I didn’t always live with a tone on tone palette or a rainbow of white at home. As newlyweds in our first home, I was crazy for all things French country and colorful. Teal floral wallpaper wrapped bedroom walls, and blue stripes were bold in the bath. Mauve floral enlivened the kitchen with more rosy flowers in the dining room! Later, as parents of young children in a teeny bungalow, we enjoyed bold periwinkles and sunny yellows. I didn’t fully discover the calm beauty of mixing whites until the boys were adolescents. (Are teens-in-the-house chaos and the tender solace of white correlated?)
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Cloud Living & Rainbow of White
Too bad my personal taste doesn’t lean toward bold color, high contrasts, and frequent decorating refreshes…blog traffic and this small business would be wayyyy more profitable.
But I’m not into faking it, nor do I aspire to become the next popular thing. I would rather embrace a color story that truly reflects where I’m at and also stands the test of time.
Inside our Georgian style home, the walls are varying shades of greige, while trims are bright white. When we moved in, I wasn’t sure about keeping all the grey. Remember how I painted every single thing white in our previous home?
After all, white is perfect when cloud living is your jam. When you’re after an ethereal, tranquil, spacious, whispery mood.
But which white is the right white?
I field such questions every single day…and the right white depends on a variety of factors. Pssst. If you SUBSCRIBE, you’ll have access to my experience and help. When you simply hit “reply” to the email with your daily blog post, you can feel free to ask specific design questions!
Rainbow of White Paint Colors
If you have visited this blog for long, you know white paint and decor are hot topics. Have we exhausted them yet? I suppose as long as there is a someone googling “which white” there’s more to say.
A white perfect in my house could be all wrong for yours. In fact, before I painted newly built walls in the entry with Repose Gray, I tried the white from our previous home:
It was all wrong and even felt institutional. In fact, it became clear to me a patterned wallpaper was the answer. However, in our prior home, OC-151 refreshed walls, trim, and ceiling. The existing architecture felt fresh and new.
Whites are perceived differently according to the quality of light entering a room as well as the region where you live. To score the proper white paint color, it is imperative to sample several similar contenders.
It is also important to note that the ideal white for your space may not contain “white” in the color’s name.
Agreeable Gray may sound like a boring bestselling neutral from Sherwin-Williams, yet it is popular for good reason. It can read warm, moody or atmospheric depending on the environment. Certain colors are chameleon-like and can become a neutral backdrop for a variety of furniture and decorations.
See this for more advice choosing white paint colors.
Layering, Texture & The Mix
So many armchair designer pros on social media dismiss white decor as safe. Getting white right is not as simple as inexperienced critics imagine. Getting the mix right requires skill. Layering neutrals, mixing warm and cool whites, and adding texture demands artistry.
Texture can in some cases be introduced by uncovering the windows to allow the outdoors to speak as a layer.
(Admire the siding color above? Mix 50% of Cornforth White No. 228 with 50% of Hardwick White No. 5 for a custom Hello Lovely creamy neutral!)
Texture With a Low Contrast White Palette
In our former bedroom, an accent wall with Stikwood (Hamptons White) introduced texture to a Northern exposure white bedroom. While I was initially opposed to trending shiplap or anything rustic, I had nothing to fear.
The texture of the panels served all sorts of purposes. That wall needed a source of tension with more refined elements. When things feel too frou frou or precious, I know it’s not done. The rough texture in contrast with sumptuous white bedding felt just right.
Even antique linens and vintage grainsack can create such tension. If it is cloud living that feels livable and luxe, it helps to mix in old and weathered things.
You can always look outdoors for inspiration since nature is hard to beat as a mix master of coarse textures and velvety preciousness.
Understated Tones for Exteriors
For me, something magic happens when the palette outdoors is also more restrained.
In our former courtyard, greige furniture on pale pea gravel with concrete pavers felt like a welcoming oasis.
Ivory white cushions and mist grey linen pillows on patio chairs extend the calm from inside.
