You'll find colour experts/fanatics on the Home Dec forum who might be able to help, especially if you post a picture of the house. I know just enough to know that some very subtle differences could make a real difference to the outcome. For example, there are whites, and whites, and then still other whites. If it's a cool white with blue tones vs a warmer white with yellow or pink tones, your choices may look different. Of course, it may just be a white white - ours was too, by the way, when we bought it; white all over, inside and out. I came to appreciate that as I started stripping paint and realized that at some point the house was likely sort of an acid jade green on all surfaces inside and out, as were most of the houses in this neighbourhood. We did paint the house, and I'm happy we did - not an original colour though. I'm not a huge stickler for maintaining original colours for the sake of authenticity. You obviously do feel that way, and I respect that, but I would question your belief that changing the whole house colour would be more work than merely painting the trim. You might like to visualize whether you'd be happy with white trim if you changed the house colour. This is because painting trim is more work than you might think, especially if you have three porches. Having said all that, with a base scheme of black and white, your range of colour choices is enormous, and personal taste is going to play a huge role, as will the kind of presence you want the house to exude. Obviously earth tones won't go (rusts, olives) as they go with beige, not white; nor beiges or navies, being too close to your two base colours. I tend to think soft pastels might be your best family to look at, and you could go either two-tone (light green and darker green) or two contrasting colours: blue and yellow, blue and pink, etc. Those would be a bit country, I suppose, or maybe a little feminine. If you prefer a really dressy look, grey might be your best option, perhaps with some black highlights to connect to the roof. Taupe and black might also work for that look. You might consider photoshopping a few ideas, or if you prefer the non-tech route, taking a few photos, printing them out, and colouring on them. I'm linking below to a blog entry by Maria Killam on choosing exterior trim colours in which she also talks about different whites. The rest of her blog may also be of interest to you. KarinL Here is a link that might be useful: Colour me happy blog

Bright white trim with Dover White. Had many rooms in my home painted this color to prepare for sale. Looked great, sold fast, great price. My painter loved it and started using it for his other customers. This house was in Florida... don't know where you're from but would consider the quality of the light in your area. This color worked well with tiled floors (warm neutral), hickory hardwoods, and grey carpet in an office. I even used this color outside to freshen up the stucco in the entryway and the lanai. Hope this helps!

Hah! I have tried to have a white room for many years and always get sick of it. Because of the high ceilings and beams this space is very hard to paint so we just stick with what was there when we bought it. I love grey and have BM Smoke Embers in my living room in my other house but that room gets a ton of light and the grey looks very elegant. This space is a lot more rustic and I think a grey might be gloomy unless it was the perfect shade. We painted two rooms in yellows...the laundry and one of the bedrooms..in this same house and they really came to life. I might need something warm.

I wouldnt go white on the walls, your room, needs a bit of interest, and color. Pick a white with a hint, of blue, green, or aqua. Right now, its a bit boring. In the kitchen, I would also repaint the trim, the color of the cabinets. Those two whites just dont go well together. A picture of the entire kitchen, rather than just small parts would also help.