“I’m just going to paint the walls white.”
If you’re a home-décor or interior enthusiast as I’d like to consider myself, that’s such a loaded statement! There are 3,485,002 shades of white. I counted and have the paint chips to prove it.
Disclosure: I received paint from Sherwin-Williams as compensation for the post. All views and opinions expressed in the post are my own and no other compensation was provided.”
There’s so much to consider when choosing the perfect white paint for your space. Does your room have natural light? Is it east or west facing? What undertone do you want? Blue? Brown? Yellow? Red? Gray?
If your eyes are crossing just thinking about choosing one white paint color out of the 3,485,002, I may just have a solution for you!
When moving into our current home in December, our entire house was painted the same shade of yellowy-beige. I’ve since used three different shades of white throughout our home. Out of all the rooms in our home, I had the hardest time choosing the right color for the downstairs. It’s more-or-less a large finished basement, but it gets decent natural light even though it’s partially underground. Since it’s such a big room, I wanted it to have some contrast with the trim so that it wouldn’t appear as a stark white space. Though I wanted contrast, I also wanted a bright, yet cozy feel. Is that too much to ask for? It felt like a tremendous task.
After many paint chips, samples, and staring at the wall, I went with Greek Villa by Sherwin-Williams. I have to say, it’s absolutely the perfect cozy, bright white that adds just the right amount of contrast to any space. You can see how it compares to other popular Sherwin-Williams whites below.
Greek Villa brings it’s subtle warmth with a very slight blue-green undertone. It warm without being yellow and cool without being gray. It’s a happy medium for anyone looking for a “not-so-white” paint.
TIP | If you do not have any windows in your room, no matter the size, a bright white will not make it feel bigger. You want to choose something with a bit of contrast instead of a stark, bright white. ALSO, before you go out and buy two gallons of Greek Villa just because it worked out for me, purchase a sample first! That disclaimer is true for any paint you’re going to purchase. A shade of white can look like three different colors in three different rooms.
(This is our partially finished play area on the other side of the our downstairs living area. You can read all about the progress HERE.)
Finding the perfect shade of white is only half the battle. If you’re painting over a medium to dark wall, it might be time-consuming to get the coverage you want. You need a good quality paint to get the truest, smoothest coverage. There’s a reason professional painters spend a little extra on the “good” stuff. The Emerald Paint and Primer In One by Sherwin-Williams is the best of the best. Not only did it cover our walls like a breeze, it made painting over the real wood paneling a lot less of a job than what it could’ve been. Also, it has an anti-microbial agents that inhibits the growth of mold or mildew, which is perfect for a basement!
This cozy white has been an ideal blank canvas as I play around with different art and try to figure out exactly what I want this space to be. Greek Villa has warmed up our downstairs living area perfectly while keeping it nice and bright. I’m having my cake and eating it too!
Which white paint has been the winner for you? Let me know in the comments below!
