Painting Walls White: How to Design a Chic Contemporary Home?

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Painting walls white seem to be one of the most enduring trends in interior design. Homeowners are using this color to decorate the interior and exterior walls of their houses since time immemorial. Oia in Greece is renowned for its white residential buildings that perfectly complement the blue vastness of the surrounding Aegean Sea. Marble stones were frequently used to design the baroque and neo-classical buildings of Italy and France. 

Some of the most iconic structures of Canada like Canada Place in Vancouver and Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa are renowned for their spotless white appearance. Architect and designer Le Corbusier was the greatest proponent of the prim white shade. He used this color extensively in the earliest of the buildings designed by him. Buildings like Villa Savoye in Poissy, Villa Cook in Boulogne-sur-Seine and Villa Jeanneret-Perret in La Chaux-de-Fonds boast of a sparkling white appearance. He considered this shade an utterly pure one. Later on though, he slightly expanded the range of colors that are to be used in the interiors of modern buildings.

If you are planning to design a chic modern home influenced by Scandinavian or contemporary design, then you too will be interested to paint the walls of your home with this color. This article will guide you through the process.

White wall paint

Before choosing white wall paint, many homeowners try to think if it is going to suit the interiors of their home. This question should not bother you at all. White happens to be one of the universally popular shades for the interior of the house as well as for the exterior walls. You may use this tone alone or in conjunction with other colors to design a very stylish and comfortable living area. White wall paint is suitable for country style houses, classical buildings, Scandinavian homes as well as contemporary residences.

Instead of white wall paints, you may also consider using stucco or wallpaper to cover the walls with your intended shade of white. White 3d wallpaper will give the interior of your home a very glamorous makeover.

What should I consider before painting white?

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Think about the color scheme of your home before planning to coat a room in white. If your house is dominated by this shade, then it is safe to choose white in the room you are about to renovate. But if the interior is otherwise dominated by warm colors like red, orange, yellow etc, then select white paint for a particular room may feel slightly out of place.

The room should have sufficient natural and artificial lighting to make it appear bright and cheerful. A dark room painted in white may appear lackluster. Always address any flaws on the wall before painting them white. Otherwise, they will soon develop ugly stains completely destroying the beauty of the room. If you are coating kitchen and bathroom walls with white then make sure there is no seepage of water happening behind the scene or, in this case, behind the walls. Seeping water will encourage the growth of mold and mildew leaving your white walls with ugly marks.

Painting walls white tips

Before painting a room white, take a note of the upholstery and furniture as well. Though almost every color looks suitable when you have white in the background some look better than the other. Earthly brown, especially the lighter shades, and mellow yellow may not stand out well in the backdrop of white.

Don’t forget to vary the texture of the interiors. You can easily do so by introducing wooden panels, stucco walls, stone accents, wood flooring and fabric for curtains and upholstery. Doing so will give your rooms a very graceful appearance.  White tends to be a very energetic color. 

Followers of feng shui should know that white walls are ideal for home office, living room and kitchen. But it is best to avoid spotless white color in bedrooms and kid’s rooms. Feng shui recommends mixing other colors with white to tone down its energetic nature. Otherwise, it may end up creating sleep disturbances.

Painting interior walls white

When you are not certain about incorporating a white based color scheme in your home, then take suggestions from an expert interior designer. This will help you avoid some of the common mistakes that are associated with the use of this color. You may buy water based, oil based or latex paints for painting interior walls white.

Water based paints dry quickly. They are also easier to work with. They don’t leave any brush mark on the wall. Oil based paints generally take long time to dry. However, they are also more durable. Latex paints dry quicker and are also very affordable. Don’t forget to add primer in your shopping list which will give the paint better durability. Buy water based primer for the water based paints, oil based primer for oil based white colors and so on.

Painting walls white: how many coats?

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Seasoned painters would recommend two to three coats of paint after covering the walls with primer. Give enough time in between so that the walls get completely dried before additional coats. Never apply paints on a newly built wall. Let it dry sufficiently for the painting to last for a reasonable time.

Shades of white paint

You may be surprised to know that the market is flooded with a number of shades of white paint. Each company has its own set of white paints. Snow white, greyish white, bluish white, antique white, creamy white, warm white and ivory white are some of the most popular shades of white for the interiors. To make sure you have the right shade for your room, buy a trial pack and apply a coat on a portion of the wall. See if that shade looks attractive enough in your eyes. Only then proceed to buying the full quantity required for painting the walls.

White walls in the living room

White walls in the living room are very common in the modern dwellings. You may invest in a warm white tone to give the space a welcoming feel. Don’t forget to choose furniture and upholstery in the right colors to complement the white walls. You may install natural wood flooring in the living room to give it a more genial feel. 

Paints come in four different finishes – glossy, matte, satin and egg shell. Glossy paints add a reflective quality to the surface. Matte absorbs light, on the other hand. Satin feels silky and less shiny than glossy finishes. Egg shell white feel smooth and shinier than matte but less shiny than the glossy paints.

White walls in the kitchen

White walls in the kitchen give it a clean and stylish look. Invest in washable paints to easily remove the stains from the walls. You may partly cover the walls with white porcelain tiles. Kitchen cabinets with shiny white doors would also increase the glamour of the space.

White walls in the bathroom

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White walls in the bathroom make it look clean and tidy. It feels refreshing to be in a bathroom with white walls. You may install white vanity units to merge with the surrounding colors. Don’t forget to invest in appropriate lighting fixtures to brighten up the room.

White walls in the bedroom

White walls in the bedroom can give this space a very chic and comfortable feel. You may add liveliness in the ambience with the help of area rugs, curtains, bed furnishings and upholstery in interesting colors and motifs. Decorate the white walls with tastefully framed mirrors or suitable fine art paintings.

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