White walls

Let's go back to that room I had as a teenager: day-glo orange, fluorescent pink. I think it hrut my parent's eyes to walk into my room. (Which had it's advantages.)

When it was time to sell, we painted the whole room white.

Flat white. No-rich-undertones white. Walk up to the paint counter and ask for white, white.

White as a wall color fascinates me because it invokes really interesting responses in most people.

Most people feel cold when they walk into an all-white room. This is usually not a welcoming feeling that makes a potential buyer feel at home in the room.

You can try to neutralize that feeling by using the lightest color on a warm color chip, say the lightest shade of red, terra cotta, coral, or burgundy.

Most people see the results as a pink, cold room. Very few people feel an emotional connection to a pink living room.

You can go in the opposite direction to warm the room: use the lightest shade from a cool color chip, say blue or green.

The room will feel warmer. But, white's second drawback is accentuated.

What is white's second drawback? Most people become mildly disoriented in a white room. They cannot judge the space around them. Especially if the room is empty, they cannot imagine putting their furniture into the room.

This is not a good way to sell a house.

CAN you use white in a room? The lightest shade from some of the tertiary colors can work, say caramel (red + orange) or jade (blue + green). On some paint chips, the lightest shade of a yellow color can work.

So, white, although a very traditional room color, is not a color I recommend using when painting to sell. If you get it just right, and if the furniture, curtains. and accessories in the room are complimentary colors, some shades of white can be very elegant, and very salable. But, if you get it not-so-right, and/or if the other colors in the room are not complimentary, you run the risk of slipping into cold, pink, or disorienting.

Tomorrow we dive off the deep end and into the wonderful world of color!