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Furniture, how to decorate a white room, ideas, ideas for white walls, luxurious white living rooms, nordic, paint, room with white walls, walls, white, white living room design, white paint colors
In the comment section of another post, a reader asked about white walls – do I love them or hate them? I actually do not have any white walls in my house, but I do have many neutrals. As I told her, I have been in many houses where it was painfully apparent that it was the builder’s white and the rooms felt cold, undone and uninviting, despite residing there for years… and I’ve been in homes, where the walls were Nordic white and the rooms were sumptuous and downright cozy!
If you want versatility, are renting or just hate painting, white walls offer a blank canvas, but they need to be addressed the right way to be successful. In other words, they need to look deliberate in order to work.
White living rooms bespeak of a certain type of lifestyle: chic, sophisticated, metropolitan … and that of no kids, no dogs and no red wine 😉
You can embrace the color (or actually, absence of color). And note what they have done on their sofa, which I do on my cream sofa. Note to that note: I bought that sofa pre-kids and when I just had 2 Jack Russells, which one throw worked nicely for them to nestle upon and still left of sofas clean. Ok, relatively clean. I forgot about groundhog holes. They loved groundhog holes.
Pressed plants grouped together in inexpensive frames can make a focal point, while addressing a large white space.
Add some soft hues to accentuate the room.
The huge piece of art essentially inserts wall color.
Black looks great in a white room!
Clean, tailored and crisp.
Natural and beachy.
My bookshelves do not look this good, but these are severely lacking books! They are called “book”shelves.
Light walls/dark furniture…the reverse (dark walls and light furniture) is a good option too…but this room needs some soft textures. It’s leather, wood, glass and metal.
My (rescued) German Shepherds would take care of this white room in about 3 seconds! They haven’t met a sofa they don’t love and I don’t have the heart to kick them off ❤ …Have I mentioned we live on the river and they love to go swimming, then come in and shake?
Soft grey, but with shiny surfaces to add glamor.
I don’t know what this black panel is about, but it wouldn’t be my first choice of artwork – maybe it didn’t photograph well?? If you like it, you could easily create it (or in another color), however, I would recommend paying close attention to scale. This one is close, but a little off in fitting within the panel.
The point of this photo is that the architectural details of this room really become the focus when a hue isn’t on the wall.
This room needs a little more (maybe some art above the fireplace), although the basics are great.
White walls/black trim….and bamboo molding on the walls! The design is definitely elegant, however, my preference is wood for the molding because bamboo can (emphasis on can) “read” cheap.
I could just DIE for that plasterwork on the ceiling!!!
This is more from the house in picture #1, If you know me, you will know I love the architecture of this home!
Puddles of drapes on the floor is very luxe as it shows that the fabric, which for draperies can be very expensive, wasn’t skimped upon.
This is only half white, but I just really liked the objects on the table!
This shows just how important it is to add details. Although it has lovely pieces, it feels stiff, like the movers forgot to add the rest of the things to this room! Too many hard surfaces and little too matchy-matchy, although I love the mantel mirror! The lamp ON the mantel really bothers me though! It belongs on the chest NEXT to the fireplace. If they were looking for some height on the mantel inexpensively, nothing beats tall, tapered candlesticks, which would be exquisite when reflected in the mirror for a party. Details, details….they really make a room.
With white walls:
- Embrace the white and go for an all white/cream room -or- offer varying degrees of contrast to the room.
- A large piece of art (above a sofa, table, etc.) helps break up the monotony of a large, white wall
- Insert color with drapes (hung high), art, a rug, a screen, furniture, etc.
- Add texture (coral, a mohair/cashmere throw, velvet upholstery, drapes, shells, a rug)
- A little glimmer doesn’t hurt either, like mirrors, a crystal lamp, silver, mercury, gold, brass, etc.
And moldings make any room, in my opinion, regardless of color! I’m trying to get excited enough to tackle our upstairs hallway, master and guest bedroom. I also need to finalize my selections. Of course, I will take before, during and after shots with directions when (if??) this burst of energy happens! And I dream of conquering our ceilings!!!! Oh, one day I will get to them, plaster in hand!
I love your taste and I know you always do positive pieces but I would love sometime too see one maybe titled ‘They paid how much? For that?’ because I am sure you must inbetween the gems found some ideas that have really made you cring
I *literally* laughed out loud!! I do try to keep it positive, but your idea is hilarious!!!! Hmmmm…..
Reblogged this on Distinct Inspirations and commented:
As a lover of color I find myself in a quandary after viewing this blog post on the beauty of neutrals… So calming and classic…
Thank you so much for this post! I love the beautiful rooms you featured, but have a hard time picturing “living” in rooms that beautiful-
Lol! I’m not sure if white will be for me, but these photos certainly will help me decide. Thank you!!!
Hmmm…. I don’t know, I guess I dread the day that rich colors on the walls are no longer fashionable. The whites (especially the rooms devoid of any color whatsoever) don’t do a thing for me. I’d be really afraid to live in a house with white upholstered furniture too. And how about the woodwork? It seems so lost when everything is painted white.
On a positive note, the way the rooms are arranged, the choice of accents and exquisite pieces of furniture — very admirable. If you love white, you certainly picked the most beautiful of rooms as examples of white-on-white decorating!
Oh, I don’t think rich colors will ever go out of fashion!! But keep in mind white has its applications: it offsets art brilliantly; city-dwellers, who rent, cannot paint their white walls and have to work within those confines; and I do think it can be a relief from heavy colors sometimes too.
