Just painted all hallways, ceilings and woodwork white and I don't like it! :-(

[gobblygook]

I am upset! (Probably irrationally so) But the builders have just done the second coat of matt white in the communal areas of the house we're renovating and the ground floor looks good but the second floor is too white: especially since my study and our main bedroom is white too.

We did a zillion testers on off-whites but couldn't decide so just got fried by the time had to decide and went for white.

Now I don't know whether a) it will all look different when we're in with our stuff b) to paint the hallways a different colour but leave ceiling and woodwork white c) to paint the bedrooms a different colour but leave the hallways white.

The doors will likely be white too because we can only afford cheapish fire doors so we'll paint them

Any thoughts?

you're probably just shocked by the difference - live with it for a bit, once you hang pictures, curtains etc it will look different. Think of it as blank canvas that you are going to bring to life with accessories - you will not be limited in colour schemes and can make quite dramatic changes with little difficulty!

I'm going round our house in a post divorce frenzy with white ATM, hallway next then living room, have done kitchen and family room. A friend recommended I do white (when I was paralyzed with indecision and weighed down with sample pots)

hi my house is all white and i love it easy to keep clean with the children and u can change all the rugs cushions etc for a different scheme when u get bored it also looks modern and clean, i will say its a very restfull colour after a long day too, please not i dont have white carpets though lol!!

Ok. Def keep woodwork white. I would recommend using little green company 'silt' or farrow & ball 'light grey' or 'bone' for walls. They are both colour but surprisingly neutral and extremely liveable with. We have done a number of houses up and these are my favourite for the living areas and hallways. They all look fab with white.

Mines all White too - everywhere is now. Once you've got furniture and stuff it'll look ok. And it's easy to change later if you don't like it.

Thanks all. I still feel crap about it. Going to go back in morning and have another look. Feel like I've got it wrong, and then it worries me that the rest of my choices won't look right either...

I have always loved white, it just looks like overkill

Honestly dont worry you just need the odd picture up and some furniture and accessories it will look great it just looks stark at the moment all will come together.

Is the flooring in? White with dustsheets or white with bare unfinished floorboards is bound to look unfinished but with neat flooring it totally changes the look. Agree about how much it will change with your own stuff around the place.

don't worry, if you have used a low VOCs oil paint for the woodwork, it will soon go yellow.

btw you say it is matt, this tends to get dirty from handmarks and dust and is not so easy to clean as gloss.

My son chose paint for a townhouse and chose a bone/tan color with white trim. It looked sharp. It's neutral too, looks good with many colors and lots more interesting than white.

I hate pure white.
The hall is probably the first place to paint as the white will be unrelieved by soft furnishings and furniture, the bedrooms you might get away with. people above have made some suggestions. I like Fired earth Colours.
My friend has the most beautiful house but painted white. It nearly makes me cry as she did it to simplify her life, she only has to remember one colour!

Thanks all - I feel a bit less crap about it now - got back my perspective! But we will repaint parts

I am just about to do this in my new house. I love all white and am sick of sludgy beiges and off whites. To anyone who likes this and thinks it looks good once everything in, can I ask which white you'd recommend, I was thinking of silicon trade pure brilliant white. Will at least be a good undercoat if we want to add colour later.

Woodwork also white but what paint? Don't want the yellowing, chipping effect.

Op hope it looks better for you once everything in, you can always add colour yourself room by room I guess?

dulux not silicon! Silly iPhone spelling!

Befuzzled - just my opinion but I wouldn't go for brilliant white - it can be very cold. We chose instead a white with no optical brighteners - it's softer. But we did get er, befuzzled, trying to find the right off white

Thanks Franke I appreciate the advice and other peoples experiences. What did you go for in the end? What are my choices?

Tbh I am a massive fan of cool colours an hate anything with yellow/pink overtones. I have been living in a rented 70s hell house for last few years, all sludgy browns, beiges, pink carpet, green carpets, floral beige curtains etc so I am really keen to go bright, cool, blues and greens, icy colours etc and bright colours. I appreciate this is not everyone's cup of tea but is what I find relaxing.

Is a modern house, so am thinking white walls, wood floors and then lots I bright colours with rugs, pictures etc, all our stuff is light, bright, colourful anyway, slight "mid century modern" feel with existing wooden sideboards etc (sorry, ponce alert).

