When they asked me to be on the podcast, I was very excited, and when I heard that the interview I was giving was about white walls, I kind of shrugged. White walls ain’t no thing to me. I paint all my walls white. It’s my go-to.
But when I listened to the full episode, I learned that 1. Some people think white walls look good in photo but not in real life (shocked), and 2. A lot of people paint walls white and then see them as unfinished, cold or boring. (whut?)
Argh! This was a crazy discovery to me because I am exactly the opposite. The few colored walls I’ve tried out in my house never last long, and I end up painting everything white because it FEELS right to me. And colored walls (or even grey or black, etc…) are more photogenic, but I often feel like I like them better in the photo than in person.
Now, I haven’t always loved white walls. I remember the days of apartment dwelling (ever lived in a beige palace, anyone?) where living with someone else’s paint color choices felt like the death of me. And this one time I had an apartment where they let me paint two statement walls, and I chose crazy bold turquoise and crazy bold orange and was so thrilled. Then in Jeremy’s and my first space together, we painted and painted and painted… never white.
But then four years ago, when we moved to our 1890s house, we went almost all white and never looked back.
You can listen to the podcast episode here:
So, I love a good debate! Here’s my side.
I love color. All kinds of color. But when it comes to my home, I find it very cohesive to stick with a simple color scheme anchored in white, with mostly white walls. I love the way it feels in person. I do think it’s photogenic because it’s so reflective and soft, but I personally think colored walls (or patterned walls) are MUCH more photogenic because they have a stronger catchiness factor. Like if I were decorating a room for a magazine photoshoot, I’d pick colored walls, but if I were decorating a room to live in, I’d probably stick with white.
I love how white walls feel. And more than anything, I love a room that’s light and airy with textures as the statement.
I’m curious if in ten years I’ll read this laughing from my colorful-wall house. Probably. I see trends coming and going ALL the time. I love trends, but I also tend to be someone who will drop it when I feel it’s “played out” and never touch it again. I feel nowhere near that phase with white walls. If I moved again next week (definitely, definitely an imaginary scenario, you guys), I would buy more white paint.
OK, I’ve rambled long enough! And I’m sorry if I am annoyingly passionate about my love for white walls. I loved hearing what John and Sherry and Katie had to say about white paint on the podcast.
I want to hear what YOU think! Do you like white walls? Do you feel the trend is dying? Does it feel better to you in person or in photos? Would you, or have you painted white walls in your own home? xx -Elsie
Credits//Author: Elsie Larson. Photography: Alyssa Rosenheck.
149 Comments
I love white walls! I think they are a perfect blank canvas to make seasonal adjustments or swap out pieces as your style changes. I do think everyone has their own preference on the specific white though. My house is mostly all white with the tiniest bit of warm tint to it because I do think bright, cool white can look kind of cold. That said, I do live in Wyoming where there’s snow on the ground more than half the year and cold, white can send me into a temper tantrum if I see too much. ?
I’m on team White Walls!
But I’d love know what your favourite podcasts are 🙂 Could you write something about that, or have you already?
Hi Elise! I absolutly love what you have done with your place! Can you tell me where the macrame/weave is from above your bed? I have been on the hunt for one simalar to that for awhile now.
Thanks!
When I moved into my house (12 years ago) I painted almost everything a bright color! Then I decorated the room around that color. Now I’m feeling the pull towards white walls (though I haven’t done it yet), probably from seeing it everywhere. 🙂 When the walls are white, the furniture can really be statement pieces. I love how a bold- colored couch looks against a white wall, for example. As for my own home, I’m currently torn between painting more white, or trying the bold wallpaper trend! Both have their appeal. One place I’m definitely doing white is our finished basement. It will brighten up a space that doesn’t get a lot of natural light. I can see both sides of the debate, so I guess I would say go with whatever you love (whether it’s a trend or not) cause it makes your heart happy (and you can always change it up later!).
Hey there!
This is the only design related podcast I always listen to! Other than that, I listen to a lot of Jeremy’s podcasts, which are mostly politics. haha!
I tend to like highly produced podcasts over covenverstational ones and so that’s one thing that’s so great about YHL podcast, they chop it up and edit it to make it more interesting and snappy. :))
xx- Elsie
I’ve been dying for all white walls and I finally got them in our brand new house…but they do feel unfinished and now I want Color and wallpaper.
Hi Jessica!
Yes- it’s a DIY… Here ya go!!! http://abeautifulmess.com/2016/04/diy-fiber-art.html
It’s super easy, but time consuming.
xx- Elsie
Oh interesting! I want to visit Wyoming so much. One of our best friend used to live there (and she loved it!) xx- Elsie
Huge white wall fan! I love vibrant colors and white is a perfect backdrop for my paintings and accents, so the house never feels sterile or cold. In fact, my living room is warm gray from the days I thought I liked gray and all my paintings kinda clash with it or don’t pop. No bueno.
Omg Lynn! I decided to save it for a separate post, but John & Sherry edited out my big rant about GRAY. I have had the craziest and worst experiences with gray paint. It’s so hard. My light gray looked purple and now we have a charcoal gray in our living room and people are like, “I love your Navy walls” aughhhhhhhhh. I’ll post about gray sometime soon. haha!
xx- Elsie
I love white white walls in photos, but they intimidate me slightly in real life. I think the reason many people may feel like white walls are unfinished is because they suffer from “blank canvas syndrome” and don’t know how to pull together the room with all the endless possibilities. There are so many things that could go on the walls, that sometimes you end up putting nothing there at all. I feel like choosing a color potentially helps to ground people in their design choices a little more.
I also think it can be intimidating to pick the right shade/tone/hue of white for their home. Too warm and it comes off cream and too cool and it comes off as cold. I also think the key to white walls looking amazing in person has a lot to do with light (how much or how little you get). We’ve all been in those dingy, dark white rooms, right? Never a good look!
I do feel white walls are more popular now, than ever before. Every decor aficionado on programs like HGTV act like any home is able to be saved if only they are able to paint it white, haha! Do I think they’re a TREND? No! White walls are a pretty timeless choice! Do I think they’re TRENDY? Yes, definitely!
Overall, I feel as though I am very pro white walls! I think they can look so fresh, light, open, and wonderful both in photos and in person. White walls are also SO versatile, allowing you to change colors and accents in your home pretty easily to create a whole new feel. However, I can completely identify why others may feel differently.
I love using white walls because I see them as a blank canvas that can be decorated with pictures, wall hangings etc. They’re so versatile!
https://www.makeandmess.com/
I love white walls, they’re beautiful and they’re the perfect canvas for any style and colour of furniture and decor.
