Benjamin Moore Navajo White OC-95: Paint Color Review
A Popular & Timeless Cream Paint Color…
While gray, greige, and beige take turns on the great wheel of trends, one color has a certain TIMELESS quality, and that color is cream. This is why we’re looking at one of my favorite cream paint colors, Benjamin Moore Navajo White.
All the photos in my blog are from my Online Color Consulting clients, readers, and friends— because real homes deserve to be celebrated (dirty laundry and all!) While not magazine-perfect, they’re packed with ideas and proven color choices to help you create a home you’ll love.
WHAT TYPE OF COLOR IS NAVAJO WHITE – is it white?
HECK NO! Even though its name suggests otherwise, Benjamin Moore Navajo White is definitely not a white paint color; it’s a warm cream paint color and a wicked one at that.
Every cream paint color has a yellow undertone; there’s no escaping it. And while we’ll get into undertones a bit more shortly, the yellow hue of Navajo White makes it a great choice for cool north-facing rooms and rooms with flat eastern afternoon or western morning light.
South-facing light
On the other hand, Navajo White isn’t SO warm and yellow that it looks obnoxious in a south-facing room, although it WILL warm up considerably.
North, East, South, West – Which Paint Color is the Best?
WHAT’S THE LRV OF NAVAJO WHITE?
Navajo White has an LRV of 78.26, making it an off-white paint color on the higher end of the range.
With a higher LRV like this, you can expect Navajo White to wash out CONSIDERABLY if you have a room with intense natural light. However, its softness and undertones make it a great choice for many dark rooms and rooms with more moderate amounts of light.
The above photo shows Navajo White in a BRIGHT north-facing space. Notice how it washes out on the main part of the wall, and you start to see the ‘color’ more by the baseboard.
Not sure what LRV is? It could save your paint-lovin’ life – read all about it HERE.
How to Make a Dark Room Look Brighter – and it ain’t with paint!
The Best LIGHT Paint Colors for a DARK room
WHAT ARE NAVAJO WHITE’S UNDERTONES?
As you just learned, Navajo White has a yellow undertone, like every cream paint color. Now, yellow undertones can lean slightly yellow-green or yellow-orange – Navajo White leans yellow-orange, but not by a lot – just enough to calm down the yellow, along with a GORGEOUS neutral base.
Here’s your Peel & Stick sample of Navajo White…
WHAT’S THE BEST WHITE TRIM WITH NAVAJO WHITE?
- Benjamin Moore Simply White
- Benjamin Moore Cloud White
The ULTIMATE GUIDE to White Paint Colors
The 8 Best Benjamin Moore White Paint Colors
WHERE DOES NAVAJO WHITE LOOK BEST?
Most colors don’t suit EVERY surface in a home. And while it can depend on your needs, you want to double-check that the color you love makes sense for how you want to use it.
NAVAJO WHITE AS AN EXTERIOR PAINT COLOR
It’s not that Navajo White is a bad exterior color; it’s just that most people who are looking for a color like this lean toward creams that are more flexible and have less YELLOW in them (along the lines of Benjamin Moore Ballet White or Sherwin Williams White Duck).
5 Tips for Choosing an Exterior Paint Color
NAVAJO WHITE WITH CREAM TRIM OR CABINETS?
Navajo White can look good with cream cabinets and trims…but not in every situation. If your cabinets and trims are painted Navajo White (it was a popular choice in the early 2000s Tuscan trend), then yes, Navajo White can be awesome for your walls.
However, unless you have some random, super light shade of cream that’s LIGHTER than Navajo White with a similar undertone profile, you can’t mix and match creams.
BENJAMIN MOORE NAVAJO WHITE WITH WOOD TRIMS OR CABINETS
Navajo White can be beautiful with wood cabinets, trims, and flooring if your wood stain has the right undertones.
What are the right undertones?
- woods with a yellow stain can look great with Navajo White
- if your wood stain caters to orange (common with golden oak); it can look fab with Navajo White, so long as the orange doesn’t cater hard to red-pink
- I’d be cautious of Navajo White with woods that are dark, as dark woods often have a red or purple undertone
In this next image, Navajo White is beautiful with this orange-centric wood stain. However, if this wood leaned redder or pink, Navajo White would be too yellow.
