Benjamin Moore Oxford White CC-30 / White Heron: Paint Color Review
OXFORD WHITE – not your everyday shade
While Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace and White Dove get a lot of attention these days, several other whites are waiting for you to discover them. And one of these whites is Benjamin Moore Oxford White (also known as White Heron OC-57).
IS OXFORD WHITE WARM OR COOL?
Oxford White might look like a simple white, but it’s more complicated than many other shades of white.
Why?
Oxford White doesn’t try hard to be warm or cool but kind of hugs the middle ground. This makes it a reasonably flexible color for a wide range of styles and wall colors. That said, it’s not foolproof, as some finishes and paint colors need a softer, warmer shade or one that COMMITS to a cool vibe, of which Oxford White does neither!
White’s aren’t easy!
As for the TYPE of white it is and its undertones, keep on reading!
North, East, South, West – Which Paint Color is the Best?
WHAT IS OXFORD WHITE’S LRV?
Oxford White has an LRV of 86.69, which means it’s a white paint color. It’s not as bright white as Chantilly Lace or Sherwin Williams High Reflective White, but it’s not as soft or warm as Benjamin Moore White Dove – it sits in the middle.
Being a brighter white, Oxford White reflects a lot of light. For example, if you have southern or west-facing light, you might see Oxford White picking up a subtle yellow hue or passive warmth. On the other hand, if you have northern light and a ton of greenery outside your window, your walls could pick up a green hue!
Not sure what LRV is? It could save your paint-lovin’ life – read all about it HERE.
WHAT ARE OXFORD WHITE’S UNDERTONES?
Oxford White is in the green-yellow family. I know this sounds scary, and while you should be cautious, these undertones don’t rarely pop up (as you can see by the images in this blog post).
Most of the time, Oxford White looks like a bright but not overly stark shade of white…most of the time.
However, its undertones are one reason I’m likely to recommend other shades of white, where the undertones are less green-inclined (even if the chance of them showing up is low).
Of course, if I’m partnering it with a color that’s a greige (green undertone) or a green hue, Oxford White can be beautiful, but in general, I’m more likely to choose a more predictable shade that doesn’t sit in the green family as much (listed below).
Get your Samplize Peel & Stick sample of Oxford White.
Or get a SAMPLER of my favorite, most recommended WHITE PAINT COLORS!
WHICH WHITE PAINT COLOR GOES WITH OXFORD WHITE?
If I suggest Oxford White to one of my Online Color Consulting clients, I will likely suggest Oxford White for the trim and let the shift in sheens do the visual work—I rarely add another white to the mix.
White Walls, Cabinets, Trims & Ceilings – Do They Need to Match?
Benjamin Moore’s 8 Best White Paint Colors
IS OXFORD WHITE THE BEST SHADE FOR THE EXTERIOR?
Oxford White can act like a reasonably bright white on exterior trims and doors, but I always choose more predictable whites (listed below) – Oxford White never makes it into my top 5 as I don’t trust it as much.
5 Tips for Choosing an Exterior Paint Color
WHAT COLORS ARE SIMILAR TO OXFORD WHITE?
There’s no exact match for Oxford White and its particular blend of undertones. However, the way to find your home’s best shade of white is to sample and compare it to other popular shades, such as…
- Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace is brighter and cleaner than Oxford White.
- Sherwin Williams White Snow is a bright white with a touch of softness.
- Sherwin Williams Pure White also has a subtle warmth, but it’s more muted and popular than Oxford White.
- Benjamin Moore’s White Dove has a more traditional-looking warmth compared to the subtle approach of Oxford White (it’s also WAY more popular/flexible).
READ MORE
The Ultimate Guide to Choosing White Paint Colors
Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams High Reflective White
Paint Color Review of Benjamin Moore Simply White
The 4 Best Sherwin Williams White Paint Colors
The 8 Best White Paint Colors from Benjamin Moore
NEED HELP?
Check out my Online Paint Color Consulting – I’d love to help!
Originally written in 2020, updated in 2024 for you!
Is there a reason that you recommend Pure White more than Oxford White? They seem so similar. Our painter prefers BM paint so we would love to hear your opinion about these two colors. Thank you!
Hi Erin! I find that sometimes Oxford White can look just a bit dingy yellow, just a bit off for me.
My walls in condo are BM Simply white in flat. Would you suggest White Dove or Chantilly Lace for the trim? I would do sheen for trim.
Thank you,
Carla Siegel
Cbsdecor1@gmail.com
I definitely wouldn’t do White Dove. If you want to see the warmth of Simply White a bit more, Chantilly Lace would do that, but if you want Simply White to blend in a bit and act like the brightest white in the room, you would actually do Simply White on the trim!
Would you recommend Oxford White as an exterior trim? Paint color with siding painted something like charcoal blue?
Personally, I would lean more into BM Chantilly Lace, but of course, it can depend on window colour and what not.
I have cabinets painted in white dove and south facing windows in all rooms. I’d like to keep the walls in the white/neutrals to keep that clean farmhouse look and warm
I would definitely recommend sticking with White Dove on the walls as well then 🙂
We painted the whole bottom floor of our home cloud white with Chantilly lace trim and to me,The cloud white is looking too dingy/ almost yellow. . If we wanted a fresh colored white- with limited light what would you have suggested. We have (sherwin Williams) pewter green Cabniets.
