apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

If you paint your walls white with your white furniture, you really need to make absolutely everything white (including rugs and pillows) unless it's wood - otherwise it will just look like you're afraid of color.

I'd go for the contrast and choose a deep/strong color, such as Dark Chocolate Brown, Navy Blue, Dark Aubergine or even Black.

i think all white can look great (not cheap). you can go with a very minimalist look or you can add color with art, plants, and any number of cool things.

an interesting green-yellow color could work. i think a lot depends on what artwork and other color accents you plan on using.

people, to compliment is to say nice things about someone to their face. To complEment is to "go with".

I wouldn't do anything obviously that had yellow understones in it such as beige. I would probably choose a very light slate blue or bluish green color since I am assuming you are going for a bright airy look. These colors would also balance the dark floors and light oak cabinets. Reds also tend to not look good imo with light oak.

gray, greige, slate would all look clean and modern.

If you are looking for an airy gray blue, I like Benjamin Moore Quiet Moments or Beach Glass.

I would go with Ralph Lauren cloud blue. It has an amazing calmness to it that is also modern and looks great with white and dark wood.

Where is this couch from?

I've been looking at Scandinavian hotels all day, trying to book one for an upcoming trip, and as a result, I feel like doing an all-white look myself!

Here are some of my inspirations --
note that if it is not white, then it is a very pale, natural off-white -- a pale driftwood greyish-white, pale biegey-white, etc.

http://www.hotelplesner.dk/html/contact_us.html

http://www.hotelplesner.dk/html/menu.html

(damn -- they changed the website for this second hotel from just an hour ago -- it must be opening today! the other pictures were cooler, but you get the idea...)

http://www.hoteloasia.dk/

http://www.hoteloasia.dk/content/view/35/44/lang,da/

http://www.hoteloasia.dk/content/view/35/44/lang,da/

...And in order to make white paint not "look cheap", check out Donald Kaufman colors. He does the best whites in the industry -- he develops custom whites for projects such as the Getty Museum, the Calvin Klein store on Madison, lots of art galleries, etc. His full-spectrum whites are the way to go in a monochromatic situation -- they change so much according to lighting conditions, adding a lot of depth and dimension.

(needless to say, it's what I used in my own living room)

http://www.coxpaint.com/store/cart.php?target=category&category_id=254

I'd pick a color that makes YOU look good, not the couch.

I've seen white furniture with a bright pink wall look good. Not light pink, not fushia, but right in between, a bold, intense pink.

I think you need a bawdy color for a modern look, like the pink or the yellow-green suggested above. Maybe acid green. I can't picture blues looking good with this. Maybe it's just me but white furniture with a blue wall conjures up grandma's beach house, not modern.

Thanks everyone for their suggestions! Extremely useful, though I think I'm leaning with a suggestion a few people made of an airy blue. I'll check the paints suggested out.

Incidentally, the couch was called the "Dallas" from where I bought it ("Your Living Room" in Austin), but I think it's a Carter sofa.

Thanks again everyone.

I painted mine a really great shade of blue-gray I got from Home Depot - it's almost a "shark fin" color. Steel, but with a hint of blue. It looks great with my white couches.