Read Aisling’s expert advice to help find the right neutral shades for your home,  working with both the light and the mood you want to create in each room.

Choosing the correct whites or neutrals for your home might seem like the easiest colour decision you can make, but the reality is that all colours, including whites, are 
made up of many different tones and ALL of these different tones will react with their surroundings, creating a slightly different finished effect every time. This means that what you see in the tin or on the chart isn’t always what you will see on your walls. So how do we choose our perfect whites?

Understanding your environment:

Understanding the effect the environment, both outside and inside, will have on the colour inside is key to finding the right neutral shade for your room.  

In Ireland, where we are often subjected to dull skies, a bright white is rarely the right answer. White needs natural light to bounce off and reflect its brilliance back at itself, so in this country, during the long dark days of winter, brighter whites will simply fade to grey. Use warmer shades of white (think the palest taupe or pink hues) to add a sense of warmth and homeliness. 

All colours interact with and reflect the other elements around them, including furniture, flooring, soft furnishings, and/or wallpaper. It all has to work together. This is why, although a red-based white will work well in a blue-toned north-facing room, adding a green sofa will instantly disrupt the harmony. Similarly, yellow-based whites will make pine flooring appear overly orange at certain times of the day. Use cooler whites here for balance. 

Layering your colours is also a good tip to ensure harmony. In kitchens with strong shades of green, blue, or grey on the cabinets, use whites with an undertone of the same colour to create a connection between the walls and the joinery. Subtle and effective.

Lighting:

The other thing you need to consider is the lighting. Will the room be used mostly in daylight or under electric lighting? You need to see how the colour reacts in both situations.  Broadly speaking, you want a 2,700K bulb that is a warm white. Daylight is over 4,000K and is not what you want in the evening, while 1,500 is akin to candlelight and not good for a dark room in the daytime. Test paint samples before committing to a colour. Paint samples onto paper swatches so you can easily hold them under the lamp and ceiling lights. 

Aisling’s Favourite Whites: 

Keeping all of the above in mind, here’s a selection of our favourite whites!