Anonymous wrote:I feel like every month, a shelter mag features a family living in a "casual" house with white walls and white upholstery (often slipcovered). Is white really suited to a casual lifestyle?

We are repainting in the next few months, and I'd love to hear from families with white walls in particular. Do they show every single scuff and look dingy after a while? Also, what's it like if you don't live in a sun-drenched house with huge windows? We live in a DCUM "shitshack" with okay light, but still low ceilings.

I have Benjamin Moore's 'Cream Froth" walls with BJ's "Superwhite" for the trim and ceiling. It brightens up the room so it's not dark and moody on those dark and moody winter days. And it goes with any furniture or color design.

I have, in the past, (when I had inherited sage green walls from the previous owner) had a white couch. What a PITA; always dirty auggh.

Now I have two (sort of a light blue-jean colored) couches and white furniture (sort of the seaside look/coastal living). Tangent…the key for any couch is slipcovers, IMO.

We have white walls, and they've held up pretty well. We make our active 3 year old wash his hands asap if he has dirty hands and wipe them and his face off with a wet paper towel when he's done eating. When he gets food on the walls, it's easy to clean off. He touches the walls, and it's not a big deal. We used BM paint with an eggshell finish. He's much harder on furniture and I would never do white furniture with kids. Or even just with adults.

I have both. I cannot live with a sofa that isn't white - just a weird quirk of mine. A white sofa is simultaneously the most and least practical sofa possible for families - the most, because you can bleach ANY stain out (which you can't do with any other color); the least, obviously because every little stain shows. It's all about the slipcovers!

I like to vary the tones and textures a lot to pull off so much white, accented with seagrass, plants, great light fixtures, and ethnic textiles. It looks beautiful (to me!).

I have white walls. Chrome and glass furniture, black and white leather. Similar to this, but with a Knoll coffee table instead, and a more classical fireplace




Like a PP said, just tell your kids not to touch the walls. They shouldn't do that regardless of the color. I used to tell mine the wall were there to hold up the roof, not them.

We have white wainscoting (I'll qualify that it is high quality, gloss paint). It is super easy to vacuum / wipe down often. I love it.. It's been so easy to care for, and always looks crisp and modern.

Our furniture is deep grey.. Also Imprtant is to get a great fabric that is easy to vacuum/ wipe down. Ours after years, vacuums up almost like brand new. I vacuum, run over with a wet cloth and you'd never know it's as absused and used as it is.

There are a lot of tones of white. I have an antique white and it holds up pretty well, plus Magic Erasers work well on white.

I'd be more open to doing white walls then upholstery. White wood is fine.

I have white walls and 3 kids. It is not hard to maintain, but you have to teach your kids not to touch the walls. I use Benjamin Moore paint, and rarely clean dirty spots on the wall. I only find a spot I feel I need to clean once or twice a year. I have a very minimalist decorating style, so white works well with that style. I love the look.
But - I do not have white furniture. I don't think it's practical at all. Even if I didn't have kids, I wouldn't get white furniture - I want my house to be comfortable for my family and guests, and that isn't possible if I constantly worry about the furniture getting dirty.

Very very very rare for it to look good in real life. You have to have a minimalist vibe to your house with well appointed furnishings and finishes. If you have kids or are even the least but dirty (like, ride the metro and don't change pants before sitting anywhere, rub a bag up against the wall when walking through the house), just forget it.

There used to be a site, Roomzaar that had REAL houses with decor photos. That was way more helpful than all the staged high end homes you see on Houzz. I think they folded the site but see if you can find somewhere real home photos are posted.

The secret to living happily in your house is to choose colors that you love. If it's white, go for it!

I have light pastel walls and white moldings, with cream furniture in my bedroom. My kids' rooms are painted a pale lavender. Mine is peach. Main floor is a very subtle pink-hued cream. Dark walnut floors, and lots of light.

I hate stark white walls, because they remind me of all the apartments/houses my globetrotting parents rented during my childhood. However, white won't show scuff marks more than other pale colors (and you definitely want something pale with your light). You must invest in good quality paint, though. Benjamin Moore or above. Flat will be hard to wash. Eggshell is best. Save the shiny stuff for the moldings.

I feel like every month, a shelter mag features a family living in a "casual" house with white walls and white upholstery (often slipcovered). Is white really suited to a casual lifestyle?

We are repainting in the next few months, and I'd love to hear from families with white walls in particular. Do they show every single scuff and look dingy after a while? Also, what's it like if you don't live in a sun-drenched house with huge windows? We live in a DCUM "shitshack" with okay light, but still low ceilings.