Painting - shade of white

i want to paint my living room a basic white, the kind that you see and think white, does anyone know which benjamin moore is the correct one to go with??

Benjamin Moore is an excellent brand to go with, however, like many brands, there are scores of whites available. I think you want a brilliant white (or some kind adjective laden white). It's all up to your preference.

I know what you are thinking and saying, but a bit of advice here. You really don't want a pure white. I did that in a bathroom once and hated it. One thing you'll find is that anything off-white (or white) you put in the room will look dirty. For example, if there is any white (or real light color) in a chair, sofa, or pillow then that will look dirty.

Better to have a shade off white (easier on the eyes, etc). You can take it off-white towards any color you wish. When I did my basement years ago the basice color scheme was green. So I selected an off-white that was towards green. I used color chips of various off-whites under the lighting conditions in the basement and prefered the green over the others. You can't really see the green in it. It is very subtle. I don't have the words to describe it, but it does make a difference.

BobF is absolutely correct about the white shade issue. I know some really want a certain color, but it is amazing how different the actual painted surface appears. Sometimes it is worth the money to buy a pint of a color and paint an area, including some adjacent to the trim.

i kindof agree but also painted a room (as a high school kid) with antique white and it was really yellowish! i suggest getting a white paint but looking at samples and picking something that looks white but is not the brightest white. most likely there are 5 sample that each look pure white on their own but next to each other there is a difference.

i say go for it, but maybe get one gallon and paint one wall to see how it looks after a week. if you like it get more, if you hate it you only wated one gallon and one wall's effort. but if you like it and paint the rest do not use paint from the old and new gallons onthe same wall - most paint mixes are never the same fromgallon to gallon (that is if they had to mix it). or before painting a wall mix enough of hte two gallons to do the entire wall (including trim).

one time (while on my high horse) i correctly did this do not mix the gallons together in the middle of a wall - on the wall but i forgot about the cutting....so in the corners and alone the ceiling there are (or were because i moved) subtle differences in the paint.

to be honest - the color was the same but the glossiness looked different between the two gallons??

There is an infinite amount of off-white shades. You can't go by names. Stop in Sherwin-Williams and look at all the "highlights" and off-whites they have. They have a large brochure that is mostly various shades of off-white.