I remember Hildy from Trading Spaces doing the most horrible things to people's walls, really desecrating them with awful dark things. Then I read an article about her and she said that she lived in a house that was all white inside.

I don't care for bright white walls, even with color added in furniture and accessories. One of my favorite whites is Adobe White, which looks white, until compared to something that is actually white. Then it looks creamy, and reminds me of another favorite, Heavy Cream, which is darker--warm and cozy on the walls, but looks lighter in pictures. I like earth tones, muted colors, and mixing wooden furniture pieces, so those two are good backdrops.

I live with off white right now and it's easy - but I don't have kids.

I think as my art collection grows over time I will gravitate more and more to white.

I have an entirely interior dining room and this is the only place I'm hankering to change out the off white. It needs something more.

I live in a cloudy cold climate and I think whites and brights are the best response (for me personally)!

I'd love to paint a "warm cream" but all my trim is bright white, and I think it would not look good together

White walls- hmmm; my first apartment was all white-everywhere: kitchen, bathroom, livingroom and bedroom. Let's just say I couldn't wait to move to get rid of all that White. It was too much. Too stark, had no personality for me. Anyway, I lived with it for almost 12 years and noted then to myself that I'll only use white as a trim going forward. Some people may love it but I think I had a little too much of it.

I don't know if mama_goose's Heavy Cream is the same I had (mine was SW Martha Stewart Heavy Cream, 2003 - could be different today), but I didn't like it. In my house, it had a sickly green undertone. In another house, I had everything painted Pratt and Lambert Antique White. I really liked that. It went with everything.

Thank you all! This is a fascinating discussion to me. : ) It seems like I've had every manner of color on our walls in the past 9 places where we've lived, from dark hunter green on the bottom third of the room with a border and yellow paint above it when we first got married back in '96, to a maroon/brown/deep purple family room that was awesome at night but went a little fuzzy by day, to deep red accent walls (cozy and wonderful at night, but a little dark and oppressive feeling in the daytime), and pale purple in my girls' room (loved it, it was cheerful all the time), pale yellows (which made me feel edgy), soft greens (meh), sky blues (meh again), a dark green in the master bedroom of the house we just moved into (really enjoying that, but there are big windows which help a lot), a medium blue in the laundry (like that too, for the brief times I'm in there), oh, and a couple of medium brown rooms (hated!!!! They totally depressed me-ugh. I didn't learn the lesson the first time around. Made the mistake *again* at the next house. What was I thinking?)So, yeah, I LIKE color. And *variety*. I carry my SW paint deck around like a little girl with a baby doll. All those possibilities wrapped up in one tight bundle, sigh. : ) Maybe the white walls would let me scratch my change-it-up itch through different curtains, throw pillows, colorful quilts, artwork, painted furniture, etc. While painting isn't that difficult or expensive, it is disruptive to a family of nine. Dh doesn't appreciate my penchant for wanting to repaint as often as I'd like to, either. ; )

I've had off whites I guess, but never a true white-white. I came close to having a true white at a cottage we stayed at in the Outer Banks of NC, and I LOVED it (wish I knew what white it was!), but there was sooo much light from all the windows and the beach, I wasn't sure if that was throwing my appreciation of it off. It's good to hear a fellow north-easterner say that the whites are really working.

I look at the pictures of Swedish and Scandinavian design and wonder with the long winters and extreme darkness, why they so often choose bright white interiors. Is it because it bounces so much light around, or because of the clean aesthetic? Why? But then there's Carl Larsson who used deep shades of green, orange, yellow as well as others in his delightful Scandinavian home.

I love the pictures that have been posted, and there was one in the link I thought was yummy with a stone wall (I'm drawn to that natural texture) and a red door. Wow, that one totally got me.
The problem I'm having with colorful walls is that I tire of them quickly. I spend too much time looking at them trying to decide if I really, truly like them or not. That, and they seem to eat up the light. Part of the reason we moved to the home we're in now was because of the southern exposure with large windows. I'm enjoying that immensely after having a house with mostly northern exposure and dim interiors. I crave light. (And sugar, but that's a different discussion, LOL.)

