Choosing white paint – simple, surely?

Recently we’ve seen some customers getting very creative with their use of different shades of white and it got me thinking. Always dangerous.

It won’t surprise you to hear that white is the most popular paint colour. But white comes in a wide range of shades – even “Pure Brilliant White” can vary considerably between manufacturers.

Here’s a small selection of “whites” currently available from Dulux:

My old science teacher loved to tell us that white isn’t a colour at all, just a mixture of all colours of light. And strictly speaking, colour theory defines a shade as a pure colour mixed with black, so a “shade of white” would be a neutral grey.

But none of that will help you when you’re looking at the paint swatches. You’ll be trying to choose between cream, eggshell, ivory, ghost white, apple blossom, white smoke, egyptian cotton, baby powder, blank canvas, snow, Ivory, surf, moonrise, summer cloud, floral white, seashell, cornsilk and vanilla.

But what’s impressed me is people experimenting with different shades of white in the same room – the effects can be quite striking. This is an example printed in House & Garden, which uses four different shades of white or off-white:

1. ‘The walls use Library’s ‘Slate III’ – you see this where the walls and ceiling join
2. The skirting and frieze use Dulux ‘S1002Y50R’, a trade colour which can be custom-mixed on request
3. The cornice is two shades lighter than the walls, Library’s ‘Slate I’
4. The ceiling is Dulux ‘Pure Brilliant White’

As always , we live to do London’s best job of redecorating your walls, whatever the colour, and you’re always welcome to call me on 0208 946 5045 to arrange a quotation.

Best wishes

Geoff (Picasso) Parvin