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July 21, 2008
Color-b(l)ind
We are looking for suggestions on the following: we are picking out colors for painting ceilings and woodwork (casings, etc.). We tried Benjamin-Moore's "white-dove" on the ceiling but it looks kind of brown-ish. We are now considering B-M's "ceiling white". Our contractor told us that generally, people use the same color of the ceiling on their woodwork. Does anyone have thoughts on this and/or suggestions for what off-white would work for our woodwork? We have a variety of colors for the walls, including a light apricot, a light grey/blue, and a pale yellow for different rooms in the house. Thanks
Comments
You're better off using a specific ceiling paint on the ceiling- the are formulated differently for coverage properties, reflective properties, and no-drip properties. If you want a similar white, ask the paint store what semi-gloss version of the regular pain would work best. For Benjamin Moore, a popular choice is ceiling white for the ceilings and decorator's white in semi-gloss for trim. They are very similar.
Posted by: Park Place at July 21, 2008 12:19 PM
For the woodwork, I would use BM Dulamel alkyd (oil) paint in white semigloss. It goes on white but yellows in a matter of weeks to a slight off-white. It's very soft and extremely durable, but it's too shiny for a ceiling.
I'd go with BM ceiling white--which will be slightly brighter but with a flat finish, and the slight contrast will look good. Or you could go with a much paler flat version of your wall color.
Posted by: tinarina at July 21, 2008 12:20 PM
Ceiling paint is generally flat and trim generally gets painted with something more durable like semi. Assuming you have some crown moulding, a slight color variation would be nice for contrast.
Im partial to a white ceiling with slightly offwhite/creamy trim.
Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at July 21, 2008 12:23 PM
Thank you all for the advice,
Tinarina, we will get a sample, good idea.
Mrs Limestone, do you have a recommendation for an offwhite you like?
Posted by: hollander at July 21, 2008 12:46 PM
I ended up using (BM) Snowfall White (high gloss on the tin ceiling, flat for the walls and pearl finish on the woodwork) and it turned out GORGEOUS. Highly recommend it.
A very nice soft white that still looks white without being TOO white.
Posted by: 11217 at July 21, 2008 1:11 PM
Use FLAT paint for the ceiling and semigloss for trim...decorators white by ben moore in semi gloss is great for trim.
Posted by: billyboomer at July 21, 2008 1:17 PM
Try BM linen white in semigloss for the trim. It's a tad darker than decorators white; it almost has a slight patina. You might also consider atrium white. I'd go with BM ceiling white, as others have suggested.
Posted by: Bolder at July 21, 2008 1:27 PM
What your contractor may be saying is that painters sometimes use the same "white" paint for the plaster crown mouldings at the ceiling as is used to paint the rest of the room's wood casework,(baseboards, doors, wainscoting, ect. This rule applies to the plaster medallions as well. Ceiling paint has special properties like high coverage low splatter, that make it a dependable choice but by all means not the only choice. Some people are turned off by the slightly cool nature of most ceiling whites, but if used in every room it helps pull the house together visually.
I like low lustre enamels for trim and doors. I think BM makes a water based version of its satin impervo that does a pretty good job of duplicating what the more toxic enamel version did. You might have your painter add flotrol to it for better results.
Decorators White in flat latex and the same color for the trim in semi gloss is a pretty standard choice, hence the name.
I think if you check the BS archives you will find that there have been many helpful posts about paint in the past.
Posted by: IMBY at July 21, 2008 4:07 PM
Can only speak from my own experience but I used China White on the ceiling and Bone White (which is really cream) on the trim.
Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at July 21, 2008 4:18 PM
We used BM Cloud white on our ceilings, trim, and built-ins and we're really happy with how it turned out. Flat on the ceiling and semigloss on the rest.
Posted by: bookgrlny at July 21, 2008 4:46 PM
Some advise from my wife [who has been driving me crazy about paint color choices during a painting job ending--I hope-- today]:
1. Do VERY large test patches on more than one surface
2. Examine the test areas using both daylight and the normal room lights (i.e, if you've removed glass from light fixtures, replace it before deciding if you like the color.
To these I'd like to add, when your husband says "it doesn't matter to me" please believe him :-)
Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 21, 2008 4:56 PM
We used Benjamin Moore Opalescent on the walls and a cooler white- I think called Ice White on the ceiling-love it.
Posted by: lan at July 22, 2008 8:04 PM
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