It sounds like most of you prefer a warmer white, which is interesting. Some warmer whites tend to read yellow to me, so I wonder if I'd almost prefer a pure white to an off white, as long as it didn't come off cold. We can't have that, especially with these arctic temps this week!

It's really neat to hear everyone's ideas on what works for them and what doesn't. I hope more will be able to chime in. Please include the manufacturer if you mention a particular white since I love to look the colors up and see them myself. I'll have to look up the P&L antique white tomorrow. I think I have one of their color sheets here somewhere. (Yes, I collect those like seashells. : P )

Wall color is my first consideration. It always cracks me up when people are decorating their bedrooms and someone says get your bedding first and then choose a wall color. I have to like my walls first and foremost. Then I'll find bedding that looks good with it, but it's secondary to me.

I did some checking and discovered the last time I painted a wall white was back in 2001, and that was for a builder.

I love my white walls. I had just about every room painted SW Alabaster after we redid the kitchen a few years ago. My children's bedrooms are colors of their choosing, It is an open concept post and beam and while the previous owners color was a good fit and neutral(SW Believable Buff) it just made me feel crowded.

The white walls are warm, and they let the architectural details of the house shine, they arent saying look at me, they are just their.

I live in the Northeast and they never feel cold to me day or night. I do think texture and wood are important counterpoints. My house is filled with wood floors, there are area rugs, the post and beams add weight and depth, brick fireplace, lots of artwork.

I love our white walls (SW Honied White) - like others have said, I never get tired of them. I do think white walls look better with strong architecture you would find in an older home (or a custom home) - white walls in builder grade apartments can definitely seem cheap or dingy.

I have lived with white walls in our primary home for over 20 years and have loved them. The main living spaces are painted BM Linen White which is a creamy white but does not look at all yellow in our light.

When we built a second home for retirement, I went with color (sort of) with BM Revere Pewter and while I like it very much I do find I miss the bright, clean look of the white. Will see how it grows on me over time.

If you like the look of white walls, I think you will love living with them. Art, rugs, wood all look fabulous with them. Good luck!

One of my favorite rooms.

IKEA.com

My last house had white walls when we moved in and I HATED IT. :) Went room by room slowly redoing them. NEver finsihed (it was a big house :) ) before we moved. I did colors on the walls and ceilings. I loved it!

tried to do the same with my current house and it did not work out well. after 5 years I just recently painted the main areas a light off white and I love it. I think this house just didn't work well with color for me. :( not enough light, not much interesting to the house itself, etc. It took me mearly 25-30 paint swatches to figure out which one worked well;. I painted them on 2-3 areas to be sure they would work. many colors that looked so fabulous in other GW homes looked terrible in mine!

finding the right off white!

Finding the right off-white is MUCH harder than choosing a backsplash. Once you find it, never let it go. SW Antique White 4 Life!!

The only "white" room I have lived with long-term was BM Natural Wicker. Had it in our master bedroom for several years. I'd use it again, because I do think it's a great neutral.

When we first bought our house 19 years ago, there was wallpaper in every room and we had everything painted BM Linen White, but that didn't last long because we like color. Eventually we repainted all the rooms.

"I have to like my walls first and foremost. Then I'll find bedding that looks good with it, but it's secondary to me." I generally feel this way, too, Linelle. That's part of the appeal of white to me right now. I love to go thrift store shopping, and if I see a quilt for $10 that I like, I want to be able to bring it home and work it into a room without having to repaint! But, for someone who does want a particular color on their walls, picking a fabric and drawing out one of the colors from it is almost a failsafe way to pull together a room, so that makes sense to me, too.

