3 Easygoing Rooms With Creamy Off-White Walls
Look to this colorless color for warm, relaxed style with elegant undertones
While white has continued its reign as the go-to color choice in kitchens and elsewhere in the home, its off-white cousin has quietly ascended to a position of worthy challenger. Off-white made the list of four major paint brands’ Color of the Year for 2016. And the following spaces show why: Creamy off-whites are easygoing, warm, elegant and suitable for any room in a home where a relaxed vibe is the goal.
2. Living Room
Designer: Tracey McKee of McKee & Co.
Location: Los Angeles
Size: 272 square feet (25.2 square meters); 16 by 17 feet
Homeowners’ request: To update an older French provincial room that had lots of heavy reds, golds and yellow wood tones with a more sophisticated and serene look that includes white, cream, sand, Gustavian gray and French blue
Paint color: Elmira White by Benjamin Moore. “The grayish taupe undertones added depth and substance to the fabric palette,” says designer Tracey McKee.
Other special features: Lots of windows and light; large damask print on window coverings; volume ceiling with reclaimed wood beams; large statement mirror; linen fabrics
“Uh-oh” moment: “It started pouring rain right as we were delivering all the beautiful pieces, so we were all scrambling to cover everything as it came in the house,” McKee says. “Who says it never rains in Southern California?”
Also on the team: Darlene Halaby Photography
Wing chair: Lillian August; sofa and cocktail table: Century; lounge chair: Lee Industries; Soleil round mirror: Hickory Chair; end tables: reproduction French; chandelier: Currey & Co.; window coverings: Schumacher
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Designer: Tracey McKee of McKee & Co.
Location: Los Angeles
Size: 272 square feet (25.2 square meters); 16 by 17 feet
Homeowners’ request: To update an older French provincial room that had lots of heavy reds, golds and yellow wood tones with a more sophisticated and serene look that includes white, cream, sand, Gustavian gray and French blue
Paint color: Elmira White by Benjamin Moore. “The grayish taupe undertones added depth and substance to the fabric palette,” says designer Tracey McKee.
Other special features: Lots of windows and light; large damask print on window coverings; volume ceiling with reclaimed wood beams; large statement mirror; linen fabrics
“Uh-oh” moment: “It started pouring rain right as we were delivering all the beautiful pieces, so we were all scrambling to cover everything as it came in the house,” McKee says. “Who says it never rains in Southern California?”
Also on the team: Darlene Halaby Photography
Wing chair: Lillian August; sofa and cocktail table: Century; lounge chair: Lee Industries; Soleil round mirror: Hickory Chair; end tables: reproduction French; chandelier: Currey & Co.; window coverings: Schumacher
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3. Bedroom
Designer: Theresa Freeman of SHKS Architects
Location: Seattle
Size: 144 square feet (13.4 square meters); 12½ by 11½ feet (not including built-ins)
Homeowners’ request: This was one of the earliest houseboats on Portage Bay in Seattle. The homeowner gutted and rebuilt the under-1,000-square-foot floating home, wanting a cabin-on-the-water vibe. “She did not want to cover the float from corner to corner with a big box that could just as easily have been built on land as water,” says designer Theresa Freeman.
Paint color: Mayonnaise by Benjamin Moore. There is no drywall in the house; instead, horizontal pine boards clad the walls. Freeman selected a not-too-stark white that would pair well with the slight yellow of the pine to deliver a whitewashed cabin feel. “We tried different applications and decided on more of a ‘wash’ approach, with two very thin coats of watered-down paint to allow the knots, grain and natural imperfections to show through,” she says. “The soft white keeps the interior bright and light with the natural wood floors and ceilings.”
Other special features: A glass door from a local salvage yard that slides on space-saving barn door hardware, and allows the room to connect to the larger space and borrow light from all directions; well-scaled furnishings (“key to a small room,” Freeman says); built-ins painted the same color as the walls; wall-mounted reading lights that allow for a smaller side table to keep the room and its queen-size bed feeling open
Designer secret: “Because the house is small and there are so few rooms, we wanted to keep the ceiling, floor and wall materials and colors consistent,” Freeman says. “It keeps the space from feeling too disjointed and allows for a greater sense of the overall space. The simple palette also allowed us to add color, texture and interest with special finds, such as the small antique amber glass knobs on the cabinetry.”
