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  • Hi, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle.

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Exploring Shades Of White Paint

August 22, 2011

I sifted through a nice little collection of white paint chips last week as I prepared our guest room-turned-office for a new coat of paint. Did you know Pantone’s inspirational white collection rolls 68 swatches deep?

Where’s a girl to start when, in addition to those 68, every one of my go-to brands also provides dozens of “white” options?

I had to keep it easy, so I only came home with 7. All Behr so that I wouldn’t drive myself crazy comparing white to white to white across brands. Or moreso, so I wouldn’t drive Pete crazy, since he told me he didn’t care what type of white it was, as long as it was white. BAH.

White samples by Behr.

For two years, the walk-in-closet has been white. This, you know.

Before that, it was the previous owner’s nursery, complete with illustrated zoo animals and coordinating wallpaper. But when I decided to brighten it up, I chose a straight-out-of-the-can white, and a cheap can at that. Mr. Seconds for $6.99-a-gallon cheap. The room was home to shoes and clothes, not heavily trafficked, and not a haven for overnight guests, so I didn’t put too much into it.

Walk-in Closet: Before + After

The inexpensive color had begun to look a little dirty, or faded, or dull compared to the trim, which, while also straight-out-of-the-can white, was a more premium paint with a nice satin sheen that had held up supremely. Having painted the ceiling blue probably helped distract you from the wall state… it fooled me, anyways.

Although in the vein of being transparent, the blue was painted after the walls, and a little sloppily at that. I had been needing to touch up the upper edge for awhile. This I knew. And ignored.

Sloppy paint job. The blue cut-in wasn't done very well.

The white I finally landed on was a Behr color; Powdered Snow (or W-D-700 if you appreciate details like that). I had it mixed with a satin base, much like the rest of the paint in my house.

It’s the swatch shown at the top of the post on the right. Creamy, with no obvious tints.

I hadn’t wanted to sway too white-blue, or white-pink, or white-yellow, all of which were also in my swatch mix, so my options were pretty quickly narrowed down. The Powdered Snow was a white tied to the tan/almond/brown family, so it still had an air of warmth to it… sort of like a very soft ivory.

I assumed that painting white on white was going to be a challenge, as if I wouldn’t easily be able to see which areas I had already painted.

White on white. I was clearly wrong in thinking that it was going to be hard to do.

I was clearly wrong. My whites were considerably distinct in hue.

See what I was talking about when I said the walls seemed dingy?

I left these necklaces and hooks in place until I was right up beside them with the roller, and decided that I’d remove them entirely and patch the holes. Before I did, I snapped this shot. The contrast between the old and new paint was astonishing. Old, inexpensive paint clearly had blue-gray undertones compared to my new, freshly fallen Powdered Snow. Also, the old must have been a flat or eggshell finish; the satin coat is much brighter and reflecting than it’s predecessor.

Variance in the bright new white, and the old white.

Two coats of paint (including edging around the whole room a second time) did the job and completely covered up the old paint. I find with most light colored Behr paint that I usually need two coats, but wasn’t sure if that would be the case with “white”-on-“white”. It was. And for the record, if it’s dark paint, I plan on 3, even if I’m starting with a tinted primer.

Clean paint makes me feel like I just took a shower. All’s good, except now my previously nice trim looks like the ugly stepsister of the white paint chips.

Fresh paint. Clean walls are as satisfying as a cleansing shower. And, well, it’s bright and clean but obviously still a mess. The other guest room is also loaded with office materials waiting for a home, so I’ll be working hard on this over the next few weeks starting with the desk and chair.

Stay tuned for change.

P.S. Never whip around too quickly with a roller. I did just that and knocked into a new pair of suede boots. Most of the paint has come out with bar soap and water which I’m sure is totally not kosher with leather material manufacturers, but if anyone’s a miracle worker out there, please share your secrets.

P.P.S. Also, probably not a good idea to paint a room and leave most of your shoes including a new pair of black suede boots in the line of fire. Don’t be an idiot like me. Just move your shoes.

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Office Space

Emily
I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. I've been a freelancer writer for 10+ years and you can find my work on popular home and garden sites, like HGTV.com. Follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note.

7 Comments


Katrina
August 22, 2011 at 8:57 am
Reply

It looks great, definitely a cleaner shade. I’m biased though since every piece of trim, molding, paneling, and door in our house was given a fresh coat of “Powdered Snow” to cover up the damaged, dark wood here when we moved in. I think if Home Depot were to do regional comparisons, they’d find Syracuse right at the top of W-D-700 usage.

My dad discussed the problem of various shades of white during the speech he gave at our wedding. His advice to my husband: when your wife sends you to the store for something white, always ask “What shade of white?” Smart man.



    Emily
    August 22, 2011 at 9:44 am

    Really! How ironic is that?

Cait @ Hernando House
August 22, 2011 at 8:26 pm
Reply

Definitely a brighter shade and I love the blue ceiling! Can’t wait to see what else you have in store!



Gin
August 23, 2011 at 1:01 pm
Reply

Your boots! My heart cries out in remembered pain. I wore a brand-new pair of black suede boots to a Christmas Eve church service and promptly dripped candle wax on them. Never. Came. Out.

Latex paint, on the other hand, isn’t as gooey. Have you tried an art gum eraser (brown, not pink) on the dried surface? You could try a suede brush; it’s got very stiff bristles. You could also try a shoe repair shop, or my favorite from the costume shop days: a very fine paintbrush and a small bottle of black fabric paint.



Gin
August 23, 2011 at 1:02 pm
Reply

Oooo! Forgot one more suggestion. Try a dry-cleaner, one that specializes in leather and suede. They’ll have all sorts of nasty yet effective chemicals.



    Emily
    August 23, 2011 at 1:24 pm

    Amazing. I wish I had called you the second it happened. I’m going to try the suede brush and gum eraser, because I actually think I have both of those things on hand. Paint = plan B. Brilliant. THANK YOU!

Suzzanne
December 7, 2021 at 12:31 pm
Reply

I’m going stark raving MAD trying to decide on a white. I keep having this image in my mind of whole milk. That color. THAT is what I want, but what IS it? You know that super-popular “white” called Swiss Coffee by Behr? I tried a swatch of that. Am I the ONLY person on the planet that sees it as CLEARLY Light Orange?? How do people call that white? It’s not yellow to me, as most people say in articles……….it is so orange that it screams “DUDE! I AM ORANGE.!”
Am I color blind? This could be the issue. I’m color blind. What do people use for a cane that are color blind? One of those humongous crayola crayons?



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