Benjamin Moore Navajo White: Undertones & Real Home Use

Benjamin Moore Navajo White has been one of their most timeless, classic cream paint colors. Today’s trends will have it on walls; however, in previous decades, it was popular on trims and cabinets, too.

But just because a color is popular or well-known doesn’t mean it’s the best one for YOUR home. This is why sampling carefully and learning its ins and outs is so important. So, let’s dive in and spend a little time with one of my favorite cream paint colors – Navajo White.

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, 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?

THE LRV OF NAVAJO WHITE

Navajo White has an LRV of 78.26 (according to BM), 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 in a room with intense natural light. However, its softness and undertones make it a great choice for many dark rooms and those with moderate light.

The above photo shows Navajo White in my client’s bright, south-facing entryway. Notice how you really only see the beauty of its depth/color once you compare it to the white trim. 

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, as do all cream paint colors. 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. Does this mean it could pick up a tiny touch of green? Rarely, but sample carefully all the same. 

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

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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