Benjamin Moore Super White OC-152 / PM-1: Paint Color Review
Is this shade of white really that super? Let’s find out!
If you’re looking for the perfect shade of white, you’ve come to the right place. This blog post talks about the ins and outs of Benjamin Moore Super White. If you read the information below and decide this white isn’t for you, I have dozens more for you to explore!
IS SUPER WHITE A WARM, COOL, OR TRUE WHITE?
While Super White might look pretty darned white, it’s a slightly COOL white paint color. If you have north-facing light, this will be even more obvious; however, if you have south-facing or afternoon western sunshine, it will look warmer and softer.
Whites like this often look like ‘true, bright whites’ more than whites with similar LRVs but more warmth. Something in that slightly cool cast brightens things up nicely!
In the above photo, notice the shift in visual temperature between the wall on the far left (more northern) and the wall on the far right, which gets a hit of south-facing sun.
North, East, South, West – Which Paint Color is the Best?
WHAT’S SUPER WHITE’S LRV?
With an LRV of 87.36, Super White is pretty close to the TRUE white paint colors but has a tiny wink of softness. The WHITEST shades of white sit closer to 93+, but again, with that cool backdrop, Super White acts like a bright white even with its slightly reduced LRV.
Not sure what LRV is? It could save your paint lovin’ life – read all about it HERE.
WHAT ARE SUPER WHITE’S UNDERTONES?
With its high LRV and only cool approach, you won’t see many undertones in Super White – it’s pretty fab that way. Sure, there’s a wink of blue in there, but it rarely shows up at the party. But be careful; whites are well-known for picking up cues from their environment and exposure quite quickly, especially one with this LRV (or higher).
And it’s not just exposures that will cast their color on Super White; interior lighting can do the same, depending on the Kelvins you choose. If this bulb were a lower Kelvin (e.g., 2700), Super White would pick up some of that warmth…
When sampling other colors, I recommend putting them next to white paper. But I rarely do this with whites.
Why?
The cool white of paper can overexpose the undertones of a well-intentioned white. Sure, it doesn’t hurt to see how your white looks against paper, but don’t JUDGE it based on that comparison. The same goes for comparing it to any white on your computer screen!
Paint sampling just got a WHOLE LOT EASIER (and more fun, too!)
Get your Peel & Stick sample of Super White HERE!
WHAT’S THE BEST WHITE TRIM COLOR WITH SUPER WHITE WALLS?
Heck, if I’m painting my walls Super White, then I’m painting my trim Super White, letting the shift in sheen add any interest. If you want to get crazy and layer your whites, I’d go to one of the WHITEST white paint colors – preferably Behr Ultra Pure White.
And if you’re considering Super White with non-white walls, here’s how it can look…
SHOULD I Paint My Wood Cabinets White? A QUESTIONNAIRE
Benjamin Moore’s 8 Best White Paint Colors
IS SUPER WHITE A GOOD EXTERIOR COLOR
For siding or stucco, Super White can look super stark and unfriendly. This said, it can be a great option for a clean, crisp look on trims and garage doors.
5 Tips to Choosing an Exterior Paint Color
WHAT WHITE PAINT COLORS ARE SIMILAR TO SUPER WHITE?
It can be hard to match any paint color (impossible), but whites are the worst—which is why you shouldn’t try. Every color has its own particular nuances, and there will be no perfect match—you WILL see shifts in undertones, temperature, and depths. However, you could check out colors with similar intentions, such as…
- Sherwin Williams Ceiling Bright White (quite cool)
- Sherwin Williams High Reflective White (which can be tough to get)
- As well as these OTHER POPULAR WHITES.
And if you’re thinking of color matching between brands (ie: getting Benjamin Moore to make a Sherwin Williams paint color), you might want to read THIS first.
WHAT COLORS GO WITH BM SUPER WHITE?
Because Super White has a slight cool approach, it does have preferences when it comes to its paint partners, such as…
- Many shades of blue or purple paint colors
- Grays with a blue-purple undertone or blue-gray undertone
READ MORE
The Ultimate Guide to Choosing White Paint Colors
Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace Paint Color Review
The Best White Paint Colors with Gray Floors, Countertops, & More
NEED HELP?
Check out my Online Paint Color Consulting – I’d love to help!
WRITTEN IN 2020, UPDATED IN 2024
LOVE this review! Thank you! We are doing a renovation & have paint narrowed down so this review was very helpful! Could you please tell me do you feel it would be ok to use SuperWhite on ceilings and trim and do our walls Chantilly White? The rest of our trim/ceilings in house is SuperWhite. We could considering changing all to Chantilly White if you think the better option. We have lots & lots of natural light from the West.
Hi Kim, i would DEFINITELY stick with all Chantilly Lace 🙂
Hi Kylie, your blog is amazing!! Thank you for All your advice. I am currently painting my house with BM classic gray flat on walls and super white eggshell for all trim. Love love. I am stuck on the kitchen/family room. Is super white too white for kitchen cabinets? With classic gray walls? I want to get it right this one time because this is my third repaint of the house and my husband is over it ;). I am also attracted to everything being consistent so I worry about bringing in another white into the house. My backsplash is a warm mushroom/Greige color and absolute black granite tops. Thank you for your thoughts.
