These last few years minimalism has permeated every corner of our worlds from capsule wardrobes to lifestyle to home décor. One of the most popular? Those white interiors.

Have you seen them populating your insta account? They are literally everywhere.

To be completely honest, their clean, crisp, calming aesthetic deeply appeals to my desire to create more mental and visual margin in my life. These minimalist walls have been calling to me. I wanted to buy into the whole trend, lock stock and barrel. Only one problem: I’m not a minimalist.

My non-minimalist conundrum…

I have three kids, my husband and I have hobbies, we like shoes, and we live in a less-than-1300-square-foot home. So, while I love clean lines and de-cluttering excess, I prefer to consider myself a margin-maker, a purposeful life do-er… less anti-stuff and more pro-intentionality.

So naturally, I had some reservations regarding this minimalist painting trend. First, was white-on-every-wall a good idea, especially if I wasn’t going to mimic the exact minimalist trend? If yes, were there other well-done applications with all the color and junk that my decor would inherently involve? And in the end, would all-white just up feeling too clinical and basic?

A method to the madness…

To answer queries such as these, I needed to first spend a little time sitting with the trendy decor choice and make a concrete list of questions and answers. Starting with…

No. 1: Do I actually like the trend, or is it just new and shiny?

(Yeah… I really, really like it.)

No. 2: Does it “play” well with my current pieces?

(Yes.)

No. 3: Will this decor decision help me function more or less efficiently?

(More efficiently.)

And lastly, No. 4: In 2 years, might I feel sick of it?

(Honestly… maybe? Worst case scenario, if I do, updating on the cheap with new accents would lend a fresh vibe.)

I go through this process for one simple reason: when the trend changes (and it will, soon), I can still confidently enjoy my décor for as long as I want to… and until as long as I don’t… You see the simple beauty in this strategy? It’s based on my preferences, not the shifting tides of home decor trends at Target. Its soooooo freeing to know that I don’t have to “keep up.” It helps my brain to make just that much more margin for living in the now, rather than constantly evaluating what could be next.

Ultimately, if we love it and it helps us to function better in the space, that’s what matters the most for us in an interior. Its decorating and design… with intentionality.

Therefore, in the name of decorating purposefully and to create margin, let me list out my top reasons for why I, a non-minimalist, choose to leap on the white wall interior trend. And when I say white, I mean ALL white. Like on every wall. White, white, and more white in our small home.

Reason #1: It unifies all the spaces.

Our home is a small, 1950s cape cod build. Besides the stairwell being opened up by the previous owner, it’s basically the original floor plan, which means: it’s all divided up.

No open concept rooms here, people.

There are, or course, “windows” of view between various rooms. For instance, when I stand in the kitchen I can see a section of the living room (and it usually includes all the couch pillows and throws on the floor thanks to my preschooler… why????)

When I began to think on a paint color, I knew I could choose various colors for different spaces, but I didn’t want it to feel even more separated, and didn’t have the inspiration or energy to decide on a paint color scheme that would simultaneously and effortlessly tie the whole house together whilst still differentiating the spaces. It can, and is done, beautifully. But if that sounds as overwhelming to you as it did to me, let me suggest and easier answer. Paint the whole house the same color: white, and work your color palette into the spaces in between.

And a plus side to focusing on the wall less? The beautiful, rich color of our hardwood floors and the woodworking details on the stairway have really had a chance to shine in the spotlight.

Reason #2: It naturally brightens!

Unlike its darker counterparts, white won’t absorb as much of the light that is shone on it, and will therefore, bounce it around your space for you.

This allows you to have more natural light (and who doesn’t love that!?), which creates the illusion of more space. In a smaller home, this is a major selling point. I am constantly looking for ways to maximize our footprint usage. Why not let the walls do more of the work for me?

Reason #3: It pairs with literally everything.

Ever been to an art museum or gallery space?

What color is used on the walls? In almost every instance: white.

Why? It doesn’t distract from the art it is meant to showcase. It’s clean, crisp and allows the focus to go to what’s hanging on it. This is a major plus if you have children or people who create a lot of art that begs to be hung. Or if you, like we, have a mountain of textures, colors, or styles in our furniture and odds and ends.

When you live in a small space, functional, even temporary objects, like books, toys, or paperwork, need to be placed on the wall for function and clutter control. Instead of stowing away these items each time I wanted to tidy, why not dedicate a space for them to live by making them the décor?

The easiest way for these to act and look like and intentional artistic display? A basic white wall to back it up.

Reason #4: Simple to maintain.

You know those random extra cans of paint that collect in your basement? Ever forgotten which of the 3 greens went in the bedroom, or… was it the dinning room?

The very obvious, but equally as awesome, perk of going single-color with your interior walls: Less waste and easy, no-mix-up touch up.

No more dried out cans of robins egg blue, or its two-shades-darker-on-the-paint-chip cousin. When its all one color, there’s one can of extra paint (possibly two, if you prefer a different finish for woodwork), and that is oh-so easy to store at home, find when you need a quick touch up and re-order when you’ve just run out.

More easy = less crazy in my head. And therefore… at this stage in my life… ONE color on my interior walls.

Reason #5: It’s calming.

Simply that. White is a calming color.

Is that why they call it white noise, do you think?

Admittedly, its not the only calming color (I see you blue). Generally speaking, the more saturated a color is, the more stress and energy it creates (red is well known for this and also for elevating the heart rate), and the lighter a color the more relaxing and calming.

So white is not alone (and technically isn’t one color, but the reflection of all the colors… but that’s a different article). But since it’s light, and calming, and its everything listed above as well, it’s the calming color we tapped for the job.

Why do I need calm on my walls, you ask? Because as a stay at home mom with three lively boys during a worldwide pandemic and virtual-to-hybrid-and-back-again learning, there is quite literally zero calm in my life otherwise. So even when its loud (which is always), and there’s marker on the table and dirt on the floor (also, always), I can look to my walls and zone THE. HECK. OUT.

So, in our abode, let there be WHITE! Walls and walls of white. White on all the walls.

Have you debated putting white on your walls? Why did or didn’t you? The color theory nerd in me would love to hear your arguments for and even against it!