“Uh-oh” moment: “Once the contractor had gutted the interior, we realized that much of the original framing was done with 3-inch cherry tree boughs that were likely cut from the trees on the adjacent shore,” Freeman says. “They were clearly undersized by today’s framing standards, but they were charming. We decided to keep some of the boughs and repurpose them for other uses in the finishes — coat hangers and shelf brackets and edges — and we replaced them with larger peeler logs for a similar character with more structural integrity.”
Also on the team: Cassidy Zimmerman, Ryan Champagne and Kevin Kane of SHKS Architects; Andy Houston and Sten Karlstrom of Karlstrom Associates (contractor); Benjamin Benschneider (photographer)
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More: Color of the Year: Off-White Is On Trend for 2016
Get the details on dozens more white kitchens of all styles and sizes
Designer: Theresa Freeman of SHKS Architects
Location: Seattle
Size: 144 square feet (13.4 square meters); 12½ by 11½ feet (not including built-ins)
Homeowners’ request: This was one of the earliest houseboats on Portage Bay in Seattle. The homeowner gutted and rebuilt the under-1,000-square-foot floating home, wanting a cabin-on-the-water vibe. “She did not want to cover the float from corner to corner with a big box that could just as easily have been built on land as water,” says designer Theresa Freeman.
Paint color: Mayonnaise by Benjamin Moore. There is no drywall in the house; instead, horizontal pine boards clad the walls. Freeman selected a not-too-stark white that would pair well with the slight yellow of the pine to deliver a whitewashed cabin feel. “We tried different applications and decided on more of a ‘wash’ approach, with two very thin coats of watered-down paint to allow the knots, grain and natural imperfections to show through,” she says. “The soft white keeps the interior bright and light with the natural wood floors and ceilings.”
Other special features: A glass door from a local salvage yard that slides on space-saving barn door hardware, and allows the room to connect to the larger space and borrow light from all directions; well-scaled furnishings (“key to a small room,” Freeman says); built-ins painted the same color as the walls; wall-mounted reading lights that allow for a smaller side table to keep the room and its queen-size bed feeling open
Designer secret: “Because the house is small and there are so few rooms, we wanted to keep the ceiling, floor and wall materials and colors consistent,” Freeman says. “It keeps the space from feeling too disjointed and allows for a greater sense of the overall space. The simple palette also allowed us to add color, texture and interest with special finds, such as the small antique amber glass knobs on the cabinetry.”
“Uh-oh” moment: “Once the contractor had gutted the interior, we realized that much of the original framing was done with 3-inch cherry tree boughs that were likely cut from the trees on the adjacent shore,” Freeman says. “They were clearly undersized by today’s framing standards, but they were charming. We decided to keep some of the boughs and repurpose them for other uses in the finishes — coat hangers and shelf brackets and edges — and we replaced them with larger peeler logs for a similar character with more structural integrity.”
Also on the team: Cassidy Zimmerman, Ryan Champagne and Kevin Kane of SHKS Architects; Andy Houston and Sten Karlstrom of Karlstrom Associates (contractor); Benjamin Benschneider (photographer)
See more of this home
More: Color of the Year: Off-White Is On Trend for 2016
Get the details on dozens more white kitchens of all styles and sizes
Designers: Rick Fenuccio and Tim Sawyer of Brown Lindquist Fenuccio & Raber Architects
Location: Oyster Harbors neighborhood of Centerville, Massachusetts
Size: About 500 square feet (46 square meters); 20½ by 24½ feet
Homeowners’ request: A central gathering space in a family guest cottage that is clean, simple, comfortable and decorated in classic Cape Cod style
Paint color: Clunch by Farrow & Ball. The walls have a very flat Estate emulsion finish (only 2 percent sheen), while the cabinets and trim have an Estate eggshell finish (20 percent sheen) for variety. The designers chose the soft, warm white to allow the texture of the materials to come through, and to serve as a backdrop for the teak countertop, rough reclaimed wood beams and striking painted wood floors.
Designer secret: Horizontal V-groove boards bring in texture and help soften the scale of the vaulted ceiling.
Also on the team: Scott Crosby Builder; Hope Van der Wolk Interiors
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