Fade to white

Since the age of five, when my mother let me choose wallpaper for my bedroom 
(a pretty French toile, with blue peasants dancing on a white background), 
almost every place I have lived in has featured color and/or pattern on my walls.

I have run the gamut from navy blue in the living room to 
chocolate brown in the kitchen to apple green in the bedroom 
(hint: don't do this if you value the way your face looks in the mirror). 

In my previous home, the living/dining area was ragged in a faux-parchment texture
(32 hours of arm-breaking work, and I'll never do that again), 
and I had pale lavender walls in the guest bath. 

So I find it interesting that now I'm being drawn to rooms with white walls, like Kay O'Toole's gorgeous home in Houston, featured in the current Lonny magazine.

 
What a gorgeous built-in bookcase, with those pilasters on either side.

Kay O'Toole's home puts me in mind of Furlow Gatewood's exquisite
Gothic cottage in Georgia. Okay, so these walls are light gray. But you get the idea.
 

via Veranda

The grisaille mural against the pale wall is stunning, don't you think?

via Veranda

 These dark woods, colorful rug and blanket definitely add interest --
imagine how bland this bedroom would look without them.

via Veranda

One of my all-time favorite bedrooms has white walls,
with a gilded canopy that steals the show.  

I think in order for white walls to look really scrumptious, you need some architectural interest in the room -- high ceilings, paneling, moldings, beams, beadboard.

And the whites can't be just any whites.  They must have a drop of something -- creamy yellow, soft green, silver, even pink (did I use that word? I am not fond of pink).

Farrow and Ball has 20 shades of off-white. See them here.

Am I really going to paint my soft yellow and green walls white? I might just start with one room and see how I feel about it.

Stay tuned.