To paint my entire house in one colour?

[almostbutnotquite]

I'm thinking white. Everywhere. Gloss too. Is this really dull and will I regret not picking individual colours for different rooms?

Has anyone else done it and had loved the results?

[EmmaC78]

I never use gloss. Use satinwood or eggshell instead. Some European law a few years ago meant that they had to take something out of gloss paint so it yellows really quickly now. Satinwood is much easier to apply and stays white.

[DinoSn0re]

It’s lovely as long as you don’t have young children/messy pets. We recently moved to a house decorated entirely in white and I loved it, until the toddler began leaving smears and marks EVERYWHERE! We have since painted a few rooms with soft neutral colours and it makes our DC’s trail of destruction less noticeable. We’ll go back to all white when they’re older though.

[sweetboykit]

I'm fed up with it. White kitchen and bathrooms and magnolia everywhere else. I'm gradually painting each room a different colour.
Hall:grey
Kitchen:mocha (a sort of pinky beige.)
Downstairs toilet: bright cerise
Sitting room: pale cream
Bathroom: blue with realistic painted clouds
I've gone completely 90s in needing colour. Throughout the noughties I was into white and cream.

[woollyheart]

People often use one type of paint for walls and a different type for woodwork and radiators. If you get a brochure they will tell you which are suitable for walls, and which are suitable for woodwork. Gloss is usually only used on woodwork - it would be very unusual to use it on walls. If you did want to use only one sort of paint everywhere, something like eggshell finish might be better.

[TawandaT]

I wouldn't do gloss on a wall as it will just look very odd. All white can work if you're really good at coordinating the rest of your decor if not....it just looks like a cheap rental that someone throws a coat of white paint on every few years.

[Jixy8731]

Don’t do it. My Ex husband did our whole house in magnolia (for non-descriptness but general acceptance I think) and it was one of the things that made me think he had no joy in life

[Llanali]

Depends on your household and family.

We have kids and animals galore. White is a no! Antique sage green in the sitting room, soft coffee in the kitchen (cream pine hand made units), hallway is antique cream, bedrooms painted in child’s choice, our room is antique cream and a very warm but light orange- lighter than terra-cotta, Think autumn orange.

If you go white, a) don’t paint anything except wood work in gloss! Paint your walls Matt or silk. B) you’ll need statement art and color blocks.

[Teenagemaw]

My whole entire house is sail white on the walls with white glosswork . Colour is added with tartan blankets, plant pots,crochet blankets, rugs artwork etc so my house is very colurful despite the white everywhere.

[Ebeneser]

If my boyfriend had his own way, everything would be white or magnolia. I'm the opposite;
Bathroom = red
Spare room 1 = yellow
Spare room 2 = pink (soon to be a mocha colour)
Bedroom = green (was previously purple)
Hall/landing= white & beige (was orange originally but he painted over in white, I just let him as it was a bit in your face)
Kitchen = a beige colour
Dining room = magnolia (was pink & white, but he got hold of the magnolia)
Living room = blue featured patterned wallpaper on chimney breast, rest white.

All the wood work is mainly painted white apart from the landing/hall where banister, skirting & outward facing doors are painted chocolate. Decided I'm going for a colour change though. Thinking light grey for walls and a darker grey or white for woodwork and a grey/black striped staircarpet.

[Doilooklikeatourist]

Emulsion on walls
Satinwood on skirtings and sills etc
Trade is fine
We used Leyland

[RedDwarves]

I am always of the perspective that houses should be painted entirely in the one colour, or that the living areas should be painted in one colour and the rest of the rooms in a colour which is in the same family or is a half or quarter strength of what is in the living room (or full, if you have quarter/half in the living areas).

I think different colours in every room (as well as different flooring, different curtains etc.) looks cheap.

You should never put gloss on walls. And I would avoid white unless you have a lot of warm natural light coming into those rooms - this is particularly important in the living areas, where the majority of people spend their time. If you have a south facing house which gets a lot of natural light, white is fine. If not, white is going to look stark and cold.

I'm in Australia and am currently repainting. The bog standard here is Dulux Hog Bristle (quarter, half or full strength) on the walls and Antique White gloss on the trimmings. I have a south facing (i.e. cold in Australia) living area, so am wanting to warm the walls up. For this reason, I would never consider white. However, my mother has a north facing living area with large glass doors which let in lots of warm sun. She can absolutely get away with white.

[KTCluck]

We did it when we renovated because by the time we got to painting we were sick and just wanted to move in. I actually loved it, it felt clean and bright. 3 years later we have redone a couple of rooms in colour but I’m still happy with white in most of the rooms. Don’t have any regrets at all. We were happy at the time and it doesn’t take much covering up once you’re sick of it!

