White is white is white – right? Wrong.
When you’re decorating, there’s white (which you can buy as Resene White), and there are a slew of other ‘whites’ or off-whites, with touches of yellow, green, brown or grey turning them to alabaster, chalk, ivory, cream.
Our search for just the right white is what makes the Resene The Range Whites & Neutrals palette so popular. With their yellow base, Resene Spanish White and Resene Pearl Lusta have the ability to lift a room and warm it visually. They and their varying strengths still take out many of the top places in the Resene Top 20 most popular paint colours each year. Conversely, colours like Resene Sea Fog have a cooling effect.
Resene Ecru White walls with Resene Alabaster trims.
Times are a-changing and fashion is swaying towards whites with a touch of green. There’s a true sophistication to colours like Resene Thorndon Cream, Resene Ecru White and Resene Quarter Ash. These colours tend to change with the light quality, appearing warmer one minute and cooler the next.
Whites and off-whites pick up on other elements in the room. If you have lots of greenery out the window, expect your walls to take on a green look. Use a strong blue rug or furniture, and your walls will pick up on that.
Different parts of the room also reflect light differently. An off-white used under a window will look darker than the same colour used on the opposite wall. An off-white used on the ceiling will look much darker than the same colour on a wall because there is less light reflected. Use a half strength of your wall colour on your ceiling for balance.
The paint sheen level can also affect the way the colour looks. A flat paint will make the colour look muddier and denser, while a gloss finish will make it look cleaner and brighter.
On the Resene Whites & Neutrals fandeck, beneath each paint swatch is the name and a code. Codes that start with Y for yellow or B for brown describe warmer whites, good for cool, south-facing rooms. Cool whites have G for green and N for neutral (which means black, or rather grey once you put it with white). Use cooler whites to take the visual heat out of north-facing rooms.
Resene Quarter Ash walls and louvres.
Left: Resene Ecru White with Resene Black White trims. Right: Resene Rice Cake walls.
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