![]() “Some people use a different white for the ceiling, but I paint it the same hue as the walls,” he says. ![]() Gibson suggests picking one white color and painting the entire house with it. Gibson, an interior designer based in Castine, agrees that a true white, especially in a matte emulsion, feels of-the-moment: “I used Sherwin- Williams Extra White for my entire house interior. Instead, Banks has switched to the brand’s popular crisp white, Decorator’s White, and an under-the-radar hue known simply as White, which Banks describes as “perfect in every way.” Grant K. “Lately, I am over the yellow-toned shades of white-think melted vanilla ice cream versus a marshmallow,” says Banks, who once favored Benjamin Moore’s perennially best-selling White Dove. “I find resistance from clients when we propose this, but when they trust us, I have never met a disappointed client after the painting is complete,” says Banks, who notes that one of her favorite uses for white is to update a tired staircase. “I love everything painted white for a true transformation,” says interior designer Linda Banks, the founder of Simply Home in Falmouth. ![]() We spoke to Foley, Dickson, and other design experts about how to use white effectively and create visual interest and delight in all-white interiors. While white is versatile, making an all-white or primarily white interior sing takes skill. During the summer, a white room will feel light, fresh, and cool,” says Jocelyn Dickson, an architect based in Cape Elizabeth. “Even in the darkest days of winter, a white room will feel warm and bright. “White can make a room seem more expansive visually,” says designer Tricia Foley, the author of A Summer Place: Living by the Sea (Rizzoli, 2021), but more important, she says, “it cleanses the palate.” Notoriously beloved for making a small room feel more spacious, we felt white was the perfect color to feature in our annual Small Spaces issue. White is a perfectly pure backdrop for almost any style of home, from a historic farmhouse to a cutting-edge cabin, and it marries well with every color you can think of. This milky hue is a natural color for interiors in Maine, where it is found in seafoam, beach pebbles, birch bark, and of course winter’s blanket of snow. When it comes to decor, whole books have been written about the color white, and we could easily fill an issue with the many whitewashed Maine homes we feature each year. However, harnessing the full power of the color white is more complex than just slapping white paint on the walls (although that can still do wonders for a run-down room!). Legendary decorator Elsie de Wolfe once said, “I believe in plenty of optimism and white paint,” which aptly sums up the age-old approach to Maine summerhouse decorating.
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