I like white walls, because my decorating style is super bright. The wall makes it not quite as obnoxious. 🙂 But! Like every other “trend” it’s been so overdone for the last few years (like all white kitchens!) that I’m sick of seeing white walls everywhere. I’m super curious what the next trend will be-all black? ha! jk! Seriously though, when I’m scrolling through my fav design feeds on Insta, I often channel my 16-yr-old niece and think “basic” about all the ALL WHITE pics. haha!!
I’m definitely not in the white wall lover’s group. I’m not a blogger and my house will never be featured in a photo shoot, so that’s not even on my radar to consider in deciding wall colors. I’m a traditional home type of gal with natural elements being a must. Stone, brick, leather, wood, etc. and I personally prefer to let the natural elements show themselves off. That is not to say that I don’t appreciate, for instance, what you have done with your house, Elsie. I think it looks great and shows your style wonderfully. ~Ally
My husband and I just bought our first house over the summer, and while I haven’t gotten around to painting just yet, I’m planning a mix of white and color. The living room, entry way, and hallway are going a nice bright white with a hint of warmth. However, I’m also excited about bold colors, since I’ve never been able to paint before. So I’m planning a charcoal wall in the dining room and a deep moody blue in our bedroom. The other bedrooms I’ll need to live with for a bit longer to decide on the direction.
And Elsie, I love that blush pink ceiling!
For me, I like both. It just depends on my mood. White feel so refreshing and clean, but if it is not done well, and color infused through accessories and there is good texture in it, it can be very boring. I love colored walls–it can be so vibrant and rich, but can over time start to feel busy and cluttered.
I confess, I tend to be off trend (maybe just so slow to get on trend that the trend train is gone by the time I try to get on board? LOL), so right now, everyone is all white, and I’m like, “I want rich color!” And when everyone was getting their color on a few years back, I was craving clean and white so I could breathe. Oh, well.
We have (old, ugly, off-white) white walls in our bedroom in our fixer-upper new house. I don’t love them, but I’m having trouble imagining any other color in there, so I may just put a fresh coat of pure white on them. The rest of the house is muted greige and turquoise.
I could never get on the gray bandwagon. It seems so beautiful in all the blog pictures, and even in others houses, but somehow to me for my home it feels drab–makes me think of gray, rainy days, which I always find depressing…
I prefer creams and yellows. I know, I know, that is sooo early 2000’s, but it makes me think of sunshine and happiness 🙂
I’m team white walls all the way! We chose to do slight variations to mix up a bit, but basically all white. Our bedroom has a slight bluish tinge and our baby’s room is a bit more gray. But definitely white!
I am the opposite of you! 🙂 I like white walls in photos, I like the clean look and the airy glow. But in person I dislike them. Rooms painted white feel cold and unfinished to me when I’m in them. I love, love, love, colored walls! These days I’m doing mostly digging lighter shades of greige and mint/teal. I’ve gone more bold in the past but right now I’m trying to capture the light airiness of white while using color and I’m pretty happy with my spaces. Two more things: I love how we’re all different! And I appreciate that you do what you do because YOU like it, not because it photographs well or is trendy.
We built a home 3 years ago, and I was adamant that not a single room have white walls. I think they feel cold, remind me of rentals where you can’t paint, and with a chocolate lab and a kid, white is a recipe for disaster. I spent months picking a different color for every room (mostly from gray/ sage/ and blue palettes, though went a little crazy with bright pink and deep purple in my little girl’s suite), and I love the personality and coziness the colors add to our space. We also have a lot of custom woodwork and cabinetry that is painted white, and would have been lost against white walls.
I lOVE white walls, but I almost feel like picking out the perfect shade of white is even more stressful then picking out a fun bold color! I mean, who knew there were thousands of shades of white! I’m sure that id addressed in the podcast so I will have to give it a listen. Cheers!
I have white walls, mostly because I can stand color walls for long and it much more bright in our house that way. Can switch the deco once in a while with repainting.
Thank you soo much!
We moved into a new house four months ago and every room was some bright or dark different colored wall. I started hyperventilating just walking into the mish-mash. We just had every inch of the house painted from trim to wall to ceiling and it’s all white. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love it. It is the perfect backdrop for our art or accessories that are pops of color. And the light and brightness it brings in the house is cheerful and pleasant. I’m never going back…white walls forever!
I love white walls… most of ours at our new home are left over colors from the previous couple that lived there mixed with the gray tones and blue grays we painted everything… I want to take all the golden rod in our greeting area and up the steps and paint it all WHITE… I am SO OVER glaring paint colors!
I love the white walls and I really enjoyed the podcast:)
White walls don’t bother me. I love natural light and if you’re using color elsewhere then it’s fine. I do cringe at stone and brick being painted (like your fireplace and the outside of your house…eeek) but not because it looks bad. I think what bothers me is that I love light colored walls and light, which is in contrast to brick and wood, which I also think is gorgeous…I have a conundrum in marrying these two things aesthetically. I grew up in a brick house with a brick fireplace and wood built in bookshelves…and paneled walls. So much paneling. It makes the room sooooo dark and it drives me crazy. So while I want the room to be light and walls to be light, I actually like the brick and wood, too. It just doesn’t all go together, so people end up painting them white, which is the only thing to do I guess. If there’s another way of doing it…please tell me. I feel torn.
I’m not a white walls person. I lived with them my whole childhood. My parents refused to use anything but the whiteist of whites. It seems like many of the comments are in the realm of ‘I grew up and now like white walls’. Is that how it goes? You go crazy in the 1st apartment or house you’re allowed to paint… then decide white was best all along? We have dark moody grey walls in much of our main floor and love it!
No- I just watched Rosemary’s Baby this week and it made me want to do a yellow room!!! Sunny!
xx- Elsie
I used to think that all white walls was sterile or too “asylumy” but now I love it. It’s so peaceful and calming.. not to mention it just feels so clean.
I enjoy lifestyle blogs that all seem to have white walls, but I’ve never done it myself and it does seem very trendy to me. I use a lot of color in art and furnishings and like my walls neutral colors like taupe and grey, although I experimented with bright wall colors in my 20s and that worked out okay too, just not very calming. I’m ready to see a shift away from all white walls in the blogosphere.
I’ve been debating whether to go all light gray or white and I think you just sold me! We live in an old house with AMAZING oversized white trim and moldings and I love how it looks on gray and white. We’re remodeling a bit and painting is #1 on my list right now. I love what you’ve done with the white.
