Warm White Rooms

     If I lived alone, I would decorate with white. The challenge of creating a warm, inviting interior using  lots of different shades of white intrigues me. However, in real life, I have a very dirty husband (that's right, I said it out loud), 3 kids and two adorable mini-dachshunds who rule the world. My Hubbie loves color and right now is whining because I want to paint the living room SW Sea Salt. He wants basketball orange. Really. He also likes the upr(ugly pink rug). When we bought he house, every room was painted bright white and the upr ran throughout the entire house. So far I have ripped up the rug in the hallway and my bedroom. So much upr to go.
      Anyway, back to the white room discussion. The white that covered our house was of the primer, brightest of bright white variety. Cold and uninviting. The key to making white work is to choose a warm tone. White is not one color. It is many. The balance of colors in the paint is what determines its feel and look. Whites heavy with blues and greens will tend to look cool and those with red and yellow undertones will look warm. The key to making a white room look warm and cozy instead of cold and stark is layering. If you look at white rooms that give off a cozy, warm feel, you will see that they have a variety of whites in the decor, and they use these whites to provide depth and they are often tinged with tan, orange, pink or yellow.
     I also like rooms that are predominately white with pops of color in the accessories.What fun it would be to change out accessories when the mood strikes. Right now I am in a turquoise mood and I could see accessorizing my fantasy white rooms with pops of that cool color. However, when winter comes around I am ready to warm up my environment and would happily change out the turquoise for some warm reds and tans. A backdrop of white can provide an opportunity to change the look of a room for little money and effort. This is a good way to play with current trends, but not to commit to years of the same look (which may be out of style next year, as those trends  come and go rather quickly!).
      Here are some pictures of rooms decorated with warm whites. Notice how there are a variety of whites in every room to provide depth and interest. Woods, plants and a variety of textures also help to create warmth.

Zuhairah Interior Design

Eclectic Revisited



French Garden House



Layla Grace

House Beautiful



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