How to get white right: 12 lessons we've learned from country homes
White paint is often misunderstood. It's the cornerstone of many decorating schemes, but in the wrong hands, it can leave a room feeling plain and flat and entirely devoid of life.
Yet in country homes, white is anything but lifeless. There is no undefinable quality that make these homes more adept at using white, but they are invariably blessed with the right set of tools for the task.
Texture is key in an all-white space, and the wooden beams, cottage doors and exposed brick so common in country households add texture in spades. Layers of gauzy linens and nubbly wool soften its visual sharpness and brightly painted floorboards invigorate plain walls.
"There’s a whole world of white out there and it can be hard to decide which shades will work for your scheme," says Patrick O’Donnell, brand ambassador and colour expert at Farrow & Ball.
White is very responsive to natural light, modulating to reveal warmer or cooler undertones as the day passes. "The key to success is to consider which way your room is facing," he says. "A blessing for most as bathed in natural light (unless you have cottage windows draped in rambling roses), a south-facing room allows you to default to your preferred undertones without any detriment to the look or feel. Anything from cooler blue-toned whites to grey or warm whites will work."
Here we look at 12 country homes that have perfected the art of decorating with white, with plenty of inspiration in each.
Using bright white
Brilliant whites on uninterrupted surfaces like walls and ceilings can look totally flat – it's a decorating trope of rental flats and the reason they can so often look like plain white boxes. Country homes are invariably blessed with interesting architectural details like wooden beams, cottage doors and exposed brick that provide the underlying texture and dimension that bright whites need.
White in a child's room
It's natural to want to introduce playfulness and expression into a child's bedroom, and many do so with colour and bright murals. If your own tastes are more modest, follow the lead of this Norfolk farmhouse and play out whimsical scenes with a hovering hot air balloon or a handcrafted solar system. When using multiple shades of white, make sure you match your undertones – this yellow-based white might look murky against a blue-toned white.
Introducing colour
All-over white with accents of colour is a common decorating formula, but it can quickly veer into playroom territory. Adding blocks of solid colour is usually the culprit – there is a youthfulness and simplicity to block colours that can make a room feel overly childlike (there are some exceptions that we cover below). Pairing your colours with pattern or surface texture is an easy fix – glass is a great choice because the intensity of colour is diffused.
Mediterranean influences
Mediterranean homes provide rich reference material for all-white interiors with oodles of texture. The white stone or stucco walls designed for reduced heat absorption provide a rugged and rustic foundation for course wooden surfaces, grainy ceramics, raw materials and earthy accents.
Guiding the eye
Paint is the easiest form of visual trickery in large, open-plan spaces. White is the perfect choice for drawing attention to all that height, and there is a clever eye-line division, separating all the colour and detail below and open space above.
Pictured: Country Living Bamburgh Sofa at DFS
Painted floors
When you paint floorboards, you do so with the implicit understanding that they will eventually reveal their age. Chips, scuffs and fading are inevitable, but they are also very helpful in tempering the more polished nature of white walls. For East facing rooms like this, Patrick suggests blue tones: "East facing rooms get all their natural light in the morning. Look for something with a soft blue tone or, better still for added warmth, aqua-toned whites, such as Pale Powder or Cabbage White."
White upholstery
White can be a visually 'hard' colour – as opposed to the softness and suppleness of buttery creams for instance – so temper it all with layers of slubby linens and wools. A loose-covered linen sofa or armchair has texture in abundance and its crinkles are part of its charm. With the rise of easy-clean technologies and performance fabrics, you needn't fear white upholstery.
West-facing rooms
The right white for west-facing rooms depends on the time of day you are most likely to use them. "These rooms soak up the afternoon and early evening natural light," says Patrick. "Play to the warmth of late afternoon light and lean towards red-toned whites or even the most delicate of pinks. Dimity will be your friend in this aspect."
Dark floors
Dark floors can moderate the brilliance of white walls, but anything too heavy and light-absorbing will pull a room off balance. Mahogany or slate grey is about as dark as you should go, and a reflective or glossy finish can help strike a better balance.
North-facing rooms
"Often poorly lit and therefore potentially gloomy, rooms facing north lend themselves to warm-toned whites, such as those with a splash of yellow or red running through," says Patrick. "This doesn’t mean pink or cream but softer, nuanced whites that carry some warmth – such as Joa’s White, a shade almost verging on neutral with a dollop of red. Or, for something softer and truer to our perception of white, White Tie with a little yellow helps create one of our softest and most versatile whites."
Pictured: walls painted in Lime White at Farrow & Ball
Highlighting pattern
In a small white room, a small dose of pattern goes a long way. It's the perfect blank canvas to hero a favourite motif – a pretty floral on a white sofa or colourful patchwork quilt on a bed. Although a darker colour would better disguise the irregularities on these walls, the crookedness is so appealing.
The single contrast
We mentioned earlier that adding blocks of colour to an all-white room can feel childlike, but this is the exception to the rule. Adding one element in a single contrasting shade – this fabulous painted bath could be swapped for a painted door frame or a bright shower curtain – energises an otherwise plain space. It's a brilliant design device for bathrooms that naturally contain a lot of white surfaces.
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