How Do We Really Like Our Home’s White Walls?

It’s been 6 years since we opted to paint all of the walls and trim in our entire house in Sherwin Williams “Snowbound” shade of white. We even used this white paint in the kitchen which was remodeled in late 2019.

But really, how much do we like having white walls?

The few things that went through our heads when we decided to neutralize the walls to a single, uniform color. I thought you’d like to have answers to those questions now that we’ve lived with it awhile:

“Would we get bored of lack of color?”

Verdict: Nope – I still really like that anything goes with white. We’re free to play with as many colorful accents as we want and embrace those we love the most. We added a colorful boucherouite Moroccan rug to our living room, and pink pillows to the couch, and it all works really well together.

“Would it get dirty?”

Verdict: Not really, but kids definitely make their mark. We wash the “most touchable” spots with a soapy cloth or an off-brand magic eraser. 🙃 If you have white trim, you know what I’m talking about; it just gets dirty. We can also tell where the kids put their feet on the walls when they’re on the couch or playing in bed.

“Would white paint brighten our home?”

Verdict: Absolutely. Nothing quite like sunshine flowing into a light-colored room (it’s especially good through the fall and winter when our sunshine is limited). The house was previously beige (so much beige) and the memory of that is still stifling.

“Is it cozy? Because I like cozy.”

I don’t know if I can answer that. There are days and moments when the lighting can make it feel more sterile and less warm than a colorful room, but then the light will do something wild like this against the stone wall of the fireplace and I’ll forget that it ever entered my mind. We’ve added a lot of light wood accents via furniture, cabinetry, and even vinyl adhesive maple wallpaper. They all help add warmth to the white, but it’s still less intense than colorful wall paint.

“Will we regret not choosing some other shade of white paint?”

Verdict: Not a chance. In this consistently white-walled craze, it can be easy to overlook the magic of filters and Photoshop. Beauty shots of rooms online are color corrected for natural lighting. I happen to side with the stance that white is white. Natural daylight and the light bulbs in your fixtures will make a big difference in whether your space looks white-white vs. white-yellow vs. white-blue. LED lights have come a long way and smart bulbs especially make it easy to adjust the coloring to suit the area of your room and the fixture itself.

If you want white, Snowbound is a good white. But there are probably also a few dozen other “good whites” at the paint store. I’m not paid by Sherwin-Williams to promote this white. All brands have good whites. But yes, if you need a recco, this is a good white.