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sophiebalmoral

Dulux Snowy Mountain Quarter

sophiebalmoral
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago

Hi There!

We are about to paint the interior of our West facing 80's style home. My husband has already painted many of the ceiling spaces in Dulux Ceiling White, but we now find ourselves in the white dilemma!

My husband would like a slight contrast between the ceiling and the trims which we plan to paint Vivid White. I really like a clean fresh white but don't want a Dr's surgery feel to my home! We have tried Natural White but it seems quite yellow to me on my home? We have also tried White Beach, White Duck 1/4, Whisper White & White Exchange 1/2. None of these work as they are either too dark or throw yellow in my house. We get LOTS of Natural Light & have plastered cathedral ceilings. I'm thinking of going to get a sample pot of Snowy Mountain Quarter but wondering if anyone has any experience with this colour? I don't want a cold blue grey hue but likewise don't want a pink yellow hue

Floor coverings are (cringeworthy) light natural carpet & white floor tiles.

I'd really appreciate some help!

:) SophieBalmoral

Comments (41)

  • Creativelychallenged
    7 years ago

    I used Snowy Mountain Quarter and really like it. I can't see that it throws any colour but I am sure it does.....There is a bit of conversation on it in this post:

    https://www.houzz.com.au/discussions/dulux-antique-white-usa-yay-or-nay-dsvw-vd~2827919

    I have polished mixed hardwood floors though.

  • btgroat
    7 years ago

    Creativelychallenged - would you have a photo of your walls with the floors? What colour did you go for the trims? Thanks

  • Creativelychallenged
    7 years ago

    I just used Builders White for the trims. I will try to remember to send a photo on Friday.

  • S Mac
    7 years ago

    I'm also considering Snowy Mountain Quarter based on advice from the Dulux/InspirationsPaints Interior Designer, however, had originally wanted a cool white (Lexicon Quarter or Snow season 1/8) so I'm reluctant to commit to this colour. I can't seem to find many reviews or pictures online. I think it's a newer colour? I don't mind the sample i've done though and I've been promised it won't throw any yellow. I would love to see photos too creativelychallenged.

  • btgroat
    7 years ago

    S Mac - I found this article pretty useful:

    http://makingyourhomebeautiful.com/find-right-white/

  • Creativelychallenged
    7 years ago

    S Mac it won't throw yellow. It is not cool like Lexicon but because of this, I think it makes it a bit more versatile in being able to work with both warm and cool colours. I hate yellow, pinks etc...I just wanted a neutral (and almost white) canvas on which to accessorise and add other things, and I think Snowy Mountain Quarter does this. I have added 3 photos that I have just taken of areas in my house....it is hard to get a representative picture of it...to me, it is a "no colour", but in the pictures, even though it is the same paint, it throws different colours due to the shadows etc. In the bottom photo, both the ceiling and cornices and the door frames are done in builders white, so that may give you an idea of how close it is to white. In the top photo, the window frame is done in builders white. (Dulux Aquaenamel for door and window trims). Good luck btgroat and S Mac...I know from experience it is hard to get just the right colour of white.

  • Creativelychallenged
    7 years ago

    sophiebalmoral...I just saw that the original post was from you...I think the Snowy Mountain Quarter would meet all of your requirements as I felt similarly about the colour that I wanted to achieve to what you have said, and I am happy with the SMQ.

  • S Mac
    7 years ago

    Thanks Creativelychallenged for the pics! Your comment 'I just wanted a neutral (and almost white) canvas on which to accessorise and add other things' is exactly what I have been describing so I think I will be happy with SMQ.

  • sophiebalmoral
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Apologies Creativelychallenged, btgroat & S Mac. Somehow I've managed to miss all your thoughtful responses to my original question. We are still in the process of painting...it's been long & slow! Thank you so much Creativelychallenged for your photo's. Have you noticed that it throws a 'green' tinge? As soon as I have some walls painted, I will post some pics. :) SB

  • Creativelychallenged
    6 years ago

    No. Definitely no green tinge in quarter strength snow mountain.....a builder friend of a friend the other day visited and he said - "don't these white walls look great" ...which was nice to hear......i wanted a neutral palette and that is exactly what it is in my house....(unless my eyes just can't pick up a tinge that is there)...it will be good to see your photos. It is always nice to see people's finished projects.....talk about long and slow...I still haven't done my bathroom reno yet. lol

    sophiebalmoral thanked Creativelychallenged
  • sophiebalmoral
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    It's funny Creatively challenged, when I had my SMH & SMQ sample pots mixed they were out of the Dulux base paint & used a British Paints base instead. After your response & discussing with a colleague at work my concerns over the 'green' tinge, I'm actually wondering if the colour sample was not accurate. You have inspired me to revisit our local paint shop tomorrow to get another couple of sample pots. Many thanks :)

  • kellicollins74
    6 years ago
    My husband and I engaged a colour consultant who suggested using the snowy white quarter on our ceiling and trims. Our painter has advised if we use the snowy white quarter, that we will need to apply 3 to 4 coats to obtain appropriate coverage. Can anybody confirm if they have experienced this issue. Many thanks
  • zaffa
    6 years ago
    Our new home is in the process of being painted. We're almost finished. We have used SMQ. We love the colour. But yes, the paint does not seem to have a lot of 'depth'. 3 coats have been applied in most areas. Our hallway receives a lot of light from both ends and will require an additional coat as we can still just see the plaster joins (others probably wouldn't notice it). The colour is amazing though. A true white in our house, without being too cold or warm.
  • C P
    6 years ago
    we've just had our new extension painted snowy mountains half (walls and trim) and the ceiling quarter looks fantastic.
  • kellicollins74
    6 years ago
    Many thanks Zaffa
  • zaffa
    6 years ago
    You're welcome kellicollins74. It does look great though. Our painter told us we 'nailed the colour'. By the way, as per suggestion of our colour consultant, we did Qtr strength for everything (ceilings, walls, trims)
  • Creativelychallenged
    6 years ago

    Zaffa do you have any pictures of your walls where they join with the ceiling and trims. I didn't even think of doing the ceiling the same colour.

  • zaffa
    6 years ago
    Hey Creativelychallenged,
    Here are some pics that I just took when I was just at the house...
  • Creativelychallenged
    6 years ago

    AHH! How beautiful...a great blank canvas on which to add everything else...oh well, i can always paint the ceilings and trims in that colour the next time i have to paint. :o) Thanks for the pictures.

  • zaffa
    6 years ago
    You're welcome!!
  • Sarah Roulston Leung
    6 years ago

    I’m currently getting my house painted 1/2 Snowy Mountain on doors and trim and 1/4 on walls. Unfortunately I’m not enjoying the color at all. It’s throwing way too much blue for my liking, particularly in rooms with less natural light. In the picture you can see the contrast against the white tile. The painter is using Wattyl paint instead of Dulux- that could be altering the color??

  • Creativelychallenged
    6 years ago

    that might be the reason, because I cannot see it throwing any colour in my house..but I do have it in rooms that get lots of natural light

  • zaffa
    6 years ago
    Hi there, similarly, SMH had a grey tinge in my place. That's why we chose the Qtr strength which was a crisper white in our house. How does it look in other areas of your house, when not next to a pure white as in your tiles? Perhaps that's what's highlighting the blue/grey tinge??
  • Creativelychallenged
    6 years ago

    Sarah, is that a new bathroom reno....I like the stacked tiles...do you have a bigger photo of it that you could show.....I think if I am not just given a picture of a bathroom that I can exactly copy for my bathroom reno, I am never going to progress to the point of getting it done...everytime I think I have made a decision, I then have another question to be answered.

  • Sarah Roulston Leung
    6 years ago

    It’s actually a powder room- the house is 10 years old. Think the color might be too cold for our floor tiles. Just can’t get used to the color.

  • Sarah Roulston Leung
    6 years ago

    Here is our bathroom design if it helps Creatively Challenged

  • sophiebalmoral
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    Hi Sarah, originally we were going to paint our house 1/2 & 1/4 Snowy Mountain but I wasn't 100% that it was throwing a greenish/blue tinge. We get a heap of natural sunlight so I am not sure if that was having an impact. In the end we went with 1/2 Natural White, which I like but don't love. My SIL ended up painting her place in 1/2 & 1/4 Snowy Mountain & I swear it throws a blue/green tinge. Maybe it's just my sight?! but I had a similar experience to yours. I hope you do end up liking it once it's not sitting against white tiles in other parts of the house. Good luck :)

  • Sarah Roulston Leung
    6 years ago

    Thank you Sophie, was starting to think I was crazy. Glad someone else has experienced the same. I find the color really unsettling in my house. Wish I had insisted on Dulux so I could rule it out as the cause. Not sure now if I should persist with a third coat in Dulux, use 1/2 strength on walls as well or pick a different color. Picking a white is so tricky

  • Nicole A
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Did you end up going with Snowy Mountains Quarter, Creativelychallenged? And Sarah, how are you feeling about it now that you've had it for a little while. Any updates from anyone else who was considering SMQ?

  • Creativelychallenged
    5 years ago

    I already had the SMQ on my walls, but have left the ceiling in builders white. Sophie posted this thread originally. My walls are the one with the clock on it.

  • Nicole A
    5 years ago

    Oh yes Creativelychallenged :)

    I saw that Sophie went with 1/2 Natural White in the end. Wonder what S Mac and Kellicollins decided on?

  • sophiebalmoral
    Original Author
    5 years ago

    Hi Nicole A, I did end up going 1/2 Natural White in my house which I now like. My SIL painted a room in 1/2 Snowy Mountains and each time I walk in there it still seems to have a green tinge to my sight. But I have come to the conclusion that it is my sight because no one else in the thread see's green! Good luck with your paint choice :)

  • Katrina Lockhart
    last year

    @zaffa If you see this, do you know if the SMQ on the ceiling was normal ceiling paint and the SMQ was not halved to be SM 1/8? I have painted SMQ walls and ceilings but with a cornice and the ceilings are darker than the walls. I'm not sure if I need to do more coats on the walls, they have 2 coats, or lighten the ceiling paint. Thanks if you get this message :)

  • zaffa
    last year

    Hi Katrina, in our house the ceiling and wall paint was the same strength, SMQ. No cornice. How much darker is the ceiling?

  • Katrina Lockhart
    last year

    Hi @zaffa, it is noticeably darker, so the tones actually look different. The ceiling is throwing more cream and the walls more blue. It is very strange. All rooms with different lighting show the same thing. Some angles and times of the day it looks similar but mostly it looks a different tone and darker. Really strange.


    Dulux tested the tin I had and it was the correct colour but acknowledged that it is quite

    darker next to the low sheen and have kindly given me a 15 litre tin of 1/8 SM effectively half SMQ for free. I would need to get the painter to redo again, and I'll have to repaint the walls that have the overspray.


    It is really strange as I went to my brothers new build and they used Haymes Marble Mist which is a warm white. Specified the ceiling to be the same but it looks lighter in most cases or the same. Their ceilings are 100mm higher and corniced and the rooms with all different aspects and light. Concrete floors like mine. It is really puzzling.


    Anyway I have now committed to painting it half strength again so hopefully this will be it.


    Thanks for your reply :)





  • Katrina Lockhart
    last year

    @sophiebalmoral Hello, I'm just wondering what floors your SIL has. I have SMQ and in most rooms it is ok but the rooms with the skylights throws a really awful green cast. I'm struggling however these rooms are the hardest to repaint. I will have oak coloured floors, at the moment it is dirty old concrete that is a bit green so not sure if that contributes. But our entry way has one light source being the skylight and it is so green, my stomach turns everytime I walk in there. High ceilings and walls in both of these rooms so a nightmare to repaint. Just wondering what floors your SIL has as that may make a difference perhaps. My other consideration is changing these rooms to NWH or NWQ to offset the skylight colouring but not sure if it will work with the other rooms being a different white. Thanks in advance if you get this. xx

  • sophiebalmoral
    Original Author
    last year
    last modified: last year

    Hi Katrina,

    In the rooms (in my SIL house) that throw that green cast they have a neutral carpet. There is A LOT of light in this particular area of the house, so I do believe that impacts the undertone.

    In my own house, I also have very bright rooms, large windows, westerly facing. We went NWH. Now what is interesting is in one room (the brightest room) it looks bright and white and in the other room which is adjacent and still a bright room but have sheers over window, it looks darker. I like a bright white room but the SM H/Q threw that weird green cast in my house. I prefer the NW because it has a warmer feel to it whilst still is a nice, white colour. I have light flooring also.

    Truly, its so difficult and far from an exact science because so much influences the colour in your own home.

    I'm not sure what the NW would look like next to the SM, but if the rooms are not open plan, I don't know if most people would tell. We painted the bedrooms (I think from memory) Lexicon Q and I don't find it jarring, they are just in a different part of the house and we needed a different white.

    Good luck, finding the right white is a journey!

    With kindness,

    SB.

  • Nicole A
    last year

    Just to throw another option into the works, I ended up going with Ghosting quarter on my walls (I used SMQ on my kitchen cabinetry).

    I love the Ghosting - it is a warm, faintly biscuity white in bright rooms, while in rooms with less light it tends towards a pale but warm "greige". So it's a really lovely modern white that works with various colour schemes.

    I'm not a fan of the SMQ (yellowish tinge in my bright north-facing living areas).

  • Katrina Lockhart
    last year

    Thank you @sophiebalmoral and @Nicole A, very helpful and good to know I'm not going crazy. It has been perhaps one of the most frustrating experiences of renovating. I heard an interior designer say...'oh so you are going to paint your house white, welcome to white hell' lol. @Nicole A, I'll take a look at Ghosting, have never heard of that colour. Good to know you used it right next to SMQ. I think I will need to take the plunge and repaint these rooms that throw the green the most. Thank you so much for your input. xx

  • HU-598272100
    last month

    Nicole A

    are you happy with your choice of SMQ for your kitchen cabinets?

    i need to pick a colour for my kitchen cabinets soon.

    I was thinking of buying a sample pot for SMQ, I’m trying the SMH at the moment.

    Regards Rita