There is a lot of "pressure" to have colors on our walls, Brushworks, with the idea that white is unfinished. That's interesting that it's been since '01 since you've done rooms for clients in white!

"...the previous owners color was a good fit and neutral(SW Believable Buff) it just made me feel crowded." Wow, I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one that can have a strong reaction to a color like that, Localeater. Alabaster is a color I'd love to sample, it looks very nice, and it's good to hear that it works for your NE location (yay!)

What is this Honeyed White of which you speak, lalalalane? It's not in my fandeck. : ( I wonder if it has been discontinued(?) Our house does have some nice architecture, nice moldings, a big bay window, 9' high ceilings, so maybe we can pull white off. Wheee! I can see where builder basic would be conducive to more color on the walls to bring on some pizazz. That makes sense.

20 years with the same color, now that's sayin' somethin', rubyclaire ! And then "I went with color (sort of) with BM Revere Pewter and while I like it very much I do find I miss the bright, clean look of the white." That's instructive to me. I've looked at pictures of soft gray rooms and had big question marks about them in my head. I don't know if I could do gray in my rooms happily or not. I hope you're right and that I'll love living with white.

Nice, nosoccermom. If we get new couches, I'd love to make the 4 hour trip to Ikea to do so. They look very nice (and white ; ))

What a time you had of it, Boopadaboo, trying to pick colors. Kudos to you and your DH to sticking with it until you could find something that worked for both of you. Thanks for the link! It was helpful not only to see your process of working it out, but also since it took me to Funcolor's website where I learned new things that are very helpful. Like LRV's and the letters on the paint chips signifying what colors are in them...how could we not be taught these things? I learned the quadratic equation in school, but not how to read a paint chip. What gives?! I want a refund, LOL.

"Finding the right off-white is MUCH harder than choosing a backsplash. Once you find it, never let it go. SW Antique White 4 Life!!" Oh, no Linelle, tell me it isn't so! I thought by going with a painted beadboard backsplash I could avoid ABB woes (waaah!)

Violetwest, I thought of this picture when you mentioned wanting to do white and cream but you were unsure how they'd play together. I think this is a successful white and cream combo. It was one of my first favorite kitchens and it still makes me happy to look at it, as long as I don't have to bang my knees sitting at that island.

My Adobe White and Heavy Cream are Valspar from Lowe's. Spiced Vinegar is the third color on the chip, so the undertones aren't green--more of a golden tan.

laughablemoments, that's one of my favorites, too. I've looked at that pic dozens of times, and never once noticed the lack of knee space at the island!

Growing up we had some white white walls. It never bothered me, but I wouldn't want my house like that. Creamy whites are more appealing to me. I think you need to use a lot of color if you're going with white and a lot of light so it doesn't look dingy. I started out with a lot of color on my walls and now most of the house is beige. I'm feeling like painting again (not really the act of painting, but I'm ready for the change!), and I'll be sprucing the laundry up with another darker color.

My neighbor has off-white walls. The walls and the woodwork are the same color, but the walls are flat and the woodwork is semi-gloss (or satin, I can't tell the difference), so they look slightly different. Her furniture is all white tones except a pair of charcoal chairs. The color in her house comes from beautiful artwork on the walls and fantastic oriental carpets on the floors. It is really a charming house.

Another neighbor has bright yellow walls in her FR/DR; the adjoining kitchen and breakfast room are green - like a highlighter green, somewhere between green apple and chartreuse. Her floors are nearly black. She has a lovely collection of contemporary art and folk art. I don't think I could live in her house (sensory overload) but it is quite fantastic looking and I love visiting there.

thanks for posting the picture of the cream with white. I don't like it at all, hmm.

Personally I am a big advocate of white walls. As they are serene and peaceful so they are fit for every season be it summers or winters. However i'll prefer to play around with the colour of curtains and furniture.

