Paint is the easiest and least expensive way to transform a room. And it can be the most complicated. The good news is that it is easily fixable—either by you if you are a DIYer or if you are like me, by a professional painter. I always have great plans to implement my design ideas, but it never seems to happen or worse happens half way and then I have call in the pros. Ask my gardener!
I won’t get into strong color right now, we’ll save that for another blog. What I want to talk about are the neutrals—the whites—of which there are many. If you think about the fact that White is the blending of all colors and is a color. Light appears colorless or white. Sunlight is white light that is composed of all the colors of the spectrum. So that makes choosing a white more complex than it might seem at first blush (pun intended).
When I was a kid, Navajo White was the go to trim oclor and base paint. Looking at it now it feels so yellow and dated. I prefer a brighter trim color and love Ben Moore’s Cloud White or Farrow & Ball’s All White. I often suggest using a semi gloss on trims, and using the same color in a lower sheen on the walls. If you have white kitchen cabinets, a great trick is to match your trim to the cabinetry to create a smooth transition to baseboards and molding. On outdoor trim, I suggest as high a gloss as possible. Here is Farrow & Ball’s All White #2005.
How crisp is that?
Benjamin Moore, Cloud White OC-130,
Or Farrow & Ball’s Wimborne white—a tiny touch of yellow really warms both these colors up
If you want a slightly warmer white try
If you are still looking for a little grey in your palette, I like Distant Grey from Ben Moore, shown here with Simply White Trim, a really nice mix.
I also really like
Benjamin Moore, Calm, OC-22
Benjamin Moore, Classic Grey OC-23
Some parting advice:
Part of what you are buying is the chemistry of the paint. If you color match to a less expensive brand, you won’t get the depth of color you are hoping for. Be careful. My suggestion—stay on brand.
Buy sample pots and test them in your home in your lighting conditions. This is not easy to get right folks, but guess what—if you don’t like it, you can just paint over it!
Starr