Team white all the way! We just built a house and most of the walls are white (with the exception of a super dark navy and a super dark forest green). I think the trick to making them feel finished and warm is to balance all the white with lots of warm wood, bold pops of color and lots of texture.
in our first home in my little room, i painted one wall like a mustard yellow and i loved it.
and then my mom kicked me out to the back (because i no longer fit in there with all my books lol) and i kept it white. i ABSOLUTELY love white.
i cant imagine doing any other color.
maybe adding color to the ceiling or doing a little art statement kind of think but never an entire wall.
i feel like with white, you have free range to do whatever you want, color wise, with your knick knacks.
of course, that could be because im 100% lazy to paint anything and maybe in my own home later on ill be okay with it.
but for now, white walls are my things.
the only time im not okay with white walls or a white backdrop, is when bloggers use that to show off a diy. which is great. except when the diy is a white object itself and then youre like wtf am i looking at.
but that’s an entirely different subject.
What color white do you use? My husband is against white walls, but I’m determined to have them in the new house we just bought and are renovating.
I grew up in a home with all white walls so there was a stigma for a long time because I knew it wasn’t for creative direction but for ease and sake of “if we move.”
All white walls bother me when the home is monochromatic. I know that some people feel best with a minimalistic style and neutral hues, but to me, when I see monochromatic, I think “house”, not “home.”
I just went from a couple years of renter beige walls to having my bedroom painted a hushed blue. The painter thought I was a bit cuckoo painting a grown woman’s bedroom the color of a baby’s nursery. But that blue is so serene and I’ve been able to play with white and gold elements now that my walls aren’t white. It’s truly a sanctuary now and I am truly loving it.
The reason your white walls don’t bother me is because you do introduce color throughout your home and aren’t afraid to add colorful elements like blush ceilings and rose wallpaper or colorful hangings. The white walls *allow you to express yourself colorfully* in other ways.
I love white in photos, so I decided to post my bedroom white. It looks really stark to me. I’m adding colors to my bedroom to brighten it up. I love the crisp, clean look.
My absolute pet peeve is when people paint brick white (sorry I know you just did that!). I think it’s because I’m from California where brick is super rare, but I just feel like it’s ruining the historic integrity of a home and there’s no going back!
I’m obsessed with white walls!! I can’t wait to buy a house just to paint everything white!!
Kisses,
Sarah
EverydayStarlet
I’m a white walls are boring type of gal – feels clinical. But I appreciate pretty, and your space is definitely that. XO.
When I was younger, my mom painted everything white and it drove me crazy. It was so BORING! I vowed that I would paint all my walls actual colors when I was a grown up. Cut to 20 years later, I’m living in our first house and all I want to do is paint every single wall bright white. I feel like it will show off our cherry floors better and also it’s a blank slate. I feel like I change my mind too often about how I want a room to look. So if the walls are white, it’s easy to change out a look just by swapping out curtains or throw pillows.
Pro white walls! I love how it brightens up a space! However, I crave a contrasting texture- a statement brick wall, wood beams, a darker floor. My style is very mid century modern meets rustic farmhouse. It’s a difficult style to pull together- bright, yet warm and cozy all at once.
I’m a big fan of your white kitchen, Elsie! The colored appliances are the best! I’m trying to convince my husband we should do the same thing 🙂
When it comes to white walls, if you want the space to be bright, yet have a warm feel, would you suggest a *slight* yellow tint to warm up the space? Or do you risk the space looking too yellow and are better off with warming the space up with darker floors (or other warmer features)?
ever since I was a little girl, I wanted my house to have all white walls and main features (like shelves and fireplace). but then the accessories and furniture would be colored. now that I’m older, I’ve had my eyes on a gorgeous navy velvet couch and some bright tangerine pillows, and I cannot look back.
Same. Moved in 3.5 years ago, painted all white and haven’t looked back. I LOVE white walls. Can’t see myself changing at all.
Now, that being said, the walls in this house are textured AND have bullnose corners making even more of a case for all one color.
A little glimpse at my living room: http://greenbaglady.blogspot.com/2014/10/before-after-cabinet.html
🙂 Teresa
I love white walls because it makes the whole room look and feel bright. It’s also a blank canvas for colorful decorative pieces! I am moving into my first home with my husband next week and plan on keeping our walls white 🙂
Also – I love your overalls! Could you tell me where you go those? I’ve been searching for the right pair!
White walls all the way! I find it uplifting and because I tend to have a ton of color in my accents (art, trinketry, pillows, flowers) it offers much more freedom to switch things out from time to time. Conversely, whenever friends with children visit, they drool over it but always always, hands down, say some variation of, “I could never have this in my home. The kids would destroy it.” So there’s that angle! But I love it for myself and can’t imagine living in anything but:)
I’m on the fence still about white walls….but I will join you in your dismay about grey. Total nightmare. I spent MONTHS trying to get a grey that had no blue in it at all and then when I painted it on, people were like “ooo I love that shade of blue!” Gah. Apparently it has to do with the direction the room faces. An easterly aspect will give a blue tone so no matter what grey you choose it will always look blue/lilac….
Also, when you moved into this house you said you would put wallpaper on every wall if you could afford to. Is that still true or has your crazy wallpaper kind of made you realise your love for white walls?
GIVE US THE GRAY POST! The only grey I’ve ever liked cad a pink cast.. so it was essentially pink. I’m a total fan of white. Give me all the white. I really want to try out Laura’s technique.
Our house is all shades of beige and grey-browns. Grey-brown is the worst colour because nothing goes with it! We painted our living room (the first room we’re working on re-doing) and we painted it white – and I love it. But I don’t think I would want my whole house white. Still trying to figure out what we will do – but I know I want at least one wall that is a dark teal in our bedroom. But maybe the rest of the walls white? Its interesting to think about this though – is the reason so many people like it just because its everywhere online?
If you live in an older home with great bones, white is beautiful and lets the home’s architectural details and character be the focus, but if you live a generic newer home like I do, white walls are depressing and feel unfinished. My husband LOVES white walls though, so I compromised by painting a colorful “wainscoting” around the lower 1/3rd of the walls and left the rest white. It sort of gives the feel of an architectural element and adds personality, but the room still feels really bright and airy.
I like white in other spaces, like yours, when there are accessories and statement pieces and nice furniture, etc. In my own house though, I can’t afford all that so I do a mix with colored walls with white walls to bridge between spaces. That way I get the color boost I crave without breaking the bank (I live in MT, there are very limited shopping options here ie no Ikea). Plus, white shows dirt way too easily and I simply don’t take the time to wash the walls weekly. lol
I am also on team white walls! I bought a house last year that had a Tuscan themed color palette – deep red, dark wood, beige and yellow kitchen… It was NOT my preference although done well. My sister and I wanted a beach theme so we painted the living room and kitchen (including the cupboards) a creamy white that wasn’t too yellow and painted the dark wood wall with a distressed beachy look, with slats of white, green, and blue. It turned out awesome and better than we thought it would. It is so much brighter and cheery.
