New apartment but no idea what shade of neutral whites to use?!?

Question

I moved into a 2 bed, livingroom, dining room and teeny kitchen apartment and I'm allowed to paint. It's a brownstone, so there is lots of antique door frames and trim Everywhere! All the trim must be Pure White Glossy according to my landlord. With all that white and also being a beginner at painting I thought of all the colors I have loved (Aqua/turquoise, avocado, chocolate, sage, deep reddish orange) but realized that most of those colors are already in either my rugs, pillows, art or furniture. After lots of hair pulling and indecisiveness I finally figured I'd stick to light neutrals.

But what white goes with Ultra Pure White? And doesn't just look dull or dingy against it? I want to get the whole apartment done in one paint job so I'd like to stick to one or just a few complimentary shades of white in all the rooms. I've considered Off-white? What do you think? If it helps, the floors are golden wood, and the wood on the furniture is sorta walnut (medium shades).

Answer 1

EVERYTHING goes with ultra pure white. That's what makes this kind of thing so hard...

I really like Behr's "Cottage White" or "Linen White," they're beige-ish, and they look nice with a stark white trim. If you want something to brighten it up a bit, take a look at "Vanilla Custard," it has a more yellow-ish tone to it (though not in an overwhelming way).

Check out the Behr website at http://www.behr.com/behrx/workbook/

Choose "Start ColorSmart," and you can select a pallette of colors you can eventually try on in one of their virtual rooms, see what looks good together. Just follow the prompts.

It's kind of fun--you can pick different types of rooms to preview in, and when you've found the combo(s) you like, you can print them out so you can get the right colors when you drop by your local Home Depot, or wherever you plan to buy. I painted my whole house this summer, and it was a VERY useful tool.

Also, the sheen will be important when choosing a paint. Semi-gloss & satin finishes are good for bathrooms & kitchens, they tend to wipe clean easily. Other rooms, you'll want to use either an eggshell finish or a flat finish. Keep in mind, the more gloss in the paint, the more obvious any imperfections on the walls will be. If you have a lot of texture or if there are patches that weren't perfectly done, go with the flat (in rooms other than kitchen & bathroom. In kitchen or bathroom, the satin finish isn't as shiny, so that would be the minimizing choice). It'll minimize the flaws.

Answer 2

Hi, I agree with Miss All That. Take advantage of being able to paint the walls something other than white, unless you have to paint the walls white when you move out. Even then, if it is going to be a few years, get adventurous. Dark colors will balance out the white woodwork in my opinion and it will look nice and cozy. A painter friend had his way with an apartment of mine once, he must have used 3 or four shades of green. Unfortunately, I moved a year or so later and had to repaint everything white again. I vowed then to leave rental walls white. I am looking to buy a house now and I will be painting the walls a nice dark color.

Answer 3

I would definitely not go white. It would be too cold. What about a deep warm shade of taupe, camel, biege, or dark warm gold/yellow. Use an eggshell finish. The warmth of the walls and floor will balance out the white trim. Actually it will make the rooms look crisp and neat.

Answer 4

Id probably move so i didnt have to look at glossy ultra pur white
My god thats bright.

I d probably use an eggshell white, and then roll in some textured color, in shades that comliment your rus and furniture.

Answer 5

Khaki goes great and makes a cozy room and it goes with all your other colors. I like to go into model homes or condos and see what the designers have done.

Answer 6

how about egg shell white