White is the new black

Wood is beautiful. I love natural timber and I want to have some around me. My favourite furniture items are a rimu coffee table and a rimu bookshelf. But, I do think that natural timber is something that should be enjoyed in moderation.

As a child, our neighbours built a house that was entirely exposed timber on the inside. Polished particleboard floors and polished wood panels on the walls and ceiling. Even as a child I didn't like it. It was too much. It was too dark. It was too overpowering. It made the rooms seem much smaller than they really were, and that's definitely something I don't want to happen in my tiny house.

It is certainly charming, I can't deny that when I look at photos of tiny houses like this one below, they are gorgeous. But I personally would just find it too much being surrounded by all that timber.

Beautiful .. but the timber is too much for me chrisandmalissa.com

If you want a space to feel bigger, paint it white. If you want it to feel smaller, paint it a dark colour. Although my house will be smaller than most people's living rooms, I want it to feel large and open, not cramped and awkward. So I knew immediately that I wanted to paint it white. This picture has a lovely balance of clean white and timber and neutral colours:

Just perfect! meddiodesign.com

This is how I'd love my house to look.