We decided to do color in our bedrooms because we have never been able to do it. I did a blush pink and even though it looks really pretty, I wish I had done white. Now I am planning to repaint it and I am not looking forward to doing it. Ah well! You learn from experience I suppose! lol
I love your house btw!
I love both and totally think we can have the best of both. There’s nothing to stop us painting one room dark, another colorful and another white.
Most of our house is light but we painted one room dark and love it. Our art actually really stands out against the dark colour looks much more vibranthan than it did in our white walls.
I’m quite the opposite- colorful walls and neutral colored furniture. I find walls are easier to change up (and cheaper) than changing up furniture, particularly ones that can’t be slip covered. Also where I live (Alberta, Canada) there is a layer of snow already and will be here mostly till April/May. So I see lots of white outside and feel a colorful house is a nice contrast to that. However I do find homes with lots of colorful furniture/art/cabinetry etc. with white walls feels a lot different than minimalist style homes where white is the predominant color for all surfaces. The former I do enjoy and may employ when I have more colorful furniture and art, however I can’t stand the all white interiors you often see in magazines.
I’ve always loved colored walls. In my house my whole downstairs coordinated. the dining room and kitchen with an ice blue with jewel-toned green accents and my bathroom (off the kitchen) was the green with ice blue accents. I loved it. I also love to paint and I had small rooms with low ceilings so if I changed my mind it was NBD. Right now I live in a loft apartment with 15 foot high white walls. It doesn’t bother me and I don’t hate it but that’s probably because I can’t do anything about it nor would I want to get on a ladder and deal with that madness. In closing, if I had an apartment where I could paint, I would.
I’d love to hear about your favorite whites!
It really depends on what else is going on in the space. I do think white walls look clean and can allow you to add “removable” color elsewhere (pillows, bookshelves, etc.) but sometimes it looks too sterile to me. Like a psych ward or a horror film. Sorry, if that ruins them for you! :/ I prefer an off-white over a pure white.
I love the look of white rooms when other people do them, and am currently living in a beige palace so definitely craving the chance to change that up! I do find them intimidating to do right vs looking too sparse and minimalist (because that is not my style! I need cozy!) but I love how fresh they are and everything pops off of them. Love every time y’all do a white walled room tour here <3
That’s my issue! The gray is so warm it sometimes looks beige (NOOOOOOO) or sage-y. You should def do a grrr gray post! We can all vent together 🙂
I LOVE white walls. I first fell in love with them in an apartment, actually. I had previously been painting my walls every color under the sun: kermit green, burnt orange, turquoise, yellow, but could never get it “right”. In an apartment where I was forced to keep bright white walls, I started to embrace them and “my look” started to come together. In my first house, it was a budget-friendly choice because I bought white paint in five gallon pails and did the whole house. In my current lakehouse, bright white just feels right. It’s afforded me the freedom to paint my fireplace dark grey and my kitchen cabinets bright turquoise. White can be bold, too, because it offers a great contrast against dark and bright hues.
I’m definitely team “white walls”!
I am not a fan of white walls for every room. I personally like a tint of color for my wall choice. Right now my living room is very light blue/grey mixture and my bedroom is a very light grey/purple (think the lightest shade on a palette), with white accent walls.
I think JUST white walls are boring and show no personality and think it’s played out, esp when every blog now showcases white walls / everything on pinterest is around white walls/midcentury furniture/plants/minimalist decor. I get that it’s “fresh” or whatever but everyone ends up doing the same thing. To me, my favorite room in your house is your rose-wallpaper dining room because it’s interesting and different. But I know I am unique on this front. You keep doing you and do those white walls if that’s what you feel makes you happy!
Being Scandinavian, this whole discussion is SO funny for me to discover! Every single house I’ve ever been to (not counting traveling) or lived in has been predominantly white-walled (don’t know if that’s even a real word, but I’ll go with it…)
To think that there are people who see white walls as a ‘trend’ is really interesting, when here it just seems like the eternal go-to solution. I guess here in Scandinavia we appreciate every single bit of light that can get us through those long, grey winters, so bright and white never goes out of style – though bold coloured accent-walls have been getting pretty popular for a few years now.
Anyway, definitively on team white walls! For sure. But thanks for making me think twice about something that seems so unquestionable for me – and everyone I know. Gotta love the internet:)
I myself could not live with white walls. Most of the walls in my home are either painted gray, a light aqua/mint, or a very light green. White walls to me feel very sterile and boring. However I’m in love with all the white walls in your home, because it’s your style! But for me myself, I need to have some color on my walls.
Right now my kitchen walls are white and besides bedrooms and the main bathroom every other wall is painted Ralph Lauren Peony, which is a green-tinted light stone color. I’ve had this color on my walls for about 10 years now and next year I’ll be changing the Peony to white. We inherited a 72″ 1950s MCM sofa from my husband’s grandmother and had it reupholstered (and tufted) in an emerald green velvet. It’s gorgeous and I think it will look even more striking once the walls are painted white. So now I’m on the hunt for the perfect warm white. Do you mind sharing what color you paint your walls?
I have nothing against white walls, I think (like in your home) they look beautiful and fresh. That being said, for me personally, they’re just too bright. Also, if you have little natural light in your home white can look dirty. Mostly though I just love a moody room and the only way to get that is through color. I feel like white walls mean a bright, cheery room, but they feel like a one note song because they can only really be bright and cheery no matter the colors or style that go with them. Like everything with decorating it’s a deeply personal choice and I don’t believe there is a right or wrong way.
If you lived in apartments, you might not like white so much. As soon as I buy my first house, pow! Color city.
I listened to the podcast and was shocked when i first heard white walls described as a ‘trend’. To me, this is a classic option that will never date. We currently have shimmery peach 1980s wallpaper on every wall, and I cannot WAIT for the day we can make them all a soft warm white. It just makes everything feel clean and airy. I love the white on white textural look, but I also love bold colours, and think white walls are a great canvas. I think the key is getting the right white for the light (cool/warm) in the room. I lived in one white-walled london flat that did feel stark – but i think that had more to do with the grey skies! Also decor items bring the warmth and personality.
if the question is whether or not white walls are overdone, the answer is quite clearly yes–there are SO few design blogs out there that venture into nonwhite-wall territory, so it’s not very inspiring when you see YET ANOTHER house full of white walls… it would be nice to see some variety. i have to be honest–i ignore interiors posts about white-wall houses anymore, because those houses all wind up looking the same to me. modern, white, lots of plants, mid-century furniture, blah blah blah. that’s why i like ABM though–the vintage, the patterns, the diys–all that stuff makes a difference. plus, i so appreciate that you guys embrace different styles (elsie + emma have distinctly different eyes for interiors that i love seeing)!
