Winter White Done Right!

by lauraadmin | Jan 3, 2016 | NOC

In Winter we seem to crave comfort and warmth.  Thoughts of steamy soup, creamy hot chocolate and crackling fires pervade our thoughts.  Creating a cozy atmosphere at home during the colder months feels primal.  A Winter white palette is one of my favorite Winter palettes to use.  It looks clean and sophisticated, yet relaxed and warm.  The key to successfully achieving this look is texture.  Using as many tactile materials as possible is really important in getting this look right.  A sister color scheme to the Winter white palette is the all-white color scheme.  Contrary to its moniker, not every single element needs to be pure white.  It is aloud (and necessary) to mix in varied shades of white, such as a very light gray and very light beige to achieve this look.

Below, I put together a Sample Board to show you how these elements work together.

I used a soft white area rug with a thin black zigzag pattern to ground the look.  The other elements are a linen sofa, cable throw and pillow, a white and gold canvas, a concrete cocktail table, white lacquered end table and console table and a Capiz mirror.  I relied on many textures such as shiny, fuzzy, sleek and matte to achieve this look.

Below, are some more elements that can be used to achieve this look.

Here are some rooms that I love.  These rooms beautifully illustrate this look:

Monika Hibbs: All White Living Room

This designer used bleached woods, and linen slip covers to achieve a relaxed all white living room.

This second living room is designed by Victoria Hagan, and successfully pulls off the all-white scheme:

Victoria Hagan White Living Room

So, a few tips to pulling off this look:

• incorporate as much texture as you can.  Fluffy pillows, animal skins such as lizard, shagreen and croc, bleached woods and Capiz shells are all great materials to use.  Materials that are rough, smooth, bumpy, matte and shiny add even more depth to your room.
• Play with tone.  Use as many shades of white as you can.  Try ivory, grayish-white, cream, bright white, eggshell, linen white etc…There are over 1,000 shades of white, so the options are almost endless.
• Add patterns in light gray and light beige to break up large expanses of white.  Pattern adds visual interest.
• Choose a rug with some type of pattern (keep the color scheme light).  The rug is almost always the visual anchor in an all-white room.
• incorporate metals to add depth.  I like to use gold with white.

Another look I love is the all-white palette for an entire home.  This is an extremely hard look to pull off; it is easy to wind up with a bland and sterile looking home.  As with the rooms above, texture (and pattern) are the key.  I smell a future post 🙂

Here is a no fail paint palette that you can use when creating an all white home.  I love painting every room a different shade of white.  The layered look it creates when you are looking from one room to the next looks very sophisticated.  The walls are an incredible backdrop to just about anything you put on them.

White Paint Palette

Let me know what you think of the all-white color scheme.  Have you successfully achieved this look in your home?  I would love to hear your tips or see a picture.

I will be posting on how to achieve a beautiful all -white scheme for your entire house.  Some other topics I plan on posting on this year are tile, art & window treatments. Let me know what topics you are interested in reading about.

xo Laurie