By far the question I get asked the most on Instagram, on my blog, and by clients, is “what color white did you use on your walls and trim?!” And not just my home, but my parents home as well. I thought I’d take a moment and go through the white choices and the finishes for The Little Glass House, the Little White Beach Bungalow, and my parents Vermont farmhouse, which still remains nameless!
In the Little Glass House, the walls are Benjamin Moore White Dove in flat and the trim and wood ceiling is White Dove in semi-gloss. Be sure to use the Regal line of Benjamin Moore paint. More on that later.
The kitchen cabinets are painted with Fine Paints of Europe Eco Satin paint mixed to match White Dove. The paint is more expensive but lasts so much longer than anything else I have ever tried. I used it on my kitchen cabinets in my previous home in CT and they still looked like new ten years later! Worth every penny!
The bedroom was painted Benjamin Moore November Rain several years ago, but when I did the bathroom reno, I had it painted in White Dove and love how bright and fresh it feels!
The wood plank walls in the bathroom are also Benjamin Moore White Dove (do you see a pattern here?) but in an eggshell finish.
The outside of the house is painted in Benjamin Moore Brilliant White on stucco and trim.
I mentioned above to be sure to use the Regal line of Benjamin Moore paint and here’s why: Painters tend to use the EcoSpec line which is what builders often use as well. It is less expensive but doesn’t cover as well and the finish is very different! For the Little White Beach Bungalow, our vintage home in Connecticut, the interior was to be painted in Benjamin Moore White Dove (Regal!) in an eggshell finish. Imagine my shock when I arrived from the West Coast to see the entire interior of the house was shiny and the coverage was awful. The painters used the EcoSpec line which has a completely different finish. This has happened to me twice with two different painters even after I had given detailed instructions to use the Regal. Moral of this story, be there when the painters start! I ended up leaving the shiny finish on the low ceilings which bounced more light into the room, but had them repaint all the walls.
I get asked about my parents Vermont farmhouse white colors as often as I do my own homes! The exterior is Benjamin Moore Brilliant White.
My mom actually prefers Benjamin Moore Super White in her homes. The walls are in a flat finish, the trim is semi-gloss, and the ceiling planks are done in eggshell.
And there you have it! I have tried other whites but always seem to come back to BM White Dove. I love that it is warm without reading off-white, and doesn’t have that clinical feel that some whites have. If it ain’t broke… 😉
