Favourite White Paint Shade for Rooms

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Hi everyone,
We just bought a house and all the rooms are painted in very dark colours. We would like to paint the walls white for most rooms to make the rooms seem brighter. Confused on which shade of white to choose. We have been recommended Dulux by few painters. But open to other paint brands as well since we haven't finalized on the painter.
What do you all think? We are first time buyers so all this is very new to us. Will appreciate all advice. Thanks a lot.

I’d recommend Johnstone’s version of Wimborne white by Farrow and Ball. Good luck!

Dulux Jasmine White is a nice neutral.

Thanks a lot. It is very hard for me to see the different shades in colour, so this is very helpful.

We’ve just used strong white by F&B in our East/West knocked through living/dining room and I am obsessed with it. I’ve never had strong feelings about a paint colour before. It’s sort of grey but not cold and looks white in some lights unless it’s next to something that actually is white IYSWIM.

We’re in the process of painting our hall, stairs and landing in jasmine white by Dulux. It’s lovely, really warm and bright. Dulux Timeless is also lovely but a bit cooler

Dulux Timeless
Set up a Brewers account and get trade paint, its better than standard paint. If painter is getting paint make sure you are paying what they pay or say you'll supply paint.

We have just painted our entire house in Dulux Jamine White.
After a major extension and renovation, work commitments and young children, we don't have the time to pick perfect colours for each room and would prefer to do this over time once we have moved in

We picked Jasmine white because it is a lovely neutral warm colour that suits anywhere and widely available in the Dulux Trade paint range in Matt finish which is much higher quality than standard. Most of the other Dulux colours need to be mixed by a trade supplier

Valspar soft wool is a lovely warm off white. We have it on all our ceilings, bathroom and soon to be kitchen.

skimming stone by F & B

I can reccommend both Timeless & Jasmine white by Dulux - good coverage, very durable (looks new after 10 yrs) & colour remains true over time

Also good value if you are buying enough for a whole house: Timeless in particular comes in massive tubs at B&Q/homebase etc (I think 5L) - Jasmine white does not so Timeless ends up being a bit cheaper

Timeless leans more off-white (good for S & W facing rooms) , Jasmine more Ivory (good for N & E facing) but both good for a whole house too IMO

In both cases, I have been able to freshen up if needed with 1 coat only which makes it easy to do your own re-paint if needed

If you have decorative cornicing/coving on the ceiling and white woodwork then something like Shadow White (F&B) would make that really stand out while acting as a light neutral

We’ve just done a majority of our house in Rocksalt or brilliant white, both delux.
We used the brilliant white in the darker of the rooms and it’s lightened them up massively . The previous owners did love a bit of overly patterned wallpaper!

Timeless is a really good not quite white. We’ve got it in our kitchen. We’re replacing the kitchen next year and will be redoing it with Timeless again.

Dulux Timeless.

I have it in quite a few rooms, sometimes on its own (hall, stairs and landing) and sometimes with other colours as feature walls. (Navy and timeless in one room, denim drift and timeless in another, grey and timeless in another).

It is a soft white.

Wilkinsons chalk white , as it says , a chalky soft white .
In one room i have Johnstons brilliant white silk finish on woodwork its a really nice subtle contrast against the chalk white.

I have rooms which are strong colours. Rooms
Which are white I have plain brilliant white - to my eye most off-whites can look ‘dirty’ or in need of a repaint.
A whole house in pure white could be a bit cold depending on what art you have to soften it a bit. And what way those rooms face.

@SeasonFinale we’ve just done room in denim drift and timeless too! Looks fabulous

Sail White by Crown. £20 for 5 litres. It has a grey-ish tinge in the tin, but dries to a white that is - to my eye - a little warmer and more characterful than a brilliant white. I use it myself for a lot of the work, but I had a decorator round for another job recently, and he did a ceiling in it - and was impressed with the quality of the paint, coverage, ease of application.

Maybe don't go brilliant white on the woodwork and choose a soft light neutral instead?

Some designers say that
a) brilliant white is actually quite demanding - needs a lot of light to bounce around the room, so great in California, less so in rainswept Britain and
b) if you use brilliant white to pick out all the skirting boards, architraves, window frames, doors, you are emphasising the edges of the room and possibly making it smaller.
c) don't simply default to brilliant white for the ceilings.

I'm trying to move towards more colour in the rooms of the house, but I use Sail White in areas of high traffic where the walls can quickly look ratty and being able to touch up paintwork easily is useful - so hallway, stairs, landings. But with high ceilings, this can look like a lot of white and a bit clinical, so I am working hard to get artwork up on the walls and add colour and personality. Also, this draws the eye away from imperfections! Maybe plan your artwork alongside your paint if you are going for lots of white?

I’ve used both Dulux Timeless and White Mist and thought they applied terribly and highlighted all the imperfections on the walls. Needed a good 4/5 coats and even still feel a bit grubby. These were both in South facing rooms.

@Ulysses

I’ve used both Dulux Timeless and White Mist and thought they applied terribly and highlighted all the imperfections on the walls. Needed a good 4/5 coats and even still feel a bit grubby. These were both in South facing rooms.

You need to go for the Dulux trade matt (diamond matt) which is much better quality and you don't have those issues. Does cost more but you get the quality that the cost demands.

That's good to know @seasonfinale. I used the White Mist at the weekend and needed to buy a second tin of paint. In contrast I only needed 3/4 with Crown Elle decoration paint. It was about £10more for 2.5 litres but ended cheaper overall. DD10 wanted her walls half/half with pink on the bottom and white on the top. The Dulux was a chore to use but the Crown went on so well in contrast.

Come to think of it the Crown Elle Decorations paint was £35 and the Dulux £17 so it ended up about the same!

We've got Dulux Timeless in the halls, bathrooms and stairwells which have varying amounts of light and it looks pleasant in all lighting conditions we've found.