I am a huge proponent of colour, so perhaps for that very reason always paint my walls white, other than the odd statement wall. The green of plants just pops against a white backdrop and art is showcased so well against white. I have a collection of handmade South American fabrics and they look so beautiful hung on a nice crisp white wall. I find that it looks so clean, fresh and modern.
Giiirl, I feel ya on the white walls AND I’m definitely pro paint the natural stone fireplace! However, I’m also pretty cray for gray- we painted our entire downstairs French Silver by Behr and I looooove it!
Hi from Finland! I undrestand that in US beige is the go to color in rented places? In Finland it’s white. I like the bright feeling it gives and it also has the blank canvas thing going for it… Defiantly renter friendly. And since I have rented since I moved from my parents house 7 years ago I’m sick and tired of the white blank life. It’s really boring and… boring.
That being said I get your point. It’s easy.
BUT I WANT SOME COLOR NOW PLEASE.
I love the idea of a blush ceiling. So pretty http://www.hannamarielei.com
I’m on the anti-white side, though I do understand it. When you start with a blank canvas, it’s easy to add and add until it feels complete, rather than adding on top of something that has a personality in its own right. I also like that shades of white do feel crisp and clean, especially after painting an older house (which I’ve done). BUT, I think that when you start with a plain canvas, you have exactly that. Everything you add from that point forward has to have some personality to prevent it from looking to sterile. And if you are limited in time or money or access to good stores/Craigslist ads/etc., it can be hard to pull off.
I’m pro color, pro wood paneling (that’s most of my house). It feels much more warm and inviting to me. And I think those are harder design choices sometimes to commit to and require a bit more long-term thinking and strategy. I think white can just be a safe or basic choice. So go color and go wood!
I like variety. Art and bold furniture look great against white walls, and I especially like white walls with contrasting black trim. But I could never live in a house with EVERY ROOM painted white. How boring! I think any designer who paints everything white is a one trick pony. Right now I’m tired of white walls, Mid-Century furniture, and rustic accessories. That look was trending 10 years ago, when I first started reading Apartment Therapy, and it doesn’t look fresh anymore. I’m glad to see color, pattern, and traditional furniture styles coming back. The last few issues of Elle Decor are SO WOW. Lots of bold, colorful New Traditional styles.
Elsie – What white paint colors do you like to use in your home?
I live in Oregon. Trees and clouds mean the house is dark. If we do not do white walls then the house is crazy dark. Even a light beige or pastel wall severely darkens the room. So we always do white, everything white!
I painted my house all pearl white and one statement wall: bold blue! My bedroom I painted in a light gray and I’m OVER IT and can’t wait to paint it all white. It feels right! And since I am terrible coordinating colors, it’s easier for me to not think about decor going well with my walls. I’m all for white!
I’m not sure if anyone from Florida has answered or not, but I think white-white walls would reflect bright light too much. I’m sitting here with latte walls and cream ceilings (go ahead and say it: boring) but it is calming. No problems with ‘light’ here (Sunny Florida!). White walls do photograph well for your blog!
Do you have a favorite “shade” of white? I’m currently testing patches of different whites on my walls and can’t seem to find the *perfect* one… Help!
Ha – I love that you did this post. And similar (but opposite) to you, Elsie, I am shocked to see so many comments FOR white walls!
I am definitively not a fan. I am all for color – the bolder the better. And, to be honest, every time ABM features a house tour, I always murmur to myself (possibly while rolling my eyes) “Of course…white walls…ugh.” Not a fan. I mean – it CAN look nice, & clean…but can everyone REALLY be this into white walls?!? Based on this comment section…yes…yes they can. Ha
But, of course – to each their own. And maybe I’ll hop on the white wall bandwagon in 10 years when they’re no longer trendy. I’m always behind the times 😛
THIS. You nailed what white walls remind me of. Rentals you can’t paint! haha
This is a really good point. Our house was built in the early 2000s…It NEEDS color to give it character!
I just left a comment about how the House Tours here on ABM tend to have white walls (which drives me a little crazy :P) – but you’re right, they do work in older homes…which in turn, tend to be featured here. The most recent Home Tour, with all that fun wallpaper, that was a treat!
I lovelovelove the white walls in the ABM houses and agree that they take superior photos when styled well. Paired with a colored floor or ceiling or a nice splash of wallpaper like you ladies do – yes, perfect!!
I live in an old Vermont post and beam with an open layout; lots of clashing and unfinished wood furniture, ceilings, and accents; loads of picture windows; barn board floors; a huge swath of forest green wall-to-wall carpeting; and a bit of drywall here and there. When I look around and envision MY (few) walls painted white, it doesn’t quite create the depth that my home needs with so much brown everywhere. To pair with all the character of the landscape and architecture, I chose to paint my walls in BOLD jewel tones. It looks so good with all the aging pine. Plus, I get the pleasure of painting my living room royal blue!!!
I think it depends on the house and the person! People who don’t have the budget (or stamina) for a remodel can add some fun to a bland cookie cutter style home by adding a colored wall or room! My sister painted their main room green during the colored walls craze and she and her husband are not big style and decorating people, so the green living room is actually pretty fun still a decade later. I am happy to rent a cute attic space in a craftman style home with a skylight and my white, white walls are fabulous with my natural light, pops of color pillows and rugs, and my millions of plants.
Wall color pulls the room together, so I think for white walls to work most of the rest of the room needs to be white also. (Like you have done beautifully in your home.) Otherwise it just looks like you couldn’t decide what color to paint the walls. And white upholstery and rugs start to look dirty pretty fast. My color of choice is shades of gray. (Stop snickering!) Gray gives you lots of color options for your furnishings, including white.
I LOVE white walls due to their stability underneath my ever-changing, eclectic taste in decor. That being said, in person, white walls can look cold and bare (to me) if not paired with art and other features to add warmth. Can I bring up a similar debate, though? White vs. stained trim. We bought our home 3 years ago, and after years of swooning over pictures with white walls and white trim (a completely white base), my initial thought was that I’d paint all of our trim white. However, in person, I actually do like the warmth that stained trim provides. Our trim is in beautiful condition, and I just can’t seem to bring myself to paint it. We even have a sun room with all wood paneling that I thought I’d paint white, but I kinda like it as is. Plus, whenever I see all-white trim in person, I find it easily looks dirty, which would mean more work on my part. And yet, I do still find myself drawn to pictures of homes with white trim. Just wondering how others feel about it.
P.S. Your house is flippin’ GORGEOUS!
Same!