I am with you on painted wood; I absolutely cringe when someone paints a beautifully patinaed piece of furniture!!
That is definitely enough to accentuate my recent cravings for more white! What a beautiful compilation and your summary of how it works is really invaluable. I am definitely saving this post to revist if I ever get any progress on my basement re-do.
Omg – I was thinking about white for one room in our basement as well!
I’ve been in one or two beautiful white rooms, and I think part of the problem is that they’re hard to photograph. The shading is often so subtle that it’s hard to convey in a picture.
That is a great point!
I’ve been thinking about ..not really stark white walls, but white with a tiny, tiny smidge of blue for my cobalt-and-white room. Good idea or not? Hm.
I love that idea!! Whispers of colors are so beautiful – go for it!!!
Thank you (;^)
You have such a good eye!!
Thank you so much! As do you, I’ve noticed. That’s why I asked your advice!
I just wanted to say that your kind words carried much weight the last couple of days. You are so kind!
Oh please! I have the worst time designing rooms in my own house, so I love your design rampage! I hope everything is ok….I’m just an email away if you need anything 🙂
Really enjoyed this post. Seeing some of those ‘all white’ rooms made me appreciate the ones that added some color to them. I know that I wouldn’t be comfortable with a all white room. Love the idea of going with neutrals better like you have done in your house and add color with accessories.
I’m afraid the only white I like is snow 😦
I like colour in a house.
Jim
love, love, love white
and,
love, love, love (almost) all these pictures
and,
love, love, love your assessment of it all!!
also, think if I could have one of these rooms (after the kids grow up) I could go with just white wine 😉
Maybe we could just do red wine in sippy cups 😉
Awesome idea – LOVE that too!!!
Amazing!
Yes, love whites, but with lots of textures and shades, flowers and cushions in my rooms. . really enjoyed your intelligent assessment of these rooms, and the fact that you know we have to cater for dogs and children and MEN !!!
Men! How could I forget them? They are worse then the dogs and kids 😉
Those white rooms are stunning! But…I had a white kitchen before & trying to keep it clean with a toddler in the house nearly killed me 😉
I hear you! I have cream cabinets now and, geesh, I’m constantly wiping them!!!
My husband thought I was just being lazy. He tried keeping the white kitchen clean just for ONE day & he couldn’t do it. He never complained about my housekeeping skills again 😉
All those rooms are very formal for daily living, and colourless! White walls are the perfect foil for bolder colours and modern shapes and make all sorts of lovely shades stand out wonderfully. I’m totally with you on the “white walls as a background for art” thing – I love the way our art stands out. They don’t paint gallery walls white for nothing!
To completely fill a white-painted room with neutral colours I think utterly misses the point.
Look at this one for example: http://pinterest.com/pin/94153448431174273/
Or this: http://pinterest.com/pin/94153448431096521/
The white walls are key and serve to accentuate and bring together all the lovely colourful accents. That’s their real beauty, in my opinion!
I think it comes down to a matter of personal preference and taste. Just like art, certain color palettes speak to certain people and not everyone wants vibrant colors; they find neutrals soothing. Using formal rooms for daily living is the same thing – I lean towards the more formal, but I also use these rooms daily and don’t think they should be off limits i.e. rooms that are just showcase rooms. I did look at your examples, but they are not my style, as I tend to lean towards the more classic design, but I do appreciate color in rooms.
Thank you. You always find such beautiful rooms to showcase. I love sitting down with a hot mug of something and looking at your posts. They always leave me with new ideas and new concepts for when I buy my dream house (and some subtle ideas for the current hope-to-sell soon one). Thank you again. .
That is so nice of you to say!! Thank you!!
I love this post! I am not a fan of all white rooms but these are lovely.
Not a fan of the white room, but these are stunning. Magnolia, a weird yellow cream white is in every room in every house in England..( well it feels that way anyway) This colour changes with the light to warm honey yellow to soft white depending on the time of year and the sun. I’ve kinda grown to like it. Lovely post!
I knew you were going to say something about the plasterwork on that ceiling. Love the rooms with so much architectural detail – they look like bow front Boston Beacon Hill homes. I know I couldn’t go with all white (just 1 Bernese Mountain dog after one good raincan ruin the effect ) & some of them look too stark but the rooms with really stunning details really do work. I know just what you mean about the builder “white” which is never really white walls.
I just saw my daughter’s Boston apartment this weekend after the landlord painted, fixed ceilings (my stomach really did go into spasms on move in day when I saw the condition of the place). Now that the painting & cleaning are done it really looks awesome – tall ceilings, detailed moldings, little nooks & crannies plus she did a terrific job of coordinating Home Goods/Target/Container Store finds on a budget. We’re still trying to figure out what these little knobs on the wall at chest height are for – random locations & a real puzzle to us all.
Lovely post! I often like how white looks in pictures but can’t commit to it in my own home, I like some color, but some of these have me dreaming. Do you think that with some of these rooms the architecture is so impressive that they could have done just about anything, color-wise, and it would still look incredible?
The pics look so pretty, I could do a cream maybe in one of our basement rooms, but white is as daring as painting a room black! That’s a good and interesting question! Huh! Probably so! Amazing molding makes it hard to go wrong 🙂
So many shades of white – so little time! lol I love the white look with black anchors in the room. My bedroom is going that way as I type, lol… ivory silk look drapes, ivory sumptuously ruched duvet cover, soft pink-biege/white accent, black lamp bases, etc, so soothing and a fluffy white throw. Love the photos!
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