Wellll, I would be doing Chantilly Lace on the walls too! I suppose you could look at Simply White, but if it were me, I would keep going with Chantilly 🙂 This blog post here might help! https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/white-paint-colours-walls-cabinets-trim-do-they-need-to-match/
I have read just about all of your posts about choosing the right white paint for our home – thank you for sharing all of your knowledge! We have decided to paint our kitchen cabinets white but have white appliances (read your post about that too, of course). We have warm colors throughout the house and our trim/doors are “Western Acoustic” from Kelly Moore (I think) – definitely a warm, creamy white but luckily we don’t have much of any trim in the kitchen (just a couple of baseboards outside the cabinet area) or any doors in sight from there, so I think we are safe. Obviously the current trim color is too creamy for the appliances, and Chantilly lace/HRW are way too bright for our home decor. The best white I have sampled so far that I think ties the warm colors in our home with the white of our appliances is SW Pure White. It doesn’t seem to clash with anything, at least. Thoughts? Should we also try BM Oxford White or any others before making the final decision? Also, we are having new Clarino quartz countertops installed that area slightly warm white with taupe/beige accent colors. Backsplash is currently painted BM Shaker Beige which is what the whole wall color is in the kitchen. Wish we could replace all our appliances but that just isn’t going to happen. I think I’m almost there but would love your opinion.
I would love to know what you chose for your cabinets and if you are happy with your choice. I have similar undertones in my home and also considering white cabinets (and currently have white appliances).
Thank you!
Hello if painting the walls in a house oxford white what color would look best on the ceiling?? (i feel oxford white samplize samples looks too dark on the ceiling especially in the kitchen)
Hi! I am trying to decide on a white paint color for the exterior of my all brick, north-facing house. I want it to be white, but not stark white. And I plan on doing light beige shutters, maybe SW Agreeable Beige. I sampled BM White Dove, SW Pure White, and BM Oxford White. White Dove was too “dark”/beige for what we are looking for. I am torn between Pure White and Oxford White. From reading your blogs, it seems you lean more toward Pure White for the interior of a home due to Oxford White coming off as yellow at times, however I was wondering if your opinion is the same for the exterior of a home?
I’m confused. Is Oxford White the same color as White Heron? Both colors are listed in the title of this review but you do not mention White Heron, unless I completely missed it?
Hi Laurie! Benjamin Moore has many colors with different names – even though they’re the same color. So, Oxford White CC-30 is exactly the same as White Heron oc-57 🙂 I generally refer to the most COMMON na me used for the color.
Kylie, you are spot on with this post. A couple of years ago you gave me 2 options to paint my kitchen cabinets, SW Pure White, and BM Oxford White. I have St. Cecilia Granite, a little on the warm side. I opted for the Oxford White because it was closest to all the trim in my house. I wish I had went with Pure White, which was your first choice. I have an east facing kitchen and most of the time the cabinets look more cool than warm, and they have a hint of green. I’m having the hardest time trying to pick a white timeless subway tile now.
Hi Kylie, I’ve read lots and lots of your ideas on white paints. I have stock cabinets best color matched to BM Oxford white. If I do walls in kit and trim OW, what white should the ceiling be painted. I don’t want to make cabinets look yellow due to ceiling color? tiny kitchen, one window facing west mostly, with a bit towards North. Recessed lighting. THANKS
Hey Maria, if it were ME, I would keep going with Oxford White! It’s a reasonably bright white, so there’s no good reason to switch to a different white on your ceiling 😉
I have Oxford White paired with Boothbay Gray and Pale Oak and don’t see any yellow or green. I’ve also used it with Lullaby. It appears as a bright but softer white that strikes a right balance with lighter blue gray and taupe colors, especially in rooms with indirect natural light.
I have SW Lazy Gray on my living room walls, with 1 accent wall in SW Serious Gray. I want the trim to be white and stay in the cool palette, but not a stark white. I’m afraid Extra White may be too much. I was considering Oxford white until I saw that the under tones are green and yellow. Any other suggestions? I definitely don’t want a cream or yellow. My furniture is black.
Well, if you don’t want cream/yellow, you often end up with a relatively stark looking white. Your best bet might just be Extra White!
Hi My Name is Tim i am selling my condo it is vacant. My painter says I should paint all the walls with Benjamin Moore Regal Select Matt Finish color Oxford cc-30, and all the doors, trim, and baseboards in Benjamin Moore Scuff X Perl Finishing, color Oxford cc-30.
condo is 850 sf, the windows Face North, but there is another building 60 ft north of us. What do you think, will this look good?
Also, the flooring is a natural oak laminate finish. I have pictures if you need to see,
Currently on the walls is Behr Marquee, eggshell, enamel paint and primer, color Bakers Box
Baseboards, trim, doors, Behr Marquee, sem-gloss, enamel paint and primer, color Ulta pure white
Hey Tim, it can definitely depend on more finishes, like countertops, tiles, etc. Generally, I lean into BM White Dove over Oxford White – it’s a bit softer. Oxford Whtie has never been a huge fave of mine. I do love that he likes Regal and ScuffX – those are FANTASTIC. Many painters opt for the contractor’s grade, which is terrible – this tells me good things about him 🙂