Monday, June 25, 2012

PROJECT CONDO: WHITE WALLS

I've got dining room on the brain. In my last Project Condo post, I shared some of the dining room tables I've been eying. This week, I'll be sharing my thoughts on color, or the lack thereof. ;)

In the past, I've always been drawn to rich, bright wall colors. In high-school, my room was light blue and later it was a textured royal blue with gold sparkles. I couldn't paint my dorm room walls, so I would cover an entire wall in collages made from magazine clippings. When Jon and I moved into our first apartment, I painted our kitchen a deep teal, our bedroom a plum (and later green), and the rest of our walls a silvery grey. Since moving into our second apartment, across the hall, we haven't painted any walls, since it's just a temporary move. Surprisingly enough, I've been enjoying our neutral walls in our current apartment. It's inspired me to take a more neutral approach to my walls. Maybe a few rooms here and there will have a little pop, but overall I'd like a cozy neutral look.

Since I tend to change my sense of style often, I think it would be safe to go neutral and use things like decor, art, and textiles to add the character and pop I'm looking for. With that said, I'm planning to paint my new dining room white. I don't think I'll pick stark white, probably something with a little tone in it to warm it up. :)

A Couple Reasons I'm Going Neutral
* If your decor style changes, you can make simple art and decor changes to create a totally new feel.
* Neutrals tend to feel more clean and sophisticated. I'm working toward getting away from the dorm-room style and creating a comfortable, grown-up space.
* I want the dining room to feel crisp and bright.
* I'm planning to put together an art wall in the dining room and I really want those pieces to pop against the wall color.
* Overall, I want the furniture and other pieces in the room to be the center of attention rather than the wall color.
* Also, these pictures are extremely inspiring:

1//2//3//4//5
And now to hunt down that perfect shade of white!! And some good primer to cover up the current burgundy. ;) Here are a couple helpful articles//posts on painting and white walls I came across in my research:

* Paint a Room by Martha Stewart
* The Right White by Elle Decor
* The Allure of White Walls by Pantone

Have you painted any of your walls white? Any suggested tones of white? How did it make the atmosphere of the room feel??



4 comments:

  1. We are military and we move a ton, which means we always rent and have white walls. I must say that we've gotten used to it and learned to decorate with the white (which I love anyways). If you want a warm feel, try an antique white. It's not as stark but still clean.

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  2. Anonymous25.6.12

    I've recently been into white walls as well. I also was into brightly colored walls and patterns but something about a white room is calm and serene. I wish I had tips to give you on painting white walls but I haven't had such an experience. Good luck!

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  3. I am drawn to white walls in photos. I love how clean the space looks, and how the decor can really pop against it. We have a very small house though, so warmer neutrals seem to work much better for us when it comes to making our space cozy. Good luck choosing a white; there are so many shades!

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  4. Anonymous30.6.12

    It always amuses me exactly how many shades of white there are. I collect paint samples, and you can't see any difference in the whites until you put them next to each other. Now the real question is what shade of white do you want? Oh, and if you end up deciding you do want a pop of color on the walls - just think about an accent wall :)

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