[Maelstrop]

Gloss is for woodwork, not walls. Takes a lot longer to dry, is shiny. Hard wearing. You can also use satin on woodwork. Ask in the shop, they’re normally really helpful.

If you have the funds, go for the washable stuff for the walls. It means you can wipe off marks without removing paint.

My entire house is pale yellow, slightly deeper colour in the lounge/kitchen. I repainted my rental in magnolia throughout. Better than the awful fucking liquorice all sorts pink.

[Mousefunky]

Mines all white, I love it. I just jazz up the walls with canvasses.

[ChickenVindaloo2]

Yep, my whole flat is white. (Except for hall but that's on the hit-list in due course). Good quality trade paint on the walls. Dulux satinwood gloss white on the doors and woodwork. Means no awkward bits where one colour stops and another starts.

I also have all white: bedding, towels, plant pots etc.

Saves a lot of brain energy for other stuff. Looks tasteful. Always easy to replace items and all matches.

Hits of colour from: leather sofa, curtains, plants, pictures.

Don't bow to the colour pressure, OP!

[ChickenVindaloo2]

You can buy special radiator paint/enamel.
My walls are matte btw.

[Takeoutyourhen]

Go for it! I need to repaint the woodwork as kids finger prints have made it grubby and around the light switches... they are my bug bears and I do want some colour so I'm going to have a feature wall in my bedroom.
Now to work out what light bulbs don't turn my white rooms a yellow colour!

[DesignStatement]

White everywhere with colour in lamps, cushions, curtains, throws and artwork. Easy living.

[Weedsnseeds1]

All white here, it's a cottage with low ceilings, so colour would be a bit oppressive.
I prefer eggshell to gloss for woodwork.

[yorkshireyummymummy]

I’ve done the all white twenty five years ago when everybody was using bright colours. I got sick of it as it can look cold in certain lights , especially in winter - unless you live somewhere that’s all year round hot.
Now ,( well for the last 15 years ) I’m utterly obsessed with Farrow and Ball. I have honestly spent hours looking at their colour chart.
Reception rooms are elephants breath with one of their off whites. Kitchen is breakfast room green, hallway cooking apple green with one of their not quite white and all bathrooms are Parma grey and borrowed light. I’ve got five bedrooms to do now and it will ( if choosing the other colours is anything to go by!) take me between 3 - 6 months to choose the right one. And I phone F&B up for advice with the whites to go with the colour i have chosen! But then I know I have got it right and I’m enjoying decorating this house more than any other I have lived in.

I can see the attraction of pure white - only one pot on your shelf in the garage, easy to touch up, relatively cheap etc.
But some paints are just so beautiful.......the elephants breath in my sitting room sometimes looks grey, other times it has lavender in it, other times it’s pure ‘ elephants breath’ - it all depends on the light. I love the way the colours change slightly during the day.

My home had been lived in by some people with questionable taste ( lilac kitchen with fascia blinds, bright yellow hallways and landings and the most vile vivid pea green in the reception rooms ) and so 8m enjoying getting rid of those colours as much as i am glad to see the back of the dreaded builders ‘magnolia’ which was in the other rooms.

It’s each to their own but I think a lot depends on the build and style of your home, your style of furnishing, where you live and the light that you get into rooms. Ultimately it’s what makes YOU happy as it’s your house. Enjoy it whatever you decide to do!

[tealandteal]

I presume the house is already painted and you are not painting on bare plaster. You need emulsion for the walls, which is available in a variety of finishes. I like matte personally and I think it shows mistakes in painting less. If you paint everything white you don't need to worry about creating a neat line where the wall meets the ceiling. Go for the best paint you can afford, Dulux trade covers well. You will still need to do two coats to create an even look. More if you use cheap paint or are painting over a bright wall. Then gloss paint is traditionally used on woodwork but you can option for satinwood for a less shiny finish. Ideally one coat of primer/undercoat and then one of gloss. Two costs of undercoat if you are painting over a bright colour. Water based gloss is easier to use and clean up brushes etc after. Oil based gloss you will need white spirit or brush cleaner to clean up.

[BlitheringIdiots]

White here too. We love pictures so those bring colour and interet

[megletthesecond]

Yanbu.
Whole house (inc bedrooms) is valspar Tidy White. Makes it seem bigger and there isn't a fuss about things matching.

[TestingTestingWonTooFree]

If you’ve never painted before, I’d look up some advice on how to go about it. Better prep will lead to a better finish.

I agree with avoiding gloss as it yellows. We use satin instead.