anyone got white walls?

raeble

The problem with all that white is that it will get dirty by you just looking at it. I've got mostly white walls because it was cheap and it brightens the place up, but I wouldn't have white furniture with it. I'd be forever cleaning.

BWZN93

The best thing to do would be to create a design board, like designers do, and have swatches of fabrics, paints etc, so you can match them us to how you want it. Bear in mind the direction of the room (north is cold - south facing rooms better for more natural sunlight) and it could be worth painting swatches directly on the wall to get a good idea.

I personally wouldnt have white furniture, as anyone who wore anything other than white would have to be made to sit on a towel or something! My Ma had a cream sofa years ago, and then the usual culprits started to make it look shabby (dark denim backsides were the worst!).

It sounds like you are after quite a minimalist and clean environment, do you mind me asking what kind of property it is?? Often people do make the mistake of forgetting when the building was built, and end up with a Georgian terrace with the interior of a 2005 glass NY apartment! I used to work for an interior designer as a buyer, and gained a lot of valuable tips there, and I would recommend trying to at least harmonise the rooms with the style of the building, as there is nothing worse than a disjointed pad - it just doesnt 'feel' right.

If you are still after the white modern look, then there are loads of alternatives to the complete starkness of white that are fresh, modern, and much easier to live with.

Oh, and young children and expensive white furnishings are a disaster waiting to happen!

Jo xx

Doglover88

thanks again people :T

Jo

Its 1960 mid terrace 2 level maisonette, all big rooms and huge windows (all 2.5m wide) and daylight passes right through the place all day.. Your right in saying I'm after a very minimilistic, clean and airy feel to the room (its been knocked through all into one). Definately going with white walls, undecided on the flooring, was thinking either limed wood laminate, laminate 'tile effect' in white, grey or black or actual tiles in white or black. Any suggestions?

Dont have any kiddies or pets, and it very rarely has more than myself in it, all socialising is done at a friends who live close by (which is handy as i've never had to clean up spilt food or drinks!)

What colours would work for the flooring?

thanks again everyone
glen

BWZN93

Hello!

Seems like you have a perfectly acceptable property to go minimal in! They usually do look really stylish in 60's properties. As you have light passing right through, then you dont necesarily need to rely on the warmer colours for flooring - as you should get enough natural light and can use lighting effects at night.

I recommend contrasting the flooring to the furnishing you intend to have, if you want white sofa's, then you might find the floor is too pale in comparison. You can get free samples of floorings, so it might be an idea to order a load off the internet, simply for colour matching purposes. If the white sofa is still a go, then choose flooring to match it, or a sofa to match the flooring, as white - even though it looks pure white, will probably still have a tone to it, either blue or yellow. A way to tell which it is, is to have a piece of blue fabric and a piece of yellow fabric, and compare the whites to each one and you should be able to tell which one matches - the colours will harmonise - wheras a blue toned white wont look 'right' with a yellow fabric.

Same goes for the flooring samples too, you should, by holding a sample of sofa fabric or floor sample against the other, be able to tell what looks 'right'. Again, I recommend getting several samples of shades you like for the sofa/furnishing and floorings, and paint a swatch of the paints you like on the bottom of a wall, preferably one that gets full daylight on it, and then switching the fabrics and floorings underneath until you find the right combination you like. Check again when the area doesnt have sunlight on it (this will give you an idea of what other walls that dont get direct sunlight will look like), and again at night, using a lamp/light of a similar type bulb to that which you intend to use.

This probably sounds really long winded and difficult, but it really isnt - if you dont fancy painting the walls directly with the paint samples then use pieces of card.

You can get floor samples here : http://www.woodlinefloors.co.uk/wood-flooring.htm - the link is on the left hand side - and take a look at the colours to gain an insight into the kind of colours you like, I personally love the Walnut in the Exotic floor's, but then again you may hate it, so its also a personal preference thing.

Good fabric samples can be obtained from http://www.whaleys-bradford.ltd.uk/customer/shopping.cfm - this one just take a browse through the collections and each one has a 'request a sample' button, max of 10, and sofa fabric samples can be obtained from http://www.mfi.co.uk/mfi/sofabrochure.asp , http://www.slotfurniture.com/fabric.html , or call this company http://www.sofawarehouse.co.uk/ and ask for samples of the materials you like the look of.

Alternatively, pop into local sofa suppliers and ask for samples, they are usually always willing to give you a piece hoping you'll come back with business!

Also - think about textures you want in the room, for e.g, cushions, rugs and ornaments, these items add depth to a room and provide much needed focus otherwise the room can look a little cold and clinical. Also - If you have a favourite ornament or pre-existing peice of furniture that you want to have in the room, then there is no harm in co-ordinating from that one item, for e.g - a big wooden sculpture or a leather chair.

Have a look at some home and decorating websites too, try doing a google search of minimalist interiors and see what comes up, things such as http://homendecor.rediff.com/homendecornew/maintain/swatch/minimalism/minimalism.phtml are quite useful to get an idea of what you like.

If I lived any closer id come over and give you a hand! I love decorating! Give me a shout if I havent explained myself well enough!

Jo xx

P.S - I have no affiliation with any of the companies listed, I simply did a search of suppliers that may be useful for requirements!