Happy Friday! I am so glad the weekend is here... You know when you have those weeks where you just are out of steam, everything you touch seems to go wrong, and you just want a break but you can't get one??? I have had one of those weeks. Chris has been out of town for work, and I am ready to have him home. Tomorrow will be busy as well, but Sunday, I think I shall lay in bed longer than I should. And sadly, I have been looking forward to that since Monday. :)
Today I am going to send the kids off on the bud, head out for a bike ride, and then work on some furniture projects I started this week. I need some "me" time. Before I go crazy and you see me on the news.... "Lady goes ballistic and paints and distresses local school buses".
While I am off having me time, I have a an awesome guest for you! Kristy, from
Hyphen Interiors, is a pro at design and DIY, and is also a big sweetheart living in one of my favorite cities, Austin, TX!
Her painted chair tutorial has made it around the blog block and back again for a victory lap, but just in case you didn't catch it (Hello, where have you been?), here it is....
And she has been busy making their new house home. I am loving her
family room...
Did you spy that awesome ceiling? Love it! Today, Kristy is going to take on a color many of us are afraid of using.... WHITE! Enjoy!
Thank you for having me here today, Cassie! For those of you who don't know me, I’m a decorator living in Austin, TX where I relocated this year from Phoenix.
I love being on Cassie’s blog and having her on mine as well. One of the most popular posts on my blog is where she shared her
furniture painting tips! And, later, she participated in some fabulous Q&A on Annie Sloan Chalk Paint
here.
I have to confess, I don’t have any hugely exciting projects to share right now, mainly because I am working on painting all of the common areas of my house lately. I’m taking that builder beige in this newly built house right out! I’m staying neutral, but extinguishing the orangey-yellow tones that the builder put on walls and ceilings.
If you’ve ever painted such a large area, you know what a huge job it is! So much so that I finally broke down this week and hired a painter for the ceilings and upstairs common areas. And, I’m so excited that I did! But, we did manage to save a good amount of money by doing most of the downstairs common areas ourselves. Let’s just say we got pretty good at cutting in.
I have some great
Painting 101 info on my blog, where I shared all of the basics that you need to know before painting a room (as opposed to furniture like Cassie posted about). Then, that is followed up with 20 of my best
tips! Let’s face it, I’m a little nerdy - I like info.
What color is making a big come-back in the design world right now? White.
Even if you don’t like white walls, let’s face it, everyone uses white somewhere in their home. On cabinets, trim, or doors, for instance.
Yet, not every white is the same. It can be so confusing to pick a white and to know when it works in a room. So, let’s talk about all of that today.
When white walls work in a space.
1. When the space has a lot of “clean” bright colors. What I mean by clean is not muted or “muddy”, but high in saturation like those shown on the swatches earlier in the post. White balances brights. Without white, the brights quickly become overwhelming.
This is a great rule to remember when doing bright colors in children’s rooms - break them up with whites in the form furniture, walls and even lots of trim when the walls are a vibrant color.
2. When you have tons of natural light coming in through windows. White can look dull in a darker room. It’s always more classic, and modern to use it in a light filled room.
This works well in lofts and beach houses, but can be used in other spaces as well.
3. On ceilings when you don’t want to constantly repaint a ceiling each time you change up the wall color. It’s a great neutral that disappears on some level.
Having said that, a burst of color on a ceiling is also a wonderful thing and it’s more and more popular. Don’t forget that as an option - instead of changing the walls, just change out the ceiling color. My family room ceiling is navy blue!
4. On cabinets and trim for a fresh, clean look. Nothing is more trendy right now than a white cabinet. And, there is no better way to say clean in a space that easily gets dirty than with wipe able semi-gloss paint.
5. On lots of trim and architectural features. Lots of trim can be painted all white for a fresh and airy feel that still accentuates the architecture.
This works rather well due to all of the texture and interest that is already there.
If you have ever painted anything, you know how hard it can be to choose just the right color. I think it’s just as hard as the actual painting sometimes. The same color can appear different in different rooms depending on how much outside light you get, if the interior lights are warm or cool, the surrounding colors and even the color that you are painting over (it impacts the color on top if you don’t prime).
Choosing a White
Have you ever tried to choose a perfect white? It can drive a person insane. But white is white, isn’t it? Heck no… it can have blue undertones, red undertones, and so on. It can be too crisp or too muddy. There are billions of whites out there, people.
Undertones
One of the most important thing to consider is the undertone. This applies to any color that you are choosing, especially white. What is an undertone?
An undertone is simply what other color shows through besides the dominant color. So, maybe the color is gray, but when put up against another gray, you can see that it has a hint of green. That’s the undertone. All colors have them. See
this post for more information, though it pertains strictly to greige undertones.
Pay attention to undertones in paint colors. They will become more obvious when the paint goes up in the room. This is why so many people think they are getting beige but end up with a pink tone once it’s painted, or think they got gray but it looks blue once painted.
How can you tell what the undertone is? Compare it to another “white.” Put them side by side. Do this with a few whites and you quickly begin to see those subtle undertones. This is the same way that you can tell if a color is warm or cool - “warm” is actually a term of comparison.
White Suggestions
Warm White - The most commonly used warm white is “Swiss Coffee.” It comes in a few brands and is all very similar, but the one I tend to go to is Behr’s Swiss Coffee. It will not look white on the swatch as it’s up against a stark white border, but when you get it on a wall, it’s white. However, it’s a warm white. It’s creamy. It’s great for those who don’t want too stark of a white, but want it to appear white in general. The best thing is that it will not be too cold. This is the white that many builder’s use on trim.
Swiss Coffee is on the ceiling in the room below.
Crisp White - A suggestion for a more crisp white would be either Sherwin William’s Pure White or Behr’s Ultra White.
Creamy White - Sherwin William’s Dover is a good choice for an even more creamy white than Swiss Coffee.
Now, if you are still not sure what white to get, here is a trick.
Tip
Find a non-white color you love that has just the right undertones. I just did a serious on blogger’s favorite greiges and
listed them by brand here.
Let’s say you love Hardwick White by Farrow & Ball. It has all of the right undertones. See it below on the cabinets and doors. I'm in love with this color right now.
Use it for your white! How? Well, if the color you love has a white base, this should be easy. Tell the clerk at the paint counter that you want it at 5%. That means just 5% of the color added in. That will be a white with a tiny bit of a Hardwick White undertone to it. Then, you know for sure. Just a little inside tip!
And, did you know that most paint stores such as Sherwin Williams carry other brand's formulas/ color matches? That way, you can go one place for several brands and colors.
What are your go-to white paint colors? What about not just walls, but with spray paint?
