paint 'em white.or die tryin'.

In case you are just joining in on the fun, read the articles from the previous 3 days to catch up! 

:: DAY 4 :: 
In my humble opinion, farmhouse walls should be white. At the least, please not the soggy yellow and dark orange of the walls when we took ownership of this one. Historically, walls of Farmhouses were white because farmers couldn't afford the more costly colors. Just trying to keep it real around here. 

Little did I know that wanting to keep it real with white walls would be the biggest headache I encountered throughout this entire renovation. Think about your house, every room has different light. Different Shadows. Different window placement. Lots of things you don't think about until you are selecting a whole home paint color. 

Y'all, the Hubs thought I was losing my mind. I bought 9 or 10 different sample size sizes of different "whites."  I went to the paint store 3 days in a row, maybe it was even 4. I lost track.  At one point I really thought I might not ever be able to pick a paint color. It was nuts. 

By the time I got upstairs, I guess I had narrowed it down a bit. But hardly. 6 of 9 is barely narrowed down.  

The problem began with the fact that the painter said he preferred Sherwin Williams. Well, hey, I am not a paint snob.  The paint brand wasn't on my list of "Non-Negotiables"... I figured that would be just. fine. Yet that's where the problems started. All 7 of the Sherwin Williams whites that I sampled had too much color saturation for our walls, whether it be yellow, grey, or cream.  

Now here is the kicker, I was trying to pick one white for walls and another for trim.  I was down to the wire, bottles and jars of samples on the paper taped kitchen counters. I threw in the towel for SW and headed to Benjamin Moore. 

While driving, I called my sister-in-law's mom, an amazingly talented Interior Designer in California, and told her I was losing my mind. In a total panic. She was so gracious and talked me down from the ledge, as she was prepping for an install. She also empathized with me and agreed that the Sherwin Williams whites weren't the best options.  Her go to white is Benjamin Moore's White Dove because it doesn't have undertones and goes with everything. That was the exact description I was looking for. Whew! She also suggested that I use the same color on the walls and trim, just different finishes. 

Y'all, I might still be testing paint samples if it weren't for her advice. She was so right. Benjamin Moore's White Dove was perfect. It was the warm white I was looking for, without being yellowish or full of cold grey. I used the EggShell finish on the walls, and semi-gloss on the trim. It. Rocks. And not just in the kitchen. It rocks in every single room!

If you are ever in a white painting pickle, just do yourself a favor and try it. We have received so many compliments on the color, and how perfectly it works with the flooring and door color. (More on that color tomorrow!)