Donald Kaufman Paint

I wanted to paint my walls white. How hard could it be? You go to the paint store, buy a few liters, and slap it on.

I did the first part: I went to a paint store. But when I told the salesman I needed white paint, he pulled out the color card that opens like a fan to reveal six hundred different shades of white and throws you into a full on attack panic. (I've never responded well to a multitude of choices.)

"Can you cut to, say, the creamy," I asked. The salesman licked his fingers and snapped about a third of the wheel of panic, leaving me with only about 400 decisions. I grew a shade more white light and humidity was born from my armpits. It is clear was too much for me.

I went home and launched a large-scale obsession. I asked friends and relatives for their thoughts on white paint. I visited my neighbor under the pretext of borrowing a can opener and set the name of her paint color. I called a hotel where I had once admired the walls of the room. I asked the bookseller, the neurologist, the florist, wherever I saw a good white, I asked someone what it was. I went online, made social networks, has selected the brains of people I do not know.

When I finally met a group of candidates of color, the wall of my dining room became a patchwork of samples, which I control at different times of day as the light shifted.

I also painted the colors on white Bristol board and carried out the samples from room to room. I made decisions, booked the painter, panicked and UN him reserved. I threw away rejected colors, then in a frenzy of uncertainty, re-bought for another look.

I kept all these illegal activities, under the radar of my husband, so he would not have committed. I finally made some choices, and it worked all right, if not perfectly. (One room suffered through two repaints.)

I offer here a list of my top choices of white wall paint (which are really almost-but-not-quite white) from a variety of manufacturers. This will save you weeks of trial and error, time better spent mastering the tango, the purchase of a new garden hose, or writing your MP. (If you do write him, please ask what color she painted her bathroom.)

Benjamin Moore ($ 20 - $ 50 per gallon)
I used both Oatmeal "and" blank canvas ", the latter being more yellow, the former more so, oaty, but two beautiful colors. "Swiss Coffee" is another that I used, which is like a white spot with little espresso. "Alabaster" is a good BM color for trim, too.

Donald Kaufman ($ 90 U.S. per gallon)
"# 28" is a beautiful creamy white my sister-in-law has all of their home. I was too cheap to buy it, but painting DK is impressive, more light like paint, so you can splurge in a room or two.

Farrow & Ball ($ 70 U.S. per gallon)
This manufacturer makes my favorite colors, all of which have inspiring names. It's expensive, so I'm limited to using "Matchstick" in my office alone, but if I were to splurge, I also opted for "Satin Slipper" or "Clunch," colors so interesting that they inspire conversation.

YOLO ($ 40 per gallon)
If you are in eco-friendly, these paints are non toxic and low VOC, and Air.01 Air.02 are white and beautiful.

Restoration Hardware ($ 32 - $ 36 per gallon)
Mediterranean White "and" Buttermilk "are good choices and reasonably priced, and" The Right White "is ideal for trim.