White is hotter than ever! We all know it’s been the reigning champ in kitchen cabinetry for quite some time but it has recently emerged as an all over contender for interior design. Designers like Studio McGee are using white in all areas of the home creating desirable interiors that are fresh, modern and bright!

I have to admit I was lured to this trend early on. I moved into a new apartment about a year and half ago and it was the first place I have ever lived that I did not have to immediately paint every room before settling in. The walls, a pleasant light blue-grey with white trim, allowed me to take my time deciding how I wanted my space to feel and how to best to decorate my new space. An avid Pinterest lover I noticed a theme running through many of my recent pins – open spaces with lots of white. It also complimented the minimalist ideals and modern sensibilities I have come to admire and have recently started implementing into my life.

Just love this bedroom that served as my inspriration!! Aerin Lauder’s Alpine Retreat! Check out the link to see the rest of this stunning home!

Another bedroom I love was posted on the blog SF Girl By Bay…Normally I pride myself on being bold and adventurous in my color choices – never one to shy away from taking a risk. One thing I never have done is seen white as a color I would actually choose with so many other glorious colors out there. White in my mind was the blase choice of apartment complexes with little character and interest. This was all about to change!

One interior designer in particular that has fueled my obsession with white is Amber Interiors. I had several interiors she had designed pinned so I naturally Google her and was instantly hooked! I loved her sense of style – California cool, infused with global influences. Clean lines and bright open space that just beckon you to sit and relax! Just take a peek below at bedrooms by Amber. The style is heavily influenced by modernism and has a scandi cool feel – rooted in simplicity, minimalism and functionality. White is used as the backdrop for the surroundings – reflecting light and creating a space that is bright and airy.

Love the photography and styling by Paulina Arcklin with classic Scandinavian design elements. After pouring over hundreds of images online (and thumbing through countless magazines – yes!  I said magazines!!) I decided I was ready to take the plunge into an all white room.  The next step was – which white?!  There are too many choices out there – so how do you decide?  A cool pure white or a warm rich cream?  I started gathering swatches from a variety of sources and pining them on the walls in my bedroom.  I moved them around hanging them in different parts of the room – I also revisited them throughout the day to experience them in different light. Check out Ambers blog on choosing the perfect white paint!

Becki Owens, another Interior Designer who is fantastic at “white” and also has a great blog on picking the perfect white! In the end I opted for a fresh, modern white – Brilliant White by Ralph Lauren (courtesy of Home Depot).  I have been an a big fan of his paint colors for quite sometime…I always find them to be just right.  Lots of dimensions and depth I find lacking in so many of the other paints out there.  I also tend to gather paint swatches from various companies as the colors tend to be more appealing from one season to the next.  Some other go to’s for paint are: Farrow & Ball, Pratt & Lambert, California Paints, Martha Stewart and Serena & Lilly which has some great colors!  I also prefer the chalky, soft texture of a flat sheen paint, and although not the best choice when it comes to washing, I was willing to forgo this detail since it was in my bedroom after all and not a high traffic area!  I also decided that I wanted there to be no contrast between the walls and architectural elements in the room so I covered the walls, ceiling, baseboard and all other trim with the the flat Brilliant White paint.  This causes the eye to move about the space uninterrupted and become one seamless space.

Once I finished painting I knew I had made the right choice! The room turned out just as I had hoped. Bright, cheerful, serene, and like sitting in a cloud. The complexity of white – how the color shifts and changes with natural light throughout the day is beautiful; the magic plays out around me in my new white room.

Next, I set out finalizing other details to complete the look I was aspiring too. A white minimal platform bed, white cotton sheets with a white linen duvet…rustic wood accent tables, a bit of gold to warm the space and an orange fur throw to add a pop of color and cozy up with on cold winter nights! I also couldn’t resist hanging a black & white abstract painting of mine above the bed, (relocated from my living room), that I painted while studying at The Art Institute years ago. It’s bold and graphic, the perfect contrast to the minimal styling of the room.

Voila! My new bedroom!

It’s no surprise that Benjamin Moore and Sherman Williams both chose whites for their 2016 color of the year! Ben Moore named Simply White OC – 117, a warm but not too creamy white, while Sherman Williams nominated Alabaster SW 700, a neutral white that’s neither stark nor overly warm.

I was also pleasantly surprised to find “Decorating with White”, a special edition publication of House & Home (one of my favorite mags I drool over every month!) at Barnes & Noble this past weekend.  Not only does it have all sorts of tips & tricks for decorating with white…but it’s just in time for me to tackle my living room next!  I highly recommend picking up a copy yourself if you are as infatuated with white as I am!  I’m sure you will swoon over each page as I did!

Design by Sloan Mauran found in Decorating with White…

-Posted by Tara L. Callow