Selecting a white wall colour can seem daunting but with a little know how, it can be quite simple. The key is to understand how much natural light fills the space, as this can determine whether you go for a cool or warm white.
The reason is because cool whites have a grey or blue undertone, which looks fantastic in a light filled room, creating a beautiful softness and giving a crisp, airy feel to the space, however it can feel very clinical and cold in darker spaces.
Where as warm whites have a subtle peach or yellow undertone, which can soften a dark space, creating an inviting feeling, but can however feel too beige in a sunlight filled room.
One of the easiest ways to avoid a space feeling too cool or too warm is to paint the trims in the same colour, and in some cases even the ceiling. That way, there is no other white for your cool or warm colour to contrast with.
My best advice? Grab some sample pots and paint a few coats on large sheets of cardboard, then blu-tac them to the walls of your space. Even better if you can paint the samples directly onto the walls in the space, as wall texture can also effect the outcome. By doing this, you can see how the natural light plays with the whites in the actual space, along with how it will contrast with the ceiling white, as it can look very different when selecting a swatch at the hardware. It's best if you can look at the samples in the morning, day and evening, as they will look subtly different throughout the day. Just remember to write the names of each colour on your samples.
There are literally thousands of whites, so there is unfortunately no on white I can suggest would suit all spaces. The effort of painting samples in the space is truly worth the time to be happy with the end result.
Happy painting!
Sharene x
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