The great white hope of decorating

A blanched, neutral look is uplifting, accentuates architecture and the paint is cheap to buy, says Kya deLongchamps

‘White is not a mere absence of colour; it is a shining and affirmative thing, as fierce as red, as definite as black. God paints in many colours; but He never paints so gorgeously, so gaudily, as when He paints in white.’ — GK Chesterton (Victorian writer)

FAR from being an aesthetic cop-out, it takes confidence to decorate with white, but handled correctly the rewards can be a remarkable, fluent space full of character and charm. White highlights great architecture, where the only emphasis that’s needed is the naturally- occurring shadow, not a trumpeting of colour. Despite the bohemian fantasies imposed on their wide-eyed clientele, visit the homes of many TV celebrity designers and you would find clean white interiors, not a pickling of aubergine over gilded tomato reds.

Dramatic, spiritually-uplifting white is worth consideration if you’re drowning in paint cards and feeling visually overwhelmed. In the future, white or pale off-white will offer a superb undercoat if you decide to punch up the colour scheme in a total re-do or feature wall. Oh, and by the way, white paint, pure white paint, is cheap, cheap, cheap, often half the price per litre of its tinted companions.

OFF-WHITE STORIES

White that’s ‘pure as driven snow’ is a blue-based white and it can be somewhat overwhelming, cold and unsuited to our similarly cool, blue-based winter light here in Ireland and full, north-facing rooms. Even in a room with full sun for most of the day, white as a base colour must be used carefully. Unadulterated white over every surface can be repelling, with an unpleasant glare in a heavily-glazed space. The family of white paint comes in shades from purest of crisp, chalky white through a popular generation of off-whites, some of which stray into a substantial colour and are set at the pale section of suggested schemes by paint-makers and interior designers. Look out for whites tinted with blue, beige, yellow, pinks, and greens, creams and even putty blues.

Layering these plays of white onto each other can produce beautiful effects while retaining the purity, light-enhancing innocence of white’s essential character. Whites bruised with blue have a metallic edge more suited to contemporary interiors. Smaller windows and less light? Warm things up with the yellow tones of a suitable off-white. The period off-whites, such as B&Q’s popular antique white originally used in old houses with smaller windows, are very suitable, but using a test card is the ultimate.

RIGHT WHITE

As you would with any colour, pick up a sampler pot of your potential white, paint up a large piece of lining paper or card with two coats, and place it in a vertically-hanging position (to catch higher and lower light). Examine it at different times of the day and switch on your lights after dark. CFL light bulbs can deliver a cold fluorescent effect, so choose bulbs with a warming glaze and see how the test card responds.

The finish of the white will make it respond differently to the light and colour of objects around it. Even a small amount of shine will create highlights and reflections that will add to its character and pick up tones from the more colourful objects around it. The undertone (the tint added to the plain white) will become immediately obvious when you put two off-whites together. Before committing to accessories, pale wood colours or soft furnishings in other whites, put it against your wall colour. You might be surprised at how aesthetically-disconnected they can be.

BUILDING THE PICTURE

Where colour is not the main player, texture, shapes and even the shadows they create are vital to a white scheme’s success. Texture draws your senses towards the room. A toe-swallowing wool rug, distressed leather with handsome planes of stitching, voile panels, textured wallpaper — anything that encourages you to reach out.

Where colour is largely absent, the shapes of your furniture and the fixed features of the room (fire surrounds, recesses, window shapes) will take on a stark relief. It’s the best background imaginable for art work and sculpture and that includes great furnishings with lines you want to play up for all they are worth. Why do you think galleries set their works up against pure white in most of their rooms? Where you do put in a feature wall or colour block with paint or furniture, it will really jump out at the eye.

SUGGESTED SCHEMES

Simply gorgeous are white walls with an ochre tint teamed to toffee-dark wood furnishings, subtle pattern, robust natural fabrics and lace. Country simplicity that will never date. For a 21st century take, utilise Perspex or glass furnishings.

Black and white is the ultimate in interior theatrics, and used extensively in contemporary urban interiors. It works because the contrast brings both tints into searing relief.

Silver, black and white deliver the art deco aplomb of Hercule Poirot’s apartment. Later chrome-and-black furnishings and reproductions in the style of Eames, Jacobsen, Van der Rohe, and their fellow design gods, will look utterly fantastic staged here.

For modernity with an underlying cosy feel that’s easier to live with, try cool grey walls and furnishings married to pure white woodwork, recommended by Farrow & Ball in their cool grey palette. www.farrow-ball.comand Dulux’s Night Jewels collection. www.dulux.co.uk.

White can be teamed to colour blocks in areas of wall, paintings, and furniture colours, taming its sometimes overwhelming dazzle. Give white a strong but supporting role in one wall, or as a group of white-resin chairs and a table floating in a coloured space.

Q&A

Q. How can I be sure the gloss white going over my skirting will not turn an ugly yellow?

A. Choose a water-based gloss such as B&Q’s Ecosure gloss. It is chemical change in the oily gloss paints, heavy with nasty Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), that cause that colour change.

Q. Can I mix my own off-white paint using standard emulsion. It’s so cheap and I want to do the whole house in a green/white top to bottom.

A. Certainly, having done sample painted areas, use exactly the same blend of colour taken from clean, well stirred quantities from the first can to the last. Keep a record of the recipe. You could play with the mixture to make a shade darker or lighter for accenting, just don’t confuse the cans.

Q. I would love to use a white carpet in my living room. Is there anything I can do to ensure its survival?

A. You’re very brave. Have the carpet treated with a stain repellent product and if possible use indoor shoes or bare feet to cross it. I suggest hardwood flooring accented with large pale rugs would be a less problematic choice.

Q. I’m looking for a totally over the top white 70s-style bed under €1,500. Any ideas?

A. Littlewoods’ new collection has an utterly fabulous white faux leather bed with crystal detail and a mechanised end to hang and store your flat screen television at the foot of the bed. There’s even a place for your DVDs. Prices for the Monroe Bedframe starts at €1,399 with a Sweet Dreams Palm Springs mattress. www.littlewoodsireland.ie.

PAINT TIP: Worried that your room may feel too cold with all the whiteness? A secret ingredient to keep your home warm while looking cool is a the arrival of Thermilate Warmcoat Advanced Insulating Paint. The paint’s reflective thermal properties has the effect of “bouncing back” a significant amount of the room's heat. Something to help keep the home heating bills down and the chills at bay.