Need recommendation for a whole-house paint color

[Anonymous]

We are about to close on our new house and will be having it painted before we move in. We need to choose one color for the ENTIRE house. (My daughters' rooms will be a different color that they will be able to choose.)

We are a neutral paint-color family. We move every 5-6 years, and up until now we have painted each new house with the color we have grown to love from the previous house. Our current 2015 house is BM Revere Pewter (If you are not familiar, I think this is very close to SW Agreeable Gray).

But we are seeing that in 2021 "white is the new gray".

Should we be forward looking and select a white for our all-house color? How to choose a white? My main concern is that it is going to feel unpainted and sterile like our first rental apartment, especially since the trim will also be a glossy white?
Should we be safe (knowing who we are) and just go with a more modern updated neutral or gray?

[Anonymous]

There are non sterile looking whites but the thing that would worry me a bit more with white is how it looks in varying light conditions. Could be harder to find a white that looks good everywhere than a gray

[Anonymous]

Just painted our whole main floor/upstairs hall with SW Aesthetic White. I hear it is a shade lighter than Agreeable Gray. It is VERY light, and looks nearly white in intense sun, and gives off a soft glow of color at night. I am really hesitating about using it on our basement and will probably go with Agreeable Gray due to the lack of lighting in the basement. I will say it definitely lightened up our space and made our warm wood floors pop. Based on what you're saying, you may want to stick with Agreeable Gray.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just painted our whole main floor/upstairs hall with SW Aesthetic White. I hear it is a shade lighter than Agreeable Gray. It is VERY light, and looks nearly white in intense sun, and gives off a soft glow of color at night. I am really hesitating about using it on our basement and will probably go with Agreeable Gray due to the lack of lighting in the basement. I will say it definitely lightened up our space and made our warm wood floors pop. Based on what you're saying, you may want to stick with Agreeable Gray.

OP Here... and I agree.
I just told DH I asked the masses to help with the decision and he said he wanted to stick with the gray.
Also, from a comment I just saw on another thread I checked out Chris Loves Julia blog and although their white walls look great in the pics, they did not do their ENTIRE house in it.

[Anonymous]

Yes white is here to stay. Gray is actually out. Greige is on the way out.
White is all about undertones and lighting.

[Anonymous]

I would look into these.

[Anonymous]

Our whole house is Benjamin Moore White Sand, except for a couple of rooms which are Ballet White. Ballet White is the next tone lighter on the BM color strip from White Sand.

I would go with Ballet White, for these reasons:

https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/the-best-chameleon-paint-colour-ballet-white-benjamin-moore/

White Sand:


Ballet White:

[Anonymous]

The problem with picking a white is the idea that your trim is going to be “white.” Your trim is going to be a white *color*, and without knowing what it is you can’t pick a “white” wall color and know they’ll go together.

If you’re painting the walls and trim the same white, BM Simply White is a good bet.

If you don’t know what color the trim is, I would go with a gray or other neutral color darker than white.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem with picking a white is the idea that your trim is going to be “white.” Your trim is going to be a white *color*, and without knowing what it is you can’t pick a “white” wall color and know they’ll go together.

If you’re painting the walls and trim the same white, BM Simply White is a good bet.

If you don’t know what color the trim is, I would go with a gray or other neutral color darker than white.

My trim is BM Simply White. It’s a good white - a little warm but not too, not pure blazing blue white. I have SW Natural Choice in my dining room right now just as a neutral and it’s nice. Maybe a little beige for people used to grey, but I like it.

[Anonymous]

I do like whites now. Why get the whole house painted one color? I think I’d do mostly white but I’m sure a few rooms would be too low logout to carry that well

[Anonymous]

^ light not logout

[Anonymous]

I also used aesthetic white for my downstairs and love it. It’s a very light greige with just enough color to make a nice contrast with the pure white woodwork. Many paint colors samples turned pink in my kitchen, but aesthetic white did not.

[Anonymous]

If you like gray and your spouse likes gray, paint your house gray. Just paint it whatever the "in" color is when you move.

Whites are tough. If you go to pure white, it's sterile. If you go to warm white, it looks dirty.

[Anonymous]

Why don't you go with edgecombe gray, one shade lighter than revere pewter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you like gray and your spouse likes gray, paint your house gray. Just paint it whatever the "in" color is when you move.

Whites are tough. If you go to pure white, it's sterile. If you go to warm white, it looks dirty.

+1. You are just moving in. Paint it what makes you happy. We still very much love our gray walls, and will keep them until we aren’t, trends be damned.

The cranberry red dining room trend has been out for most 20yrs, yet I have a friend who adores it and has stuck with it. Her house, her happiness. If she were to move, I’m sure she would repaint to something neutral, but not right now.