IS NAVAJO WHITE A POPULAR CABINET COLOR
WELLLLLLL, yes. But I don’t mean popular in a GOOD way. I can’t tell you how many clients I’ve had who are trying to update the look of their Navajo White kitchen cabinets and are having a HECK of a time finding coordinating paint colors.
How to Update Older Granite Countertops
The best way to update this space would be to paint the island black!
If you love cream cabinets, you can fill yer boots, but know that down the road, they may affect your resale value. Regardless of your personal tastes, MOST people prefer white cabinets as they’re the most timeless and the most flexible as it relates to new styles and updated features.
How to Choose the Best White Paint Color for Your Kitchen Cabinets
Should You Paint Your Kitchen Cabinets or Keep Them Stained? A QUESTIONNAIRE!
WHAT COLORS ARE SIMILAR TO NAVAJO WHITE?
Comparing similar colors is one of the most important steps when finding your perfect shade.
BENJAMIN MOORE NAVAJO WHITE VS. GENTLE CREAM
Ooooo, my babies! As far as creams go, these two are my absolute favorites. While they have different purposes, they’re the ones I refer to constantly in my Online Color Consulting.
Benjamin Moore Gentle Cream is a heavy creamy (it has more in common with SW Navajo White re: depth). With its LRV of 72, it’s a good dose darker than BM Navajo White and closer to beige, for sure.
Because of this depth and a tweak in undertones, Gentle Cream has a slightly less creamy look than Navajo White. I mean, sure, it’s still cream, but it can really ground itself in a room (in a nice way), whereas Navajo White has that slightly fresher approach.
Benjamin Moore Gentle Cream FULL Paint Color Review
NAVAJO WHITE VS. BENJAMIN MOORE WINDSWEPT
When comparing these two cream paint colors, it comes down to how much yellow you want and how light you want it.
Windswept is an equally beautiful shade of cream. Compared to Navajo White, Windswept is much lighter, with its LRV of 83.76. Generally speaking, colors in this range are whites; however, there are some exceptions, including colors that have more color (chroma) like Windwept. In this case, Windswept is a very light shade of cream—lighter than Navajo White.
Here’s a Peel & Stick sample of Windswept (I don’t have photos of it yet).
Windswept is also cleaner than Navajo White – so less neutral and a bit more colorful.
WHAT SHERWIN WILLIAMS COLORS ARE SIMILAR?
When it comes to the most popular shades of cream, Sherwin Williams certainly takes a shot at the title, especially with colors like these…
SHERWIN WILLIAMS NAVAJO WHITE VS. BM NAVAJO WHITE
They have the same name, but they‘re different colors. However, they have one thing in common: Benjamin Moore Navajo White and Sherwin Williams Navajo White are cream paint colors with similar intentions—not muted or yellow (although that can always be open to perception based on your needs/tastes).
But that’s where the similarities end.
This is BM’s Navajo White. I don’t have images of SW’s version as I never recommend it!
Sherwin’s Navajo White is darker with an LRV of 72, putting it on the edge of the cream range, winking provocatively at the beige-tan world. On the other hand, BM Navajo White has a higher LRV of 78.26, making it a good dose lighter and fresher looking.
As for undertones, SW Navajo White comes off a bit more muted and neutralized (less yellow-orange) while still holding a soft warmth. This comes with a bit less gold compared to the more ‘traditionally creamy’ look of Navajo White.
You should also sample and compare…
- Sherwin Williams Casa Blanca (mad love)
WHAT PAINT COLORS GO WITH NAVAJO WHITE?
If you’re wondering which paint colors look good with Navajo White CABINETS or TRIM, please read this blog post.
Why?
Well, how you treat Navajo White cabinets and trims is MUCH different from how you treat rooms adjoining Navajo White; cabinets and trim are much fussier.
As for creating a color palette for adjoining rooms…
- some gray paint colors, including stormy shades of gray as well as warmer earthy shades, just make sure the gray is DARKER than Navajo White
- darker beige paint colors with similar undertones
- some shades of blue-green or earth-toned green paint colors
- warm white paint colors
Not sure if Navajo White is right for you? I’ve got more!
READ MORE
The 16 Best Wall Paint Colors to Update Cream Cabinets & Trim
Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Creamy
Paint Color Review of Benjamin Moore White Down
Paint Color Review of Benjamin Moore Ballet White
The Best Cream Paint Colors from Benjamin Moore & Sherwin Williams
Not sure which paint color is best for YOUR home?