Hi Melanie! I do love consistency when it comes to having cabinets and trims the same white, so I would LEAN into using it again. ALTHOUGH with the mushroom/warm backsplash, I might’ve originally looked at Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace, which is still darn white, but just a bit softer :).
PLEASE! I need your help! I have been reading your blog post about paint colors for a year now. We are doing a new build and I had my heart set on chantilly lace for the ceilings (flat) and trim (semigloss) throughout the house. The painter came and he told me chantilly has a yellow undertone?! Everywhere I’ve read said it’s the cleanest brightest white with no undertones. I am thinking the basement and second floor in light pewter and first floor in Nimbus. We will have fabuwood Galaxy Frost white cabinets.
THANK YOU!
Sue
Thank you for this review! And the many others of so many shades of white. I feel like I already hired you. Super White is the paint we have picked for our family room!
We even used Samplize at your recommendation, and compared Decorator’s White, Chantilly Lace, and White Dove.
The problem we had to solve: we used Behr Sleek White based on a paint chip, without reading any of your blog posts. We put it in a room with bright southwest light and trees outside and… I’m sure you can guess what happened. Yellow-green walls.
Super White looks great! We’re putting it on soon.
Hi Kylie! Can you please help me solve this dilemma. I have white kitchen cabinets like in the picture of the bathroom you have posted in their article . They are Home Depot bright white cabinets. They have a slight bluish undertone.
What’s a good route to go for wall color? I’ve looked at and tried white dove (really nice but almost too white for my walls) , ballet white, gray mist even winds breath, etc but haven’t found anything too complimentary to the blue undertone. My counters are a cream with a blue gray, black and white. It would just make my day if you could offer a suggestion in the white / off white category.
What color was recommended? I have the same question for a sw facing kitchen.
Hi Anne! Sooooo, the thing is, your white-blue cabinets are going to call the shots and your BEST shot is to choose a gray with a soft blue undertone. As you’ve found out, trying the warmer end of things isn’t going to work as it can just highlight the blue (and make your walls look dingy/yellow in comparison). I know, probably not the news you wanted to get, but at least now you know!
Your next best bet is to take a cabinet door into SW or BM and have them color match it – see who can get the closest :).
Oh thank you so much for responding. I appreciate it so much!
I forgot to mention that my home is open concept and gets mainly north light… :/ so most any gray I tried would turn blue or purple lol.
I’m so happy you Answered 🙂 color matching the cabinet door is a great idea. Thank you!
Is BM white wisp along the lines of what you are thinking of for a soft blue undertone? Or paper white?
We painted our trim in our den super white with hale navy walls. We were planning to carry the super white trim throughout the house, because we love how clean it looks, but think it’s too white for our kitchen cabinets. Is there a way to do a creamier cabinet with super white trim or is the warm/cool difference too stark?
Thanks!
Hi Alison, I sure as heck wouldn’t! A softer creamier white will look dingy/yellow compared to Super White trim (I actually have a client dealing with this issue right now!). You’ll either want Super White cabinets or shift into the light/off-white depths so you don’t have two competing whites 🙂 https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/white-paint-colors-walls-cabinets-trim-do-they-need-to-match/
Wondering what color the blue door is above. Beautiful accent.
I love your blog!!! I just want to let you know that I was just looking at the Benjamin Moore website and they have changed the LRV for Super White to 87.36, down from 89.09. I think this change is quite recent. It means they now list Simply White as having a higher LRV than Super White, but that doesn’t seem right to me, so perhaps they will be changing the LRV of Simply White too. My new apartment, which is 100% south-facing, is being done in Super White, and it looks great. My current apartment, which is mostly north facing, is done in Simply White and also looks great. In both cases, I tested a lot of whites before choosing one that worked, and am so glad that I did. BTW, the reason I ended up with Super White is that my original painter, who I have since fired, refused to use Chantilly Lace, so this was a compromise. I’m happy with the color and don’t have regrets over it, but I wish I had fired the painter so much sooner. That early conversation about Chantilly Lace should have been a red flag.
Ahhh, thank you for this! They updated SO many LRVs and I’m updating them as I catch them – thank you! And yup, Simply White has already been adjusted. I feel that sometimes its the degree of YELLOW in colors (like Simply White) that throw our perception off whack. And yes, painters don’t like Chantilly Lace! I loooove it as a color, but boy, it sure doesn’t cover very well, it’s a huge PITA! This said, most painters will still do it, they just charge you for 1-2 extra coats as it often needs that! Poor on him to not do it (i mean, it is your home and your money, eh?).
Hi Kylie,
I don’t know why Benjamin Moore does this. Super White, under PM-1, is still classified as having a 89.09 LRV on the US website. Did they change one and not the other? It’s so confusing! 🙁
NO KIDDING! I checked it out, and you’re right. I guess they haven’t updated it yet as they should BOTH be 87.36!!!!
Hi Kylie,
We are looking for a true clean crisp white with no(to minimal)undertones and this is very helpful. There are a million whites out there.
If we painted all walls BM Super White do you recommend all trim, interior doors, and ceiling also to be Super White? Thanks.
You bet I do – like Frank’s Hot Sauce – put that $!*# on everything!