I live in a log house so all the walls, even interiors, are wood. No paint or wallpaper anywhere in site. I like it a lot, but I do get kinda bored with it. I’ve thought about just picking out a couple logs in each room and painting them for a striped effect, haha! My hubby would not be pleased…
It was just a couple weeks ago when I was looking at several different websites featuring room designs and every one of them was white. Some I like and some not so much. I love how your home looks, it’s beautiful. But, truthfully, a white kitchen scares me…how in the heck do you keep it so clean?
I love the way white walls look in photos and in other people’s spaces, but I personally thrive on color. I need layers of color in my house. Depending on the house or room, that can mean bold color on the walls, or a softer, “neutral” color (like a soft blue) on the walls. I still need more color though, in the furnishings, with some Nuetrals thrown in to make the space not too crazy.
Oh, I should add that I believe you should decorate your own home the way YOU like it…. With little regard for what’s in “style”. Styles always are changing because people make a living off of other people buying new and different products (even though what they have still functions just fine). If you enjoy changing things up, or your own style has truly evolved, fine. But don’t paint your walls white (or any other color) simply because it’s what is in style for the moment.
I love white walls – in my last apartment, I painted over hunter green (ew) accent walls with matte white! Everyone thought I was crazy. They said matte white was for ceilings, but I didn’t listen and the effect was wonderfully velvety and soft. I can’t wait to live in a place I can paint again so I can have more velvety white walls.
I went with Emily Henderson’s recommendation of Super White in my new house I bought, so I’m sold on white walls. I love this discussion.
Elsie, I love your white walls! I’m in the renovation process right now and am painting most of my walls white. I’ve been a little hesitant, fearing I’m not taking enough risks in my decorating, but I really think that having white walls provides the foundation to have a lot of fun with texture and accents. I’m on the verge of painting my brown brick fireplace white… I think I’m sold now! 🙂
I do always get so excited when looking through design magazines or blogs and there is something other than white walls…
http://www.designsponge.com/2016/05/the-white-wall-controversy-how-the-all-white-aesthetic-has-affected-design.html
I wouldn’t even know what to do with colored walls. I think it’s our generation. I love wHite and it’s always my go to, but I’m curious to learn what to do with colored walls. I’m open to the idea. But I have no idea how, without being all beigy and eew. All my inspirations are always white, so maybe that’s my answer. Maybe your blog can interview and compile some who do it well, and how
I audibly gasped when I saw your bedroom. THE BEST ROOM DESIGN TO DATE. All the heart eyes! And team white walls.
I love white walls (and ceilings), they make a space feel light and fresh. I do, however, like to pair them with either an accent wall or curtains in a bright colour. The white makes everything pop! It’s not a trend for me, I’ve been decorating like this for two decades in different homes, just changing up the accent colour. And I don’t see that changing any time soon.
The white walls make it easier for me to photograph inside than it would be with light-sucking darker walls, and the accent wall or curtains make a nice coloured background for photo’s and keep the space from becoming boring.
I have recently painted my living room white, the first room on the decorating list. It is by far my favourite room in the house. It makes the cuhsions, prints & plants all pop! So fresh and lovely especially with a wooden floor! – Kirsty
our house gets almost no natural light so I found that colors were a must to make it feel warm and cheery. we live in a fabulous 100 year old neighborhood in the midwest where all the houses have porches and built-ins and are packed in very close so no sun pouring in my windows. Can’t have plants either. We did paint all the walls white when we moved in but after a few years it felt so sad and gloomy. When i was trying to pick a yellow for the living room my color blind husband kept steering towards brighter yellows. I said no way, too bright! you know what? the brightest warmest yellow we could find looks like a neutral in our dark living room, and makes it look like sun is pouring in!!!!
What paint color is the blush ceiling? And where did you find the pink planter??
I’m about to move house and the new house has every wall painted magnolia. I hate it and i can’t wait to paint them all white or grey or, most probably, any colour me and the boyfriend can manage to agree on 😛
I’ve been thinking on this topic a lot lately, looks like I’m not the only one. Reading the comments here, it seems the majority of people are pro white painted walls. It’s not really a big surprise to see that, since the people who read this blog are interested in what you, the authors, like. I see the houses showcased on this blog as very similar in style: white walls, funky retro light fixtures, lots of arranged art and photographed wall hangings, bold wallpapers, and awesome vintage flea market trinkets speckled everywhere. I like this style, it’s very appealing to look at photographs of it. However, I think that because this trend has become so popular, I’m seeing more or less the same concept repeating. The same white walls, similar decorating style. It all blends together and now it all looks the same to me. Currently, I prefer a mix of color painted walls, which also include white, just not everywhere. I love looking in magazines and seeing rich colored living rooms and kitchens, and colored tile back-splashes. I like the look of bold white crown molding with colored walls. I guess just different styles for different people. I think design style also depends on your living situation. For example I grew up in a house of ‘Space Grey’ walls and we were never allowed to paint. Kids love to paint their rooms and individualize. If you’re living in that situation, the white walls in every room might no longer be the style you’re aiming for. I think I’m going to play devils advocate here and go on the side of Bye-bye, white walls trend.
For as long as I can remember I have painted rooms in bold colors. Loved it. But when I started noticing what images I pinned, they were all rooms with white walls with colorful accessories, accents etc. So about a year ago I painted my living room white. I LOVE it. I love how the accents I have pop!
I don’t think white works in every room — especially dark rooms that tend to reflect the dark shadows and end up looking dingy. I also think choosing the right color white is tougher than any color! I have a Spanish home that had a lot of dark browns and oil rubbed bronze finishes and when we first moved in, the white felt unfinished and looked like primer so I immediately painted over some of the rooms in a warmer beige/off-white. But now 10 years later, I’m ready to go back to a brighter white, but with something that still has some warmth, I’m having a hard time deciding what paint color to choose!
That said, I think white is here to stay a while and can look timeless if you choose other furnishings and decor that isn’t as trendy.
When my husband and I moved into our house three years ago, we stumbled upon a fantastic sale of Benjamin Moore paint at $10 a gallon. We needed to paint almost wall in our house, so we bought all they had and painted everything white. Three years later, I have no regrets.
White walls have kept me from getting sick of a color I can’t work around and have to eventually repaint. White walls match everything. White walls are cheap. I LOVE WHITE WALLS! I’ll never go back.
When I saw your fireplace my heart fluttered a little. I am in the exact same boat with an ugly brown (fakeish) rock fireplace. I’ve looked around to find pictures of others who have painted their’s and have been disappointed with the results. Do you have any tips? I didn’t see a post about it – I’m thinking maybe it’s in the works? I would love to hear what you have to say. Thanks!!!
I was so excited when I heard this podcast! It’s something I’ve wanted to comment about on ABM for years. I love all of your homes, and appreciate your defined aesthetic… but where’s the wall color variety?!
