Diluting any color is not adding white. The colorant dispenser at the paint counter can set your color in computer and be adjusted to only dispense 10% all the way up to 100% of all colors going in. That way you get the same hue of color but in a lighter shade. I did that for my dining room ceiling, loved the wall color but on the ceiling it will always be A LOT darker. With my white crown molding, it worked perfect.

That way if you need more, you have the formula to do so

To answer your question, yes I've used the same color white on walls (matte finish), trim (satin finish) and ceiling (flat finish). No adjustments or dilution of the color. It looks just fine and saves you the angst of trying to mix whites.

Alice Edwards, that is exactly what the paint store was saying- using the computer to pick a % because it would appear darker on ceiling if I didn’t. I don’t have any crown on my ceilings & it’s a 1.5 story, so 18’ ceilings in great room & 9’ in the kitchen....would you Reccommend a % Lighter for ceilings?

Oh mixing whites has been my most hazardous dilemmas here!!!! If you ever had viewed my past posts, I have a very hard time getting colors right!

Jennifer P, usually 50% doesn’t touch it like you would think. I start with -75% (so only 25% going in) of colorant in a sample, look see, then you can add 25% more in same sample bc you can’t take away. That way you play with just a sample, granted the samples mostly are a satin finish not flat, but you get to see if the lightness of your chosen color is happening. And not wasting your money on larger amounts of paint. Dab lighter color on swatch of your original, let dry and see if it gets you closer to where you want to be.

Matching whites not mixing whites is my downfall. Matching most colors is sometimes hard for me, have a vision but always trying to get help on HOUZZ. These pros have so much valuable experience to share. And my pics that I post turn out to be off with the colors too bc of my lighting or camera or who knows what...

If you're going with an actual color that's fairly dark, then yes, it will appear darker on the ceiling. I don't see it as a problem with white--even if it's just a smidge darker, it's going to be fine. Your eyes and brain adjust to that.

Diana Bier thank you :). That makes it simple & easy!

First - you can use a white on both the ceiling and walls. I have done this with whites and with colors without issues.

Here is a picture of a room I painted last week - still working on trim and replacing the flooring.
The ceiling has flat the walls have eggshell - both are BM Beach Glass. (I will be painting the guest bath with the same colors and was testing the shower curtain and towels against the wall color)

I don't understand why I would make the ceiling a lighter color unless I was trying to make a low ceiling appear taller or was going for a unique design feature ( I do love colored ceilings with white on white design).

If you have white ceilings and white walls a lighter ceiling is not going to give you some unique visual impact.

Just in case you are interested in doing something a bit wild - here are some pics with white walls, colored ceilings ranging from dramatic to subtle.

As for diluting color . . .

You cannot simply cut the colorants without understanding the base color and what the colorant is.

Example.

I have a can of paint here that has

4.25 / 32 Y3 Oxide Yellow

5 / 32 S1 Black

12.125 / W1 White

2.5 / 32 R3 Oxide Red

in Base 2

If I cut the formula in 1/2 the white also gets cut in half and I will end up with a color that is darker, not lighter than the original formula.

The computer systems are literally doing the math, but not all colorants are equal in strength - red it more transparent than most other colors, yellow is weaker than many other colors, so getting the mix right can be difficult.

If you really want a lighter color that is between two shades it can be done, but I generally will buy a sample of the lighter shade and the darker shade and find out if they are both mixed with the same base.

If they are in the same base you can play with the colors and mix the lighter and darker colors in different ratios until you find the perfect shade. I use syringes to measure the amounts so I am sure that the ratio is measured accurately. Then I do my own math to determine the amount of each colorant used in the samples and provide the paint store with the base color and the formula that has resulted in the color I want.

If they are in two different bases you can do the same thing, but you will need to buy the appropriate amount of each paint and mix them together in a 5 gallon pail with an paint mixer drill attachment or ask the paint store to mix using their mixer.

The same applies if you are trying to get a color that is just a tinge more green or yellow or blue than another.

Tools like easyrgb have made a lot of this unnecessary - I can find a similar color in another brand and have it matched by my BM or SW paint store.

That is WWAAAAYYYY too much work! With all the thousands of colors out there, surely anyone can find the right one!

Diluting vs. cutting. Possibly a matter of semantics but I've never heard anyone refer to adjusting formulas as "diluting".

Doesn't matter because both, diluting with white and cutting formulas, are too much work, totally unpredictable and unnecessary. :)

I'm the camp that it's a better investment of time and effort to just find a stock color that works.

I will often customize a color if it is just a bit off of what is desired or tweak something that was "Color matched" to be exactly what I want. I would rather take the time to get it right the first time than re-paint when I am unhappy with the results.