Benjamin Moore White Down: Undertones, Best Uses, & Real Homes
By Kylie
September 9, 2024
A subtle approach to cream…or is it?
Picking the best cream paint color for your home can be tough, as not only are they unpredictable, but they can vary wildly, from bordering on straight-up YELLOW to winking at the greige or beige end of things! So, to help you decide, we’re taking a close look at Benjamin Moore White Down, which just might be the perfect shade you’ve been looking for.
In order to show you RELATEABLE and REAL homes, I ONLY use photos from my Online Color Consulting clients. This means I don’t always have the quality pics I need (hence the ‘QUICK Review’), but I definitely have some super helpful info to help you on your way!
WHAT TYPE OF COLOR IS WHITE DOWN?
White Down is a cream paint color. However, unlike typical shades of cream, it offers a different approach as its undertones are far more muted (which we’ll get to shortly).
With White Down being subtle and muted, it could look a bit drab or dingy in north-facing light (the same goes for eastern afternoons or western mornings). However, if you have south-facing or afternoon western light, it will lean more into its warmth, picking up a considerable degree of yellow along the way!
North, East, South, West – Which Paint Color is the Best?
WHAT’S THE LRV OF WHITE DOWN?
White Down has an LRV of 78.25, making it an off-white paint color. The off-white range runs approximately 73-81. So, at 78, White Down is more or less in the middle of this range. If you have a super bright room, colors this light will wash out – you’ll need much more depth to avoid that.
Not sure what LRV is? It could save your paint lovin’ life – read all about it HERE.
WHAT ARE WHITE DOWN’S UNDERTