Wall painting is pretty subjective, so white paint might not be right for your space or lifestyle; plenty of dark paint colors are just as beautiful on walls, trim, ceilings, and more. But if you’re considering white walls, these extra benefits might just push you closer to making that decision. (If that is the case, the next step is learning how to pick a white paint color.) Leigh Spicher, the national director of design studios for the homebuilder Ashton Woods offers some smart design facts about this vibrant color.
1. It clears visual clutter.
“White just clears your mind,” Spicher says. “It makes you a little bit more relaxed, and it gives you a little bit of space in your mind to make good choices.” As the absence of color, white serves as a blank slate. Spicher uses it in her studio as a foundation because it makes it easier to choose other colors for décor, furnishings, and more; in a room with white walls, picking complementary colors for the other items in the space is a little bit easier than it might be in, say, a room with pink walls. If you struggle to pull a room together, starting with white walls might make it all a little bit easier.
2. It offers an illusion of space.
A lot of people use white paint to create the illusion of space, Spicher says. “If you’re working in a smaller space, [white paint] immediately will make it feel larger,” she says. “If you’re working in a large space, it will open it up even more.”
3. It makes us feel good.
Maybe this should have been white paint superpower number one: Who doesn’t want to feel good, after all? Picture the white flag, the white wedding dress, the white dove. In the psychology of color, white symbolizes peace and purity–feelings most people are drawn to, Spicher says. “People might not cognitively realize that white is actually the presence of light,” she says. “White gives us a lot of light in our homes, and that makes us feel good.” So there you have it. White paint can do a lot more than make your wall look fresh. Bring it into your home, and you might be able to take advantage of some of these surprising superpowers, too.