I don't like white or light colored walls. I love historic colors. I had my dining room done with burgandy colored designed wall paper and loved it. Unfortunately my husband prefers light colors. White or light colors are boring almost depressing to me. They feel cold and impersonal somehow. Kinda like "I couldn't decide on a color".

I love whites and creams together, like in the photo laughable posted above. Layered, not having to worry about matching exactly.

Also, laughable, finding the white for my walls made finding the white for my backsplash that much easier. It's a variation of my walls (and cabinets). I went through all the elimination of unhappy undertones several years before and had lived in harmony with my chosen white. I thought I wanted a more assertive color for my backsplash but GW helped me out. I do not regret getting a quiet backsplash.

I love monochromatic whites, off-whites and beiges, but after a while I can't live with them. I start adding more and more color. So now I know I can't do white long term. White walls work fine in the right house, if you have the colored accessories. My house in Hawaii started out with white walls, but now I have colored accent walls: green in the living room and master bedroom, papaya in the dining room, plus two other rooms are painted yellow. That makes me happy.

I see white walls that look nice but my apt and first house were white walls and found it boring / sterile.

I actually very much like white but as accent.

Not a white wall in house just built, even went with light colors and love how the palest shades of color on walls is all it takes to make invisible white accents that wouldve disappeared in a white room become understated, pretty accents.Just love the way colored walls accentuate white baseboard and crown molding and white matted framed pictures. White / ivory curtains just seem more special with a color behind them. Our kitchen is completely white cabinets and very pleased with how the adjacent colored walls make them more pronounced.

i like white walls very white with the right light (windows and artificial) and the right furnishing, flooring etc
we have sw antique white in half our house now and it looks like butter with a lot of windows and lots of white trim ceilings are sw windowpane not white and i think that makes a difference
flooring is slate and old pine look fl vinyl plank we really really like it
builder didn't particularly like the color combos but now that we're finished, he brings people by to take a look.....

All of our walls and ceilings are SW White Flour. I like them a lot but will admit that a good part of the color choice was due to inability to pick a different color. Our house is white on the outside too. We have covered porches off most of the house so it is nice to have the light bounce around on the first floor. I have 3 young boys and the walls occasionally show smudges, but I make the kids wipe them off :-)

I love white walls. My favorite white is a white right from the can called High Reflective White by SW. It's a bright white & it is a richer, fuller white when compared to other whites. It doesn't lean one way or the other for me and is always perfect day or night regardless of bulbs.

My favorite 'not bright white' is Pure White from SW. It's white but not as bright as HRW. I've tried so many custom mix whites and I was just as disappointed w/ most of them as I was w/ most colors I tried to choose for my walls. The sales guy at SW helped me pick it. I honestly think that he took me on as a challenge to prove me wrong in the whites that I was looking at. I obsessed w/ him for way too long. I was sure that he was going to be wrong but he wasn't and it's perfect.

My biggest white disappointment was BM Simply White. It's what I painted our bedroom. My bedroom also has an alcove. It's beautiful in the alcove and beautiful in natural light. I love it. I despise it at night w/ the bedroom lights on. Doesn't matter if it's traditional incandescent bulbs or 'natural light' bulbs. Always reads yellowish.

zippity1, I have SW Antique White in about 80% of my house. When the light hits it, it is sublime, the color of sunshine. On the walls and ceiling it's like being surrounded by buttercream. The planes merge and fade.

my last house was somewhat darker used the same color and it looked much darker on the wall love it in rooms with lots of windows

the exterior of my house and the cabinets and trim are sw greek villa very very white love it

Linelle, do you think Antique White would look good with pine, which has that yellowish hue?

not Linelle here but we have pine floors and sw antique white looks really good with it

A couple of years ago, we painted a large living room and hall in Linen White before putting the house on the market. We got more questions about that paint color than anything else! Everybody seemed to love it.

