How to Choose White Paint for Walls: 4 Tips

Want to paint your walls white but don't know how to choose the right shade? These simple tips will help you decide.

Compare several shades of white

"White, like any other color, has many shades and tints that can and should be played with in interior design," says designer Victoria Kiorsak. White paints can actually have yellow, blue, or green undertones.

Visit the nearest construction store and ask a consultant to show you several shades. For better comparison, look at them next to a white sheet of paper.

Choose the shades you like

For our climate zone, professionals recommend avoiding cold white shades due to the limited number of sunny days per year.

"To achieve a white interior effect, it's enough to add a little gray tone to the walls," designers Ekaterina Belakova and Olga Karayani suggest. Choose several shades of white with yellow or gray undertones.

Design: Anna Erman

Observe the lighting

After selecting the shades, make test patches at home. Remember that white looks perfect only in good natural light. Warm artificial lighting can distort the color.

Make test patches in several places – near the window and further away, under the ceiling and near the floor. Observe how the shades change throughout the day, in sunny and cloudy weather.

Design: Maria Gadzhieva

Place several pieces of furniture in the room

White paint can look completely different next to bright furniture pieces. When you make test patches, arrange a few pieces of furniture in the room and see how the color changes.

"Designers love working with white because it pairs well with all colors," explains architect Anastasia Zaytseva. Furniture in neutral or warm tones—pink, orange, red, or yellow—works best with warm wall shades. Conversely, cool walls look great with blue, purple, or green accents—more vibrant ones.

Design: Tor-Ard Bureau

On the cover: Scandi 2-bedroom apartment in Krasnogorsk