Am I mental?

Sounds good. We last did a house in the UK about 10 years ago so paint ranges may have changed since then. I think in the end we tried some off-whites from the New England range at B&Q which were good enough quality. We found the F&B whites were always just too dark. For colour we used Farrow & Ball and the 1829 range (B&Q again) which I really liked.

We agonised over which off-white to have. In the end I think you just have to pick one and be done with it.

Sorry op for hijack as I know i have opposite issue. Would be grateful if someone could advise me what white paint to use on walls and woodwork that won't yellow, not overly keen on gloss but don't mind semi gloss. I really like dulux trade pure brilliant white but appreciate it might be too much for a whole house. What else might do instead and as good quality. Don't want warm overtones.

Due to changes in european regulations all oil based gloss will yellow. The darker and warmer the room, the quicker the effect. I wish I had known this earlier. Am repainting the worst room currently with white satinwood.

We've used both Brilliant White (for some of kitchen) and this one www.duluxdecoratorcentre.co.uk/servlet/ProductHandler?code=DDC10007 in the living room I'm not sure we actually made a choice, just picked a large tub of white paint. I do like the Supermatt one though - it is a simple, er, matt white. No idea whether it has brighteners in it though and, as it's not in the same room as the PBW, I can't really see a difference between them

I tried Eggshell on woodwork but it came out more matt than I wanted.

I think I'd go for Satinwood next time.

Modern oil paints go yellow due to the low VOC formulation. A water paint will keep its colour better (and is not as glossy).

Walls must be emulsion. Dulux Trade Supermatt is a non-vinyl and not very hardwearing, especially when sponged clean. It is best for new plaster as it porous and allows drying out.

so water based white satin wood for woodwork is that what we're saying? Is that possible? (I have always used satin in the past but was awhile ago)

and for white walls has to be some sort of trade or good quality white emulsion - with or without brightener - tbd.

I'll get a couple of white different white emulsions and put them up side by side and see (she says hopefully, remembering the days spent looking at 47 different shades of green in the downstairs loo in last house ...).

I did used to like the look of some of the F & B whites - Pointing ans Strong White - but they are starting to look a bit, well, sludgy to me . What about F & B All White as an alternative to Pure Brilliant White?

Any other suggestion for white emulsion to try on walls - no sludgy, pink, yellow overtones.

OP - have you been back to look at the house?

Dulux Trade is a good range of paints, it's only the Supermatt that is not so hardwearing as it is mostly chosen for new plaster as it breathes better than a vinyl. The Trade paints are designed to go on fast and cover well with reasonable skill; unlike the DIY ranges which are formulated to go on easily and smooth.

They do a Diamond Water Based satin which I have not used but is likely to be as good as anything.

Personally I wouldn't have PBW on walls, I'd want something a shade darker than the trim, such as Pale Biscuit or Golden Sand or Milky Tea. I actually prefer 10B15 for woodwork, it's a sort of vanilla or oyster white, or gold-top milk, but lots of people like PBW, and it's not my house.

p.s. if you look at the website, you see the description of some paint lines use words like "tough" "durable" and "washable" whereas others say "easy to apply" "excellent coverage" and "high opacity".

That gives you clues on what they're aimed at. High opacity means "covers well in one coat" which is important if you're paying the decorator by the hour, whereas "tough and washable" might be more important to you as a householder.

We're in the process of painting our house white. We've used Dulux Trade Supermatt - in white, not Brilliant White. It's comparatively cheap, comes in massive tubs and goes up easily. We've also used a white Dulux Diamond washable paint for kids rooms and high-traffic areas. This is actually their white base for mix-to-order paints, but without any tint in.

IMO the kids rooms look great - because their accessories are bright - lots of primary colours to offset the plainness. Living room looks good because it's dual aspect and it shows the play of light nicely. My bedroom - looks too cold I think. Most of my duvet covers are also white and I also have a white unit in there. I think once I've replaced the curtains I'll take a lead from there and repaint - probably not an off-white, but something completely different.

I am however very bored with painting the same colour - especially as it becomes so hard to see where you have and haven't been after the first coat.