White Walls

Nathan Turner

When I mention painting a room white to someone there seems to be one of two reactions. The reaction of white walls is either met with great acceptance or "white? really? That's so boring"

I am in the very strong camp of painting walls white. If you ask me to pick out a color for your living room, kitchen, entry, etc. more often times than not, I will suggest white. There are of course exceptions and I do love a good moody gray, a crisp navy, a rich dark green and even a pretty shade of pale pink. It just depends on the room you're doing, the amount of light the rooms gets, and how you want the room to "feel" but after all said and done, I will most likely say white.

Why do I like white so much? It's crisp, clean, light/airy, and a great neutral base. In my case I like to switch out my decor a little more often than the average folk and keeping things neutral on the walls, gives me the opportunity to switch things up with pillows, throw rugs, lamp shades, etc without worrying if it'll match the wall color.

Another reason I love it for my house is because we live a little bit north of Seattle. If you're not familiar with Seattle weather... it's dark. It's a lot of gray cloudy days throughout the year and put that on top of me living in a wooden neighborhood, you can imagine we don't get much sunshine through our windows. When you don't have the power to change the dark weather outside, take the opportunity to lighten up your home on the INSIDE! It has made such a big difference in the feel of our house once I started painting rooms white.

Amber Interiors

This room by Amber Interiors is one of my favorites. To me it is anything but boring. To me, this room is bliss. It reads light, bright and to me it doesn't scream white walls. Amber uses patterned/colored drapery, textured rug, dark sofas, leather side chairs, and lots of patterned throw pillows. With the white walls, I feel all these things pop, or are highlighted, whereas if you used a striking color or a dark color on the wall your eye would rest on that color and wouldn't move around the room as much.

Matthew Caughy

Here's another favorite of mine by Matthew Caughy. The blues and the greens just stand out so much against the white. It "feels" like such a happy room, doesn't it?  People think of white walls as being stark and cold. This room feels neither of these to me. Matthew brought in the warm wood-tone tables, woven shades, chairs and ottoman to bring warmth to the room, the plants give the room some life and the black in the vases, floor lamp and ceiling light grounds the room. Perfection!

William McLure

In this room William McLure not only did the walls in white but also painted the wood floors white. What makes this white room work? He added the textured woven blinds, bamboo chair, different shades of blues in the pillows, drapery, throw and vases, the great texture of the urns, wall art and fun turtle under the table.

Michelle Adams

I can't tell you how much I love this space by Michelle Adams. Blue, white and pops of red, stripes, plaids...love. Again, is this room boring?? Not in my book.

Kelly Nutt

Kelly Nutt is a favorite designer of mine as well, and I love her Instagram feed. She brings warmth in the room with the wood coffee table and leather chairs. Pattern is brought in with the drapery, pillows, and rug, black for grounding the space with the curtain rods, door hardware, base of side table and other small side table.

Not only do I seem to love white walls but looking at the photos I've selected I definitely have a love for blue as well.

While everyone has their preference on what they like, I hope I have at least shown that white doesn't have to be boring, cold, and stark. To keep it from looking cold/stark all you need to do is bring in some texture (woven shades, baskets, woven furniture),  warmth ( color of pillows, rugs, blankets, drapery, leather goods, wood furniture) pattern and sometimes hints of black to ground the room.

Want more examples of painted white rooms? Visit my pinterest page!
Are you a white wall type of person?