.
Again, if you’re thinking of painting your floor boards white, then you’ll likely want to choose a different white than your wall colour and ceiling colour. It may be a good idea to simply white wash or lime wash the floors to make them lighter without going fully white. However, if white is your thing, go all out and paint the boards. Make sure to distinguish it from the skirting boards and windows however, otherwise the entire room can look boring and plain.