Painting house(inside) brilliant white – 1970s house

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I bought a house last year, it had been “done up” by the seller to rent, but then they decided to sell. It is mostly magnolia, with pale green in the kitchen and family bathroom. Beech laminate floor (rather dated). As I have a 2 year old, I am reluctant to spend too much the magnolia is starting to get to me. My last home was Farrow and Ball pointing. I definitely want to buy scrubable emulsion, and I don’t want to pay Farrow and Ball prices. Would brilliant white be too cold? Or would it look more modern than magnolia? Is it worth buying dulux or would an own brand like wilko/aldi be just as good. Planning to paint it myself at the weekends. Is this madness and I should wait until she’s older (she keeps rubbing her food on the walls which is driving me potty, and also painting and drawing on the walls - which when I clean it removes the cheap paint that is already there..)

It sounds very like my last place when I bought it.

I painted a few Dulux samples on the wall - if j remember correctly, they were Vivid White, Natural White and White on White, and one other (forgotten).

I ended up doing the entire place in Dulux White on White. It’s a very clean, some would say stark, white. Cool undertones. Looks amazing and everyone comments on it. That said, it is in a house that is flooded with a lot of bright Australian sunlight. Might be too cold for northern hemisphere home with a different orientation.

I did the whole thing myself, albeit without anyone underfoot. It was a pain in the arse but so worth it!

Just my 2 cents’ worth!

I'm about to paint my 60s house white in every room on every wall and ceiling. Also have a toddler who is a messy pig. At least you'll know what colour you're touching up with when it's needed, and you can add interest with pictures and art etc.
I think it's important to get he right white though e.g. warm / cool tone, and that's where the big brand paint companies will beat Aldis hands down for choice.

Thanks. I have also used dulux timeless in the past (but in massive Victorian high ceilinged rooms) - bonus is that comes in scrubbable matt

I hoping to do ceilings, the rather naff coving and the walls all the same colout with brilliant white woodwork. What white are you planning to use as a "warm" white?

White walls throughout house here.
Love it, don't think it's cold at all. So easy to wipe clean.

Our period property is all brilliant white. Makes covering up the fingermarks very easy! I love it all bright white and would definitely paint a modern property all white as well. We are about to buy a bigger house and the first thing we are going to do is get the painters in to paint it all white.

Everything feels lighter and bigger when painted white.

My whole house is done in Dulux trade white, the cheapest buy-in-bulk kind. I love it. Unfussy, easy to touch up, maximises the light and takes no thinking about. It might be a bit cold without pictures on the walls but our house is very decorated in that sense.

I think pure brilliant white is a little unpleasant on the eye.

Our white at home is Antique White from the B&Q colours collection (so pretty cheap as well). It has a pretty pleasant feel (nothing antique about it - perfectly suitable for a modern house) and the colour is very consistent from one pot to the next. We've had it for about 2.5 years and do little random touch ups - the colour comes out exactly the same. I have to say that I find Dulux massively inconsistent- I've had paints that were meant to be the same but looked completely different in different pots.

Just in the middle of painting my flat white throughout - except for the kitchen, which is a creamy yellow. I'm big on colour furnishings though - rainbow stripes, pinks, purples, blue, turquoise so I prefer the plain background for those, I do not like "put together" colour schemes, plain white with splashes of colour is my thing.

Do it but be bold with furnishings. Sunshine yellow, turquoise, orange, cobalt. Though probably not all at once!

Forgot to say what I am using:- Dulux trade pure brilliant white diamond Matt and dulux trade diamond eggshell in Buttercup Fool.

Btw, I'm all for colour too and have a lot of bright artwork etc but pure brilliant white is still very stark.

Thanks so much for these tips! Going to get the sample pots out then..

I would recommend Dulux timeless which you said you'd used before. Not sure why you'd go for pure brilliant white above this? In my opinion pure brilliant white is too cold for British light and will look harsh. Timeless is softer but still white not magnolia

PBW and trade white as well. Timeless looks too creamy for me.

Professional decorators don't rate Dulux -and it's expensive. Most seem to use Leyland Trade. Every wall in my house is white. I love it

I've used Antique White from B&Q. It's not Magnolia and it's easy to live with. Aldi sometimes has Crown emulsion. I'd go for white.

We have a lot of white rooms and use Trade White rather than brilliant, it's perfect. Of course I discovered it after spending a fortune on many F&B 'whites' sample pots.

I used timeless just as I was leaving my previous (period) home - for the viewings - so didn’t “live “ it. It was a very hectic time for me and I chose the shade based on mumsnet threads, so not really sure what it is like to live with...
I am just conscious that cream and magnolia accented with beige carpets/ curtains/ sofas.. everything I have done in the last 20years is now seen as very dated
I want to choose something that won’t date so I can just touch up as needed ..

Also I don’t like colourful home decor.. pre child I lived in a house that was white..walls, sofas etc and loved the calm of it. In my new home with my toddler I’ve swapped white sofas for grey, grey rugs etc but I don’t like a colourful home..I find it overwhelming , I don’t like a stimulating environment ( I’m a bit weird in that respect)

Maybe a very pale grey or taupe would suit you better? They can be very tranquil.

White all the way here. Also Dulux Trade Brilliant White Matt in our house from top to bottom.

We bought Leyland Trade Brilliant White, which I saw on an interior decor blog while searching extensively for a pure white without F&B prices. Have gotten a few people asking what paint it is, the difference to the old shade (colder in the afternoon/winter light) is that noticeable.

We did exactly the same. We have a 60s house. Our kids were 2 and 4. Now 3 years on we are tired of the white (it’s not very cosy) and we have put some colour on the walls. Soft muted colours mostly greens and grey-blue. To be honest I very much prefer it now but with white there’s no cutting in and the white was fine whilst it lasted albeit a bit austere.

We've used dulux easy care white cotton in most of our downstairs rooms, it's a bit softer than PBW. Easycare is really easy to keep clean, it just wipes away.

Leyalnd trade white throughout here too
It’s fine