Tijeras, which brand of Linen White did you use? Thanks! : )

When we moved from a rental to our house, I couldn't wait to get away from the white/off white walls. So I painted all the walls in the new place "a color." 4 years later, I repainted half the house, and now most of the main living space is Dove Wing, which is an off white with a very slight hint of gray. It reads white in most light, and pale gray in the evenings. I am so, so happy with it. It really works for our space.

I remember when we built our first house years ago white was what everyone had. Year's later in another home, it was antique white, and then another it was Navajo white. In my present home, built almost seven years ago, a soft golden tan was my 'color' of choice, and I love it! It takes on a glow in the evening, and in daylight hours I seem to have the sunshine 'turned on' in the house all day long.. I'l never have white again!!

I used French Canvas, Ben moore, which has light warm browny olive tones, with Oxford white trim (much whiter but still has very slight green undertone). Green is totally my fave as I am not a fan of cream but also didn't want a cold blue grey feel. My walls were a cream similar to bm mayonnaise and although I disliked it (not a yellow person) I had several requests for the swatch!

My friend has a 50% strength of bm paper white on walls, ceiling and trim, a very very light grey blue. It's a very clean and contemporary color that looks great with her espresso floors. She does seasonal jewel tones (turquoise, lime, violet or coral) and it all hangs well together.

qofmiwok, I don't see why SW AW wouldn't be fine with pine. My house has wood furniture of all types, red oak floor, mahogany, espresso, mid-toned, painted, pine bed frames. Everything seems to cohabit nicely with the walls.

the "all types of wood" was one of the main reasons we went with the pine vinyl planking it has lots of different wood tones in it and we have lots of different wood furniture, lots of antique pieces plus some wood stained doors and all go well with the sw antique white

I have enjoyed this conversation immensely. Thank you to all of you who have contributed to the discussion! Would anyone care to share pictures of their white painted rooms?

i'll see if i can get the picture takin' man at my house to do this for me

my hands have too many tremors........

The majority of my house is SW-AW. It looks a little different in each room, depending on the time of day and placement of windows. This is my guest bath, with eggshell finish, natural light from the left. I think it comes close to how it looks IRL.

hi laughable - the Sherwin Williams Honied White is 7106 (it is an older color I believe) Here it is in our kitchen/den (cabs and trim are SW Dover White) although it looks a little lemony on my monitor

very nice and slightly more lemony than sw antique white ---but i really like it

laughablemoments

I used BM Linen White.

Thank you for posting pictures, Linelle and lalalalane! Lovely spaces you have there. : ) No pressure or worries, zippity. Thank you for your desire to share.

I'm so glad you came back to post the manufacturer, tijeras. I think more than one company has Linen White, so this is very helpful. Thank you!

A few of you have mentioned moving and changing up your color schemes, sometimes in relation to what "everyone" else is doing, sometimes in response to the physical surroundings, or just wanting a change of pace. I. just. don't. know. what. I. want. I'm not interested in following the crowd per se, but I am interested in comfy-cozy, but still bright and airy for our family spaces. I do wonder if I'd get tired of white after time and need more color on my walls like some of you mentioned. If I really wanted to change it up, I guess a new color would only be a few cans of paint and a few days of chaos away! : )

I read an interesting comment in a book called Perfect Palettes for Painting Rooms yesterday. The author mentioned that in a room with lots of windows, to be careful of not doing too bright of a white or people in there would experience an after image when looking around the room. Has anyone ever experienced such a phenomenon in a white space? I have 3 nice big windows facing south in one room, and another room that has windows facing south, west, and north, and certainly don't want it to be uncomfortably bright in those spaces. Does this mean I should go with a "darker" white in these rooms...if I go white?

Right after this house was built, and before they painted all the walls a warm cream color, our builder had had all of our walls painted a bright white primer. This was over the natural brown colored adobe bricks. But still the same as far as color goes. We have a lot of big windows in this house, and yes, it could get blinding in here at times. I was glad when the walls were painted and it hasn't been a problem since.