Hi all! I’m here, I’m late, but I’m back with a post for the One Room Challenge. It’s a mix between progress updates but also talking about one of the hottest subjects ever in the home design world right now: white paint colors.

 

Quick Update

Before we go there, let’s get an update on the lovely new master bedroom to-be. Actually, to be fully transparent, we started with the paint weeks ago. I felt like I couldn’t even think or be in there with the current state of the walls (let me remind you with a before picture below). So, we quickly refreshed the room to get the creative energy and drive to do the dang thing. From there, we’ve now tackled the closet (halfway) and floors.

Painting has been the easiest part thus far. Uneven walls, tricky moldings, old trim, scratched and worn floors, have been our enemy these last few weeks, but we are slowly triumphing over each one.

Bedroom Before Paint

 

White Walls

Our process for painting was to start by picking out a warm but not yellow, bright but not blinding, slightly versatile white for the walls and closet. Then, we touched up all of the trim in pure white, which turned out to be tricky even finding the right sheen. Okay, I know you aren’t here for those kinds of details (we went with semi-gloss in case you were). I know, get to the good part, which white we actually chose!

Swiss Coffee Benjamin Moore Paint

If you follow my personal account on Instagram you may have seen weeks ago I mentioned that we were painting with Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore. Needless to say, we loved it immediately. We also sampled Steam, Cloud White, and Icicle. Though they are all beautiful colors, they were either too cool for what I wanted or too close to pure white. We really wanted to see a difference between the trim and walls. The house is older, less modern, and has details on the windows and trim that deserve to stand out. So, Swiss Coffee it was.

Swiss Coffee Benjamin Moore Paint

Master Bedroom Wall Paint Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore

 

My Favorite White Paint Colors

I promised to share my top 3 favorite white paints, and where I think they work best so here we go.

 

Pure White

One word to describe it: Modern

Yes, pure white is what you should use for trim and ceilings but I will recommend it from time to time as a paint color for walls too. If you have a modern home with clean lines, minimal trim, very little millwork detailing, and high ceilings it works magic.

 

Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore

One word to describe it: Clean

If you’re going for the bright white aesthetic but using an actual shade or color with an actual name, this one’s it. It’s still clean and modern and bright like pure white, but it’s also a bit softer. It catches the light in more of a glow than a shine and works with both neutrals and colors.

 

Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore
Master Bedroom Wall Paint Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore

One word to describe it: Moody

But not in a weird, shadow-type way. I say moody because it sets a mood of warmth and calm that the other two don’t. It’s something that needs to be paid attention to when selecting your lighting fixtures and even lightbulbs. You can’t go too warm, or the walls will look yellow and you can’t go too bright because then you’ll wash the tone of the color away. It’s definitely the most finicky of my favorites, but if you get it right, it’s absolutely perfect for most living areas, bedrooms or even cabinets.

 

Some Other Favorite Whites:

There’s so many options out there but a few more of my favorite white paint colors are below. It’s all about the space, the lighting, and truly your preference. There usually is no wrong answer.

White Dove – Benjamin Moore

Snowbound – Sherwin Williams

Alabaster – Sherwin Williams

Cloud Cover – Benjamin Moore

Greek Villa – Sherwin Williams

Aesthetic White – Sherwin Williams

 

Wrap-Up

Here is a quick before and after of our Master Bedroom. What a difference right?! It gave us the right push to continue fixing and re-doing the space. Stay tuned the rest of the week as I play major catch-up on Master Bedroom posts. I promise there will be way more content from the QDC Blog in the coming months. We have some AMAZING projects we are working on and we can’t wait to share!

Bedroom Before Paint