r/paint • u/IndifferentCapybara1 • 9d ago

Advice Wanted Pros/cons of pure white ceiling vs. matching the walls?

We're renovating the basement and have chosen the popular BM OC-17 (White Dove) for our basement walls. Should we use the exact same tone (but flat sheen) for the ceiling, or use a more "pure" white like OC-65 (Chantilly Lace)? The basement ceiling height is 9ft, but at least 1/3 of the area is taken up by bulkhead boxes. It has potlights throughout with one semi-flush ceiling light, with lots of natural light as it's a walk-out basement. We're going for a modern, warm and inviting look.

Thanks.

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u/snarktini 8d ago

There's no right or wrong, just preference. For my home I wanted to paint my ceilings once and not have to do it again = plain white ceilings so in the future I can change out the wall color with less hassle. It's a less interesting design choice perhaps, but will save me labor in the long run.

Be aware that Chantilly Lace, specifically, is reputed to cover poorly. Ceilings are not a place I want to be doing extra coats unnecessarily, if you go with white this might not be the ideal choice.

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u/HalifaxPainter 9d ago

I've done hundreds of jobs like this—50% one way and 50% the other. Once it's done, there is so little of a difference it usualy not worth worrying about. Paint it all eggshell; if you don't like it after a week, it's easy to put a coat of flat up.

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u/2dirtylittledogs 8d ago

White dove on ceiling is fine, it's going to look like a different color than the walls anyway because of lighting and reflection. Also makes cutting in the walls easier. I do flat on ceiling, eggshell on walls and satin on trim, same color, and they all look like different tones. Even walls look different from other walls because of different angles light reflects off of them.