Different Off White Paint in Open Floor Plan
My fiancé and I are moving to a home with an open floor plan and we’re stuck on how to paint it. We are pretty young homeowners and we like the simplicity of white walls- but at the same time, we’re worried it will be too boring and safe. I did some research and some people have recommended doing a “gradient” effect with open floor plans of using a light shade in the biggest room and a couple shades darker with each room. This is in our best interest because we have a living room we want to keep bright, a dining room, and finally at the end a “creativity” room we’d like to use to read and play guitar in. However, since we want to keep everything generally white and neutral, we’re entertaining the idea of a Benjamin Moore white dove living room, Benjamin Moore calm dining room, and Benjamin Moore classic gray family/creativity/entryway (this would go from greatest LRV to lowest so lighter to darker whites). We’ve tested them out and they look good on the walls.
My only concern is if we are looking in the open floor plan, will the different off whites clash with each other and bring out undertones in a bad way? Or will this look nice and create a gradient effect?
We have painters and they cover 1 paint color per room. On one side I know these colors are so similar that it might not even be noticeable- that risk I’m ok with because either way we can use 1 paint per room. What I’m more worried about is an unsightly clashing of undertones and the open floor plan not looking in harmony.
I’ve checked and all 3 of these colors are of the yellow hue family. I’ve brought up using White Dove for everything but my fiancé thinks it’s “too boring”.
If anyone has an expertise in using different off-white paints in open floor plans I’d greatly appreciate it. We’re young, first time home owners so we we’re grateful from any advice of the Houzz community. Thank you!
Comments (10)
Sammie J
3 years ago
Anna Zdulska
3 years agoRelated Discussions
Two different floors next to each other (open floor plan kitchen)
Comments (16)Hey, everyone! Thanks for your advice! We'll be changing the cabinets to white shakers. They definitely look like it would be a good match if we go with a lighter cabinet. I'm not sure about the floor material, but it was stained before. I've been running some looks, and I can't quite find a tile that I think looks too great here. We're considering trying to extend the floor, but we'll need to take a piece over to get it matched at a flooring store....See MoreToo many Interior Paint Colors for open(ish) floor plan?
Comments (9)I don't think it's too many colors. You have framed openings and sightlines from one room to another. That means the colors need to coordinate, definitely, but they don't all need to be the same. My living room and dining room are separated by a 6 foot opening, and I use the same basic palette in both rooms but mix up which color dominates in each room. My living room has robin's egg blue walls while the dining room walls are chocolate brown. The blue is picked up in the DR curtains; the brown is picked up in the wood furniture in the LR. But since you are choosing all grays, I will add that my appreciation of variation in grays is limited, so if I were doing all the rooms in gray, my default would be to use the same gray in all the rooms (unless it had an unpleasant color shift in rooms with different light)....See MoreWhat paint and countertops to go in open, off-white Grimslov kitchen?
Comments (1)Make sure all your lighting is LED 4000K before choosing anything else and please look at polished granite so much better than plastic quartz. The flooring should be in before the cabinets that removes the need for show mold anywhere . I cannot read any of the meaurements so can't comment on the actul layout....See MoreShould open floor plan (2-story) have different colored ceilings?
Comments (4)If you plan to tinker with the formula, you need to get a quart in the grade and sheen you intend to use. Because you should not assume that you're going to get the same color only lighter. It's a new formula and a new color and you won't know what it looks like until you buy the quart, have it mixed, paint it out and look at it....See MoreAnna Zdulska
3 years agoAndrea Morrell USDA Z5 / CAD 5B
3 years ago- PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
3 years ago laurel w
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoThe painter just left less than an hour ago. I just had my great room painted White Dove, and I love it. It's not too creamy, it doesn't do anything weird. I'm happy with that. I painted the adjoining dining room white dove below the chair rail and on the trim and Pale Oak above. It's nice and clean but now I feel the room is a bit colorless. (maybe a rug and colorful art is in order). In the adjoining hallways and foyer I used the Pale Oak and White Dove for the trim.
Anna Zdulska
3 years agoThank you everyone for your recommendations! My fiancé and I did more research and looked at your advice. We think we will stick to just one off-white and make our home speak with the art and furnishings to keep the flow of the open floor plan. BM Calm looked too blue for me. White dove and classic gray both looked nice so we’re in between those too. I think ultimately the decor style we’re looking to do is in these attached pictures. Would classic Gray look terrible with a tan leather couch? I thought I read somewhere it’s not the best with earthy undertones. Is there another white/off-white we should try for this style? Thank you again!
Anna Zdulska
3 years agoThanks for your help Houzz community! We decided to stick with one color throughout - Edgecomb Gray. I’m so happy we stuck with one color because it looks so beautiful with the light hitting it in different ways throughout the open floor plan. This is just the first coat but we are already pleased and will post the completed look as well.
laurel w
3 years ago
Sammie J