From time to time a customer comes to us who says that he likes bright and white interiors with a lot of light, a lot of air, which are not cluttered and cluttered with cabinets and unnecessary items. There are other customers who say, no way, I do not want white - it will be like a hospital. Let's talk about what white can do, and what are the features of white interiors. The main value of white interiors: they add illumination, give emotional recovery, combine with other colors and with any style and combination thereof, the house becomes like a showcase space in which every object of the interior, every detail and every accent - is interesting, you can watch movies on the wall projector, no visible dust - you can clean up less often, the unfavorable architectural and design features of space are not conspicuous. Interested? Then let's go on!
I'll tell you now scary words, but if you like white interiors, then you can create it yourself, without a designer. It's true that there are a lot of subtleties.
Choose the right shade of white. There are a lot of nuances
White is a very complex color, choose pure white - it will be a real hospital, and if you have a style of minimalism, it will be very dry and official from such a space. Usually for our customers we do from 4 to 8 different shades of white. And we look in each room to see what we get. The color shades should always be seen in the apartment on the spot, it all depends on the light and the color temperature. Especially if the windows are on different sides of the world. For example the windows face the North - the color temperature will be cold 5500-6000K, so the shade of white has to be warm. Windows facing south - the color temperature will be warm 3500-4000K, so the shade of white should be neutral or cold.
Select the colors of furniture and decorations successfully
White looks different on different walls. But when we add other materials and other textures, such as fabric, painted wood, plastic, each material has its own color. Here the simple rule is that warm and cold white do not combine, neutral white combines with both warm and cold, but there can be nuances. And on top of that there can be glossy glossy white and matte white and all of these combinations are hard enough for you, if you're not a designer, to figure out. Maybe you won't even see the difference, but your subconscious will pick up that signal and you'll feel the dissonance, the discomfort, but you won't understand why. If you use different intensities of white on the floor, walls and ceiling, it is important not to break the rule: the ceiling - the lightest, the walls - medium, the floor - the darkest of the whites. Of course everything can be the same, but the ceiling should not be darker than the floor, the walls should not be darker than the floor.
White accentuates the shape
There is an interesting paradox here. White is the absence of color and this absence masks various architectural and structural flaws in the room, such as heating pipes, or columns from the builder, or strange niches and beams on the ceiling. But on the other hand, white shows the shape of the room and the shape of objects in it even more clearly. So if you arrange furniture or erect partitions or ceiling levels in a disharmonious way (not according to the universal principles of the golden ratio), it will be felt.
White interior solutions
The solutions are endless, we will tell you about the most popular
French neoclassics
Wooden floor parquet, usually light piece parquet pine, but you can also dark parquet, you can and engineer board, the main thing that was natural wood, neutral white or warm white walls, vintage wooden furniture, classic moldings and cornices on the walls and ceiling, you can as light accents only cornices. You can also add paintings, tapestries and mirrors. Very suitable for you if you are an aristocrat at heart.
Современный стиль
Here the floor can be anything. Since in the modern style is usually basic geometry in the space and furniture, in order to make the white interior does not look boring and formal, I suggest adding contrasts in the form of a dark floor, or in the form of dark furniture. Very appropriate will look laconic and stylish black details - black frames on the walls, black vases, black chairs.
Soho
This style is the most difficult to implement. It is suitable for creative natures, for those who love emotions, self-expression, courage, attracting attention. Who is not afraid of bright colors and non-trivial solutions. Furniture of mixed epochs, eclectic in all, any accent colors.
Below I'll tell you what's important in white interiors for any style.
Lighting and illumination
A separate topic for white interiors, everything in them is very sensitive to the balance of white. About the windows on different sides of the world, I said above, if you have little light in the room then use dark and cold shades of white very carefully, otherwise the final effect of the interior in natural light will be a gray, overwhelming haze of fog. A white interior is perfectly suited to a soft, warm, diffused light.
Natural materials
First and foremost, of course, is wood. Wooden floors, wood beams on the ceiling, wood veneer surfaces, wood furniture. In the second place is glass, stone, marble, textiles look great in white interiors. If you like an eco-style, white interior will suit you. Also excellent look greenery on the background of white walls - ficus, palm trees.
White is impractical, is that true?
Yes, if it's white upholstered furniture. No, when it comes to walls, choose a paint that is washable, such as Benjamin Moore Aura. Recently on a project, the client's builders dusted the walls with wood dust so they turned yellow, all washed out perfectly and the walls are like new. Cabinet furniture can also be white and it is not a problem, but pay attention to the surface of the furniture and how it is cleaned, for example, on the matte coating soft touch can be visible fingerprints.
White walls show defects better
Yes, that's right, the walls need to prepare for painting very carefully, especially if the paint is not thick and translucent and is a thin layer. So check the walls for acceptance from the builders with a flashlight, if interested, write in the comments, I'll write a separate post on this topic.
Home as an exhibition space
Any object against white walls will show all the nuances of its color, shape and texture and will be interesting. It won't get lost. Any decor, such as paintings, vases, flowers, sculpture will look expressive and capacious.
You can watch movies on a projector
There is a special projection paint Le Vanille, but you can just use a white wall. The advantage of the special paint is that the image will have more contrast and the colors will be deeper.
Emphasis on the view from the window
If you have a great view from your window, white walls will emphasize the effect of the view, especially if there will be panoramic windows.
Never get bored
White interior will never get boring, firstly, because you can always add any color accents to it. And in this way you can refresh the interior at least every six months without renovation.