Ask A Decorator: Dealing With White Walls

Dear Decorator:

My husband and I recently purchased a new home. The home is beautiful and has many large windows. Unfortunately, we have white walls in every room. We are trying to decide if we should paint each room the same color or have them all different. We need your help!
-Joan and Don W.
 Chicago, IL

Dear Joan and Don,
Congratulations on your new home--how exciting!

Having the opportunity to decorate a brand new home is tremendous -- I'm always so excited to work on jobs with new homes.

There are so many great options for adding color to rooms, that your choices are practically endless.

Making color selections can often be overwhelming, though. The first rule of thumb is to think about how your rooms will be used and be cautious of using the same exact color in every room, without any variation on the application technique. Regardless of how fond you may be of the color now, you will quickly tire of it, especially if every room is painted the same, without any variety. Colors are much more appealing when they harmonize with one another, rather than when they match perfectly.

A great technique of the professional decorators is to add contrasting variations on ceilings, walls and trim. You can use different shades of white (or any color) to accent each room. If you are considering a white palette, add shades of ivory, pearl and linen to the space. When using a very neutral palette such as this, I like to incorporate a splash of color through decorative accents. Items as simple and inexpensive as accent pillows or accent rugs can do the trick.

To achieve the harmonizing color theme, you can add a bit of variety by varying the tint of the color (adding white to base color) or the shade (adding black to the base color).

To really add great dimension and interest to any wall, you may want to consider incorporating a faux painting technique, wallpaper, or some of the great new murals that are now on the market into some of the rooms.


Thanks for the great question and good luck decorating your new home.