White woodwork - so many whites to choose from. Worth it instead of Pure Brilliant White?

ChasingtheWelshdream

Hello, me again. :-)

As it says really. I'm painting panelling and woodwork in our hallway and we are going for white. (As the panelling copies the inside of our new front door, and follows around from it).

I've got a paint chart up to choose the wall colour and at the bottom of each colour column is the "recommended white" to tone in.

What I'm wondering, is are the different whites really noticeable in isolation? My instinct says to play it safe with the experts choice so the effect isn't too stark, but the other half of my brain says standard pure brilliant white eggshell is cheaper than having a colour mixed up.

We haven't decided on the wall colour yet, but probably a taupe type affair as we have an original terrazzo floor in shades of russet, brown, grey, black. 

I bow to your superior knowledge! :-)

Mickey666

'Brilliant white' paint is the work of the devil as far as I'm concerned and is banned in my house, but don't let me or anyone else put you off choosing what you like best.  There are no 'experts' or 'superior knowledge' - the best colour is the one you like the most.

Doozergirl

I think it depends on who you are.  I'm obsessed with getting tones right, but I see them.  I went to art school, once upon a time.   There are different colours within different whites.  If you put swatches against your floor, you might see how different tones work directly next to it. 

If you don't see it, paint it white.  

I've painted my bedroom in School House White and I love the colour of it.  It reminds me of the colour of the radiators in primary school.  It has a warmth to it, which is important to me in a big room that's
made for relaxing in. 

Paint can be expensive but it isn't the most costly part of home improvements and it does affect the character of a room, deeply.  

ChasingtheWelshdream

Wow, that was quick - I only went off to have some tea. Thanks!

I can definitely see the different tones against each other, and my gut is that the brilliant white will be very clinical. But....I am also aware how fussy I can be and get worked up about little details that DH doesn't. 

This is sort of effect I'm after, but I'm aware the blueish tones won't really work with our floor. At the moment I'm only prep/priming stage - please excuse the mess.....

Eventually the rear door will be blocked up as we are altering the layout, which means the only natural light will be from the North.

ChasingtheWelshdream

Oh, just realised that picture isn't of the finished thing - the  panels all have internal trim, like on the right hand side. But it shows the floor we're working with. :-)

There is such a lot of work to do in this room, prep-wise, and it's 3 storeys, so I don't want to get it wrong!

I don't want it to look cold, clinical or too dark. I'm very good at pouring through pictures and picking out things I like. but I'm also rubbish at making decisions. 

ChasingtheWelshdream

Ooh, by they way, this is the result of the previous lovely helpful advice on here when I was pondering the old, rusty, leaking and downright ugly radiator. The pipework has all been hidden and enters the rad from behind the panelling. Which then led to doing the rest of the hallway..... :-D

bolwin1

Personally, I like the pure brilliant white, but appreciate it may be too stark for many. 
Apologies for derailing the thread a bit, but are you doing that panelling yourself - any tips ? Our hallway is very similar to yours & I'm looking to put up panelling in that exact style. 

ChasingtheWelshdream

Well I think I've answered my own question, as I've just put a coat of primer on the panels nearest the front door, and it looks a completely different white to the door - much more icy. So yes, it will make a difference, and I'll be experimenting to find a good match.

Thank Bolwin, yes I did the panelling myself.  Our local DIY place will cut sheet wood for free, so I asked them to cut two sheets of MDF into 100mm strips, which saved a lot of time. I used 3 mm ply as a backing as our walls are not great condition, and it would save lots of filling, but I've seen people go straight onto the wall. 

The biggest tip I'd say is to plan everything out in advance. If you are going up the stairs, play around until you are happy with where the angles change. Because our stringers are curved, it took a lot of figuring out where to start the angled run and I marked the midpoints on the wall as a guide.

Other than that, make friends with a good mitre saw and don't assume anything is square. I'm now on intimate terms with my protractor and angled bevel. 

ComicGeek

We're just decorating using Neptune Snow eggshell on woodwork and Snow emulsion on ceilings, as it's a bit warmer than the other whites that we've tried. I normally go with Little Greene as a brand, but this particular colour is working really well. I would still stick with Little Green intelligent Matt emulsion on walls though, as it's very durable.

theonlywayisup

I absolutely LOVE Neptune paints (and their furniture).  I find their paint exceptionally hard wearing and easy to use.  

twopenny

This lovely looking pannelling is going to take knocks so whichever you choose you will need some for touch up. Though paint can slightly change colour over ayear or two. So be sure you choose something easy to get.
I got a wonderful colour for my previous enormous hall only to find it would need to be done again in its entirety if it got marked. You can imagine how I felt about that!
Fascinated by the pannelling. I'd like to have a go at a later date.