Studio Apartment and Why White is Right (Sometimes) and Why Your Computer Screen Lies

How's that for a title? Are you confused?!!

 

Let me explain...

The minute I saw this tiny studio apartment I knew it would be perfect to feature it on "Small Space Style". The main room is a miniscule 250 square feet and is used as a working, living and sleeping area.

Not only is this a well designed place, it is also an excellent example of why white is a good paint choice for a small, bright room.

White walls are a great backdrop for small punches of colour and I love how they work as a neutral base for the colourful art work. 

The wall paint is Benjamin Moore's Acadia White which is a warm white with creamy yellow undertones. 

It is the perfect colour to use in a small space that gets a lot of natural light. The abundance of light makes the walls recede and read as light and airy, but not stark and cold. It is more difficult to use white as a wall colour in a small room that does not receive a lot of light because the white will read as "dirty". (I am having this problem in our master bedroom)

It is also important in a room with white walls to repeat the white somewhere else just like you would had the walls been a colour. In this apartment white is used on the daybed linen, the bookcases the desk and in the accessories.

The daybed quickly transforms from sofa to bed and the skirt hides additional storage.

In the above photo the paint on the walls and on the chest is a great example of how paint colours can look different than they actually are depending on how they are photographed or how you are viewing them.

Always test paint in your particular space and never rely on your computer screen or on what you see in magazines.

The chest is painted in Benjamin Moore's Elephant Tusk which is not white, but cream. On both my computer and Ipad the chest looks like it is painted in a bright, clear white that is definitely on the cool side. The Acadia White on the walls also looks much "whiter" and cooler than it really is.

This is what Elephant Tusk looks like....definitely cream. (board and batten is Cloud White)

Photo from here.

Here is the same shot in print form and the actual chip for Elephant Tusk. 

Read more about this story in Domino Magazine.

What are you painting right now?

I just finished our pool cabana...it only took me six samples to get the perfect colour! I'll post pics soon.

Have a great day everyone.