Living with tranquility both indoors and outdoors creates a cohesive sense of refuge. Is that not why we devote energy to homemaking in the first place? When you know yourself and are in touch with your desires, you can make choices rooted in such knowing.
What tones relax you?
A rainbow of whites includes linen, putty, stone, oak, greige, ivory, and more. It need not feel like a sterile lab.
When White Feels Like Sanctuary
Leaving the hustle and chaos of modern life behind to recharge and rest is within reach with quiet color palettes. Maybe it is because my own inner life is vibrant that I need my environment to soothe and whisper.
Whatever the case may be, retreating to a sanctuary seems more essential than ever.
Our homes must work hard for us in modern times.
Tone on Tone Lovely Finds
Someone with a different point of view might find all of the cool whites and silvery tones far too sedate. Knowing your desires is everything.
But images only tell a part of the story. For example, the long painted bench above is one we commissioned a quarter of a century ago along with a harvest table. Made from the sides of a local 1800s barn, it is where our sons plopped down for meals, homework, and games. There is nothing flat or lifeless about it in person when you see its scars, age, square nails, and texture in person. It serves now as a shallow table in our living room.
Colorful pops of color feel right at home to certain folks and downright violent to others like me!
White roses are a simple way to enjoy white at home and look good everywhere.
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White is Magic in a Bath
Anyone object to the clean white of a bath?
A white bath often feels timeless, soothing, pristine and optimistic. I was reminded of just how valuable a “clean feel” is since the bath we inherited here at the Georgian was enveloped in chocolate brown.
It wasn’t simply oppressive and dark, it always felt dirty and dated.
Psst. These white marble trays can tidy up any number of things in a bath or beyond.
A recent guest who toured our home asked if we brought our clawfoot tub along from our former home. I would have loved to since it was the sweetest fun-sized maid’s tub:
But no. We hunted down another vintage tub from a 1920s bungalow up North where the owners were happy for us to repurpose it as they remodeled.
White Trim With Natural Wood
Even though the popularity of modern farmhouse style often embraces black and white, I’m still not sold on high contrasts for my own home.
I favor softer transitions and the mix of naturally subtle tones.
When I decided to add natural knotty wood doors with white trim back in 2015, there weren’t many homeowners or designers going for that look.
Now it is commonplace!
Challenges to Keep White Interiors Clean?
Here’s a topic that is easy for me to address since I have lived with white for decades and also raised messy kids.
Additionally, we inherited a home peppered with dark brown finishes everywhere. Dark brown granite, dark brown trim, tiles and doors and cabinets with chocolate brown. Was day to day living easier or at least more forgiving with deep dark colors?
Heavens no! The dust! The fingerprints, crumbs and smudges on glossy brown! I hated it and learned firsthand how living with colors wrong for you depresses mood. It’s a subjective matter.
Wrong for you colors do not lead to “easy living.”
If you have a minute please do add your own thoughts to this rainbow of white topic.
Glimpses of the 2013 Me & Warm Whites Shortly After Prophylactic BRCA Surgeries
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Personal Reflections
Grief seems to be a more familiar companion these days with the loss of friends, family, and good health. I suppose it is why my heart and mind turn to ideas about recovery, healing, and transforming pain.
Right where you are, I wish you wide open access to beauty flowing from realms unseen.
I wish you sweeter air to breathe, this very moment, to cleanse and clear any bitterness arising.
I wish you a gentle breeze as relief from all harsh weather weakening your resolve.
I wish you a flow of loving kindness, carrying you across stretches of earth when your strength is gone.
You are not alone. If loss and despair are yours, I join you. Is the Grief House your home? I am there. Do tears flow easily? I can only imagine the beauty baptising your glistening eyes.
If warmth fills your chest just now, we’re somehow together. The same holy warmth, burning through and through has warmed the universe since the beginning. When the world grows cold, we need more of it as we muddle through Mystery.
The terrain is not always smooth and safe. Beauty is building us a bridge.
Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
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