I’m definitely on team colored walls. I love to have saturated wall tones with neutral or natural furniture and just a pop of an accept color or throw blanket. It makes me less tempted to spend all my money switching up accessories, since I can just switch the wall color in a few years when the mood strikes. And I do find white walls, especially when paired with white bed linens (which I love!) a bit underwhelming. I think your “At Home With” series would be a great opportunity to showcase some other home owners who embrace the colored the walls 🙂
This is a deceptively polarizing topic, I think!
First off, two confessions: 1) I’m a college student living at home with my parents at the moment and so 2) I have never lived with a white wall before–my parents’ home is mostly Martha Stewart/Pottery Barn type neutrals like light sage/beige/cream, while my bedroom is half aqua, half apple green.
So, as a minimalist with maximalist tendencies, I anticipate a lot of white walls in my future–I think they look clean & bright but allow for freedom with decoration while keeping the space from looking too busy. That being said, I don’t think I could do every wall in a house white. Having lived with a bedroom with colorful walls for years, I appreciate the cozy/happy factor a good wall color can add to a special space within a home. Also, I think a white wall works best with more intentional styling, perhaps why it is more popular with blogger/artistic types and not so much the everyperson.
I don’t think you were always a white walls person… I remember your house in Springfield. White Walls has been your Nashville house. I think it looks lovely but I am a gray, blue and green girl myself. Every blogger is doing white walls these days. It seems to be the thing. Bleubird does the same thing.
I think all white walls are lovely in other people’s houses, but the look doesn’t appeal to me in my own home. My family lives in Northern Minnesota – where there’s snow on the ground for at least half the year! Maybe that has something to do with it!
I love saturated colors, and I like to paint, so when I get tired of a bold color, I just repaint!
Definitely love white walls. Two years ago when we bought our apartment my partner and I painted all the walls white – they used to be a strange faded yellowy peach colour which made the small space feel pretty dingy and dark. When we did the very first room there was a moment where we thought it was way too stark and cold and we’d made a mistake, but I have gotten used to it and it has made a huge difference to the whole place – so much lighter and more open. And our furnishings and art contrast pretty nicely against the white.
Lately I’ve been thinking of adding a coloured feature wall here and there to mix things up a little – but every time I do a Photoshop mockup to see how it would look, I always just end up switching off the colour layer to go back to the white walls!
Perhaps one day I’ll just go ahead and take the leap, but for now the white really does work well for our little space.
I grew up in rentals my whole life until the age of 25 so I am over white and beige walls. I’ve owned my own home for the last year and loved nothing more than painting every room a different color. Maybe one day I’ll consider white again.
We are currently renovating our first home.
A few weeks ago our builder, who also is my father-in-law, started talking about paint.
I said “paint everything white!”
My very displeased father-in-law replied with “you live in England, white walls will make your house cold, you don’t want white walls. Paint them Beige”
To stop a heated debate with my husbands father, I just told him that white paint is the cheapest and we wanted to save money, then paint the walls a colour once we have the money in a few years.
But that’s not true. To me white walls make a space feel open and clean. I am very much in the same mindset as you Elise. I don’t want to live in a beige palace 🙁
Totally agree with Ally.
I’ve always loved the way white walls look in blogs and in a well decorated space. When we bought our first house I wanted everything painted white but after quickly finding out we were expecting another child I quit my job and we went down to one income. What I found was that white walls are awesome if you have the finances to furnish and decorate it as you wish. Spending anything extra on decorations simply isn’t an option right now and a $30 can of an interesting paint color adds the interest that my rooms need and can always be changed in the future if our circumstances change. I love my family and wouldn’t change a thing but white walls are not for us right now!
white walls have been and always will be a classic in my opinion
you can´t go wrong with them and they are the perfect background for the many colours in life 😉
Its like a plain canvas to paint the everyday life on 😉
I love them a lot they just are simple, plain, classic, elegant and wont ever restrict you in playing with home decoration ideas 😉
just pure and perfect 😉
besides the pure and raw materials of i.e. brick walls or such 😉
I love how white walls look on blogs … but while my beautiful home is VERY heavy on white furniture, white cabinetry, and white decor of all kinds, I’ve learned that I don’t really love true white on my own walls. In fact, I made the mistake of painting my entire two-story foyer white, and I regret it.
Instead, I’ve learned that I love almost-white walls with just a *hint* of undertone — BM’s Ballet White and Maritime White are favorites, as are many of the blushy whites you’re seeing cropping up right now (SW’s Intimate White is gorgeous). These “whites” cast warmth and light even on a dreary gray day, and even at night, which is so important in a dark room or in a wintry climate where sunny souls like me suffer from the winter blues.
It’s all about the sunshine!! 🙂
We live in an old Victorian that we are renovating ( and we are blogging about it). We moved here to Indiana from NYC and I’m gradually breaking my husband, a lifelong NYer, into small town life – I mean really small, like 2,000 people. I am so glad I found this blog for remodeling tips and inspiration. So my biggest problem to tackle is saving money while we pull off this huge renovation. I want to get to the design-y part but there are many large expenses first. In fact there are so many big picture things that it makes changing wallpaper and room colors seem like an unnecessary indulgence.. because it was obviously already professionally wallpapered and painted within the last 20 yrs. The quality of the craftsmanship on the paper and paint job is incredible – the choice of paper and paint not so much. What do you do in this situation? TL;DR I would Love to paint my walls white – but I feel incredibly guilty painting over a perfectly good paint and wallpaper job! Whyyyyy?
It’s so funny to see that white walls are a trend 🙂 Over here in Switzerland, 99% of all walls are white! It’s so standart that people think you’re crazy when painting a wall in a colour 🙂
Of course, I have a Problem with all white walls because it’s just so ordinary for us…
I like my walls painted, but i mostly mix 1 or 2 coloured ones with the standart-whites – because i really love building a theme arround that colour for the room-decoration. To my opinion, all white needs good lightning and decoration-skills because it will look grayish and cold during our long winter-nights and it always depends on the room. I used a dark tealblue on my TV-Room to make it relaxing and comfy and give it a movie-theater kind of twist, i used light blues on my bedroom so the mornings feel fresher, hot pink and blush pink on my office / creative-room and some funky russian green on the entry. But of course it’s important to use colours who match with the standart white walls – mustard or brown won’t work in my opinion.
So white with a dash of colour works best for me – that’s why I realy adore your blog <3
I’m on team color! I think it’s a matter of what you value in your living space. I personally enjoy simple design and style without a lot of accessories, so having bold colors on the wall really works well for the way I style my home. If my walls were white, my house would feel SO boring because I’ve just got some furniture, a few pillows, and maybe a picture or two on the wall.
If you love accessories in your decorating, then white walls may be a better compliment to your style because they play well with all accessories. It’s all in the styling!
I love white walls but I can’t ever seem to get it right, they always end up too cold/blue eyes or too creamy/yellow. What’s your go-to White? Do you always use the same white or do you vary based on the room?
I love white walls. I have been taking baby steps to all white walls the past few years. We just bought a new house and I am testing different whites. The question I have is, do I paint the trim the same color white as the walls?
I always thought I’d go color crazy when it buy a house, but the time has come and I want to just paint it all white and go crazy with color in all the furniture and accessories.
Where did you get your bed?
I love your bed. Where did you get it!
Marshmallow by Sherwin Williams is what I mainly used int this home. It’s very close to white but just slightly warm only because I didn’t want any blue tint.
xx- Elsie
Hi Elle!
It’s from Room & Board. Last time I checked they still carry it. It comes as a steel color but we painted in white when we moved here (we used Rustoleum oil base white paint by the way).
xx- elsie
Personally I like to do my trim whiter and shinier. So usually I use un-tinted bright white in a gloss for trim. However in this house 95% of it was already painted white so we just matched it because obviously it saved a ton of work.
xx- Elsie
In this house we used Marshmallow by Sherwin Williams.
xx- Elsie
Wall color, or lack thereof, is a very personal thing. I like have a few white walls, usually a warmer off-white shade and then have the rest of the walls in various colors- but that’s just what I’m comfortable with. Our decor is primarily jewel-tones with some lighter and brighter shades thrown in. Our house is also a work in progress, we haven’t re-painted the Master bedroom yet, but it’s near the top of my to-do list because it’s a deep burnt orange and really isn’t a relaxing bedroom color to us. The kitchen is first though, the accent wall is a slightly sickly looking yellowy green that we are changing to a pink toned candy apple red. Then comes the living room, which the previous owners painted completely bright blue (read: all four walls!); it’s not as jarring with our photographs and artwork up, but still…
All white walls can seem cold or sanitized to me, but those are my personal feelings on the subject. I have seen it done very well and it can seem very tranquil and soothing, but it’s just not my cup of tea.
Well, this is timely since I’m planning on changing our interior walls from gray to all white. I just discovered your blog, so you may have already answered this question…but what is your go-to white paint color for white walls? I’m leaning towards BM Simply White. Thanks… and your bedroom is swoon-worthy!
I’ve been on the cusp about painting the walls white in my house. We live in a Frank Lloyd Wright inspired. The builder studied under FLW and built our house to live in (in 1970) and is a well-known architect in our area. We have several beautiful real wooden walls & the sunken living room has a wooden ceiling (not paneling). I don’t want to paint the wood walls or ceilings, but have considered painting the walls white. I’m just not sure if they would look too stark against the wood. I guess the only way to find out is to jump in and do it! I absolutely love the way you have transformed this home and your last one. Beautifully done!
Ever lived in a beige palace, anyone? <--- Ummmm, YES. It's absolutely the worst. Especially when you can't paint the walls. I used to live in a darling 1920s apartment complex that was under the historical foundation and nothing could be changed. Such a same. However, living in those those homes really help you appreciate and shape the future of your home. White walls are so photogenic. Such a great post! - Allison
I think everyone in blogland discovered that white walls photograph really well at the same time (+minimalism exploded errywhere.) Design Sponge even wrote an article that said 90% of their submissions are all white walls, so it feels overdone/boring rn because the internet is saturated with examples. I think it looks nice in photos, but it really doesn’t feel clean to me in person because every little mark shows. Maybe I’m the only one who is a lazy house keeper 🙂 But in theory, all white walls are nice and very modern art museum-y, it would just be nice to have more variety in inspiration.
Love that bedroom! Where is the blue pillow and pink throw from?
Please recommend a lovely white paint colour. About to paint our bedroom. What’s the paint colour you used? Thanks
We painted our previously easter-egg colour ( pastel in every room) 195o’s home almost entirely white after recently updating the old laminate floors to dark hardwood. It was a bit of a ‘modern trend’ move, but because the house is so quirky ( odd curved door frames, plaster walls and fancy ceilings in only 2 rooms, no shower just tub), the white seems to simplify it and make it feel cozy. I wonder if white in brand new homes feels more unfinished because they don’t have the same character as older homes? I don’t think all-white interiors is as fadish as everyone thinks….people have been painting their homes white, or ‘white-washed’, for centuries 🙂
It’s so fun to read your take on white walls after hearing you on the podcast! And it was such an honor to be a guest with you…it’s funny how we all have different views on the same thing and I love that we get to celebrate such a fun topic!
xo – kb
All white everything. You have my vote. So cute. Any recommendations for combining your stuff with your man’s? I’m going to be doing this in a month for the first time and want to be fair to him as well as myself and make sure we are both happy with how it turns out.
http://www.throughmyowneyes.com
I’m new here…but this post is about one of my passions : white. I love the color white. I love it on my walls, on my trim, on my clothes and sleeping in crisp white bedding. I have a white dog! My husband and I are renovators. We’ve painted every color and gone with so many trends and white is always always what I come back to. I live in Wisconsin and find the white bright and uplifting during long winter days and energizing and fun during sunny days. I use Ben Moore super white on walls and simply white on trim. Bright white trim is not my thang. White goes with every single color I could ever want or need to decorate with.
Now, I do agree that in rooms lacking natural sun light it can look a bit drab. That’s when I add just the lightest hint of color. The lightest gray or blue or green. Whatever works. Right now I’m thinking about bold wallpaper and…black…walls…in our powder room. I should say that my doors are blacK. That is always a beautiful thang.
Thanks for the post!
I have been wanting to go all white for some time now but I was afraid to go white white…so we just finished doing our living room in Benjamin Moores Swiss coffee and now I want my entire house this shade of white.. it just feels so much cleaner. It’s so bright! I seriously thought that my house didn’t have great light until we went white…shocker, it does. Once you go white you never go back. That’s what I say.
Please, please, please do a grey post!! Soon-to-be first time home owner and grey is the only color my soon-to-be hubby seems to like!!! 🙁 #WhiteWallsOverEverything
He is a guy so it doesn’t really matter. Men should never be included in making decorating decisions. I learned this the difficult way. And so will you in time. But if you must compromise give him a man cave and paint it gray 🙂
i know this is a little late but do you know where the top blanket on the bed is from?
Hi Zoe,
It’s from Anthropologie. xx
Where did you get the chandelier that is in your white bedroom?
Hi Anna! It’s from West Elm- http://rstyle.me/n/b5wdwhnr5e