Check out my Online Paint Color Consulting – I’d love to help!
ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IN 2017, UPDATED IN 2025
I choose this color for a west facing bedroom painted a few days ago and I didn’t realize it had significant yellow undertones. Not sure if it is the soft white (2700K) recessed lighting or the beige carpeting that’s empowering the yellow undertones so will try the lights first. I don’t really mind it but my other half does…
Yup, it definitely has some yellow to it, ESPECIALLY if it’s against beige carpeting – the comparison will really show this 🙂
Navajo White walls, Black fireplace mantle… painted brick. Should the brick match the walls? Or the trim? I have 6 average sized windows. Two are on either side of the fireplace. I’m stuck!
Ooooo, I MIGHT lean towards the brick matching the trim, as long as the trim is well coordinated with the room!
Thanks so much for responding!
So trim… any suggestions as to the shade of white to coordinate with the Navajo walls?
Time and money are big factors.
Room is 15×24 and with 6 windows I can’t afford to mess this up.
90’s style so no open floor plan. Going for clean, minimalist concept to open and brighten things up.
Previous color was BM Tawny Bisque with stained woodwork.
I just repainted most of my home using NW on ceilings, walls and trim. I found a white ceiling emphasized the yellow in NW and my eyes kept stopping at the point between the ceiling and wall. Painting the ceilings NW calmed the yellow down and I believe it looks far richer. It’s a beautiful warm hug!
Mmmmm, this sounds LOVELY! I think you made a great choice :).
If the walls are BM Navajo White, what color should the ceiling and baseboards be? North facing room.
I love Navajo White with Benjamin Moore Cloud White or Simply White 🙂
I love Benjamin Moore Navajo White! It’s a great color for any room.
Is it okay to paint BM Navajo White on the ceilings, trim and walls all together? The trim would be semigloss and the walls, eggshell.
Oooo, I might find it a bit TOO much, depending on the space/natural light. What about Cloud White?
What would be a good kitchen cabinet color if the walls are navajo white?
It alllll depends on the countertop and backsplash, but I would start with Benjamin MOore Cloud White.
We have SW Navajo White as a whole house color. House was built in 2015, so we have the dark espresso cabinets, darker hardwoods (not as dark as the cabinets) and beige carpet (with grey undertones). We want to update the wall color, but I love how sunny it feels, particularly in days like today when it is snowing. I just hate the orange that gets pulled out by the cabinet and floor colors. What would be a good alternative that is more updated? Our great room faces west with a lot of windows.
In Tucson AZ for 20 years in the 70s and 80s, every house i lived in got at least one room painted Navaho White, usually the room with the most light changes. The tones seemed to change with the light, and one wall could be one shade while the adjacent wall was a different shade, but they all seemed more tan than yellow. I forget the paint brand, but I think it would have been Benjamín Moore or Sherwin Williams. When we bought our house in NW Georgia, I went with a Behr paint named Navajo White, with Pure White trim, but it is not the same. It is much more yellow in any light. Could you possibly give me a clue if there is a paint brand that would have sold that particular Navajo White in that location and time frame?
Oh gosh, I don’t know! I do know that both SW and BM Navajo White are super versatile and changeable, plus the right exposure/type of sun can definitely change how it looks – as well as interior lighting – there are so many factors!
As for brands in the 70s and 80s, I’m not sure which ones carried this color name, BUT, I did find a whoooole whack of brands who do carry Navajo White – check this out https://www.myperfectcolor.com/search/?q=navajo+white
I’m considering Navajo White for my Pacific NW/E north facing living room + low light hallway. Would Swiss Coffee or Ivory White be trim colors you would use? Cloud white is too light for my existing 90’s trim.
Hi Kylie. Love your paint analysis. Being that my sofa and love seat are a cream damask with that yellow/orange undertone I painted the room BM gentle cream. Very close match to sofa set, although slightly orangey. After 6 years would like a little less orange coming through in our very well lit southern room. Would BM navajo white accomplish that or just get washed out. Much help appreciated.
As I was reading your comment, right away, Navajo White hit my brain :). SW Navajo White and Casa Blanca are also beautiful!
I consulted you in 2019 and painted our interior BM Navajo White and the trim BM Simply White and it is gorgeous! Picking out flooring now and this blog did not disappoint. Thanks, Kylie!
Wahoooo, I’m so glad you found it helpful!