Whilst white interiors might not appeal to everyone, they have been prominent on the media and home front for many years. There’s an air of tranquillity, a serenity that is at the forefront of these colourless spaces. They have a tendency to make us stop in our tracks allowing us a kind of escapism from our often hectic lifestyles.
There’s a timeless quality about white interiors and in still shots like the one above of capturing a moment in time. As if time itself has stopped still.
A BACKDROP
Image – Homedit
Almost theatrical, the whiteness of a space can provide a backdrop for choice pieces of furniture to and for artworks to spring from the walls. Every thing is noticeable whether it is intentional or not.
METALLICS
Metallics play a key part in any colour scheme but somehow with white interiors, they glow that little bit brighter providing an air of lightness and elegance to a space as they bounce the light around.
PATTERN PLAY
Image – Crowntiles
White doesn’t have to be all plain walls either, tiles are a perfect example of adding interest to floors and walls. You can check out my post here to learn more about pattern.
GREENERY
Image Credit, Photo credit: Christina Kayser Onsgaard, Styling: Rikke Graff Juel
Greenery provides life and the expectancy of growth making our homes come alive. Against a white backdrop, plants stand out beautifully. If you’re a serial plant killer, you may want to check out my posts here and here on becoming a green fingered god/goddess.
FACT: White only became popular in the West with the invention of electricity. With clean lighting and no more candle or gas lights walls stayed cleaner and was popularised in the 1930’s
FRESHNESS
Danish home of model and stylist Pernille Teisbæk – Image from Houseandgarden
White is the most popular choice for bathrooms as they bring an air of freshness to them. The perfect place to wash away the day.
TEXTURES
Image – Miserv
Texture is key when it comes to white spaces, without it, they would simply look uninteresting and sterile. No matter what your style if you’re going for this look, you need to add interest by way of texture. Scandi and rustic styled interiors do textures really well with natural materials such as wood, woollen throws, sheepskins etc. They provide warmth to what can be deemed as a cold look.
Image – Flickr
If you’re going for a more modern contemporary look, think about clean lines of furniture and adding metallics to provide a more streamlined effect. Warmth can be provided by adding a large scaled rug to prevent it from looking sterile.
FOR NEW BEGINNINGS
Image – Domino – PHOTOGRAPHY BY VEE SPEERS @SIGNE BUNDGAARD
For those just starting out or have moved into a new home, painting your walls white, offers you the ability to take in, live and breathe your spaces before diving into designing them. A clean slate on which to draw, white provides you with the ability to see how your spaces will work for you. It’s a journey you make together whether you stick with white or opt for a more colourful palette, it’s as good as a place to start as any (although with over 100 shades of white to choose from you might not be as easy as you think).
SO WHICH WHITE?
As with any colour, choosing which white is down to how much natural light your spaces receive.
Image – Domain
North facing rooms tend to make colours, including white, look cooler and harsher. Farrow and Ball experts say you should opt for yellow based whites to bounce as much light around the room as possible and add warmth. Avoid whites with a green or grey base as these will make the room seem darker.
Image – Dulux
If you want a crisper more modern white, you could also opt for Dulux’s Ultra White paint which is formulated to make any room brighter and is an extra tough emulsion paint. It has light reflective particles that help reflect up to twice as much light back into a room. It’s also great for high traffic areas in your homes like hallways.
Image – Freshdesignpedia
If your interiors receive plenty of natural light you can use a cooler shade of white to balance the room. This beautiful loft style bedroom receives masses of natural light through its huge windows and has used a grey based white to decorate the walls and floors.
So what do we think, is white for you or are we an admirer from afar?
Until next time, thanks for stopping by!
Maria x
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3 Comments
The rustic dining room…sigh, the loft bedroom….sigh!!!! And this coming from someone whose taste is ultimately colourful (and heritage!). I am not afraid to use white, and have done all white with touches of grey in a hotel :) Fabulous post Maria, loved it :) xx
I can see you swooning now Amanda lol and completely understand why. White is such a universal colour that reaches all styles and eras. Thank you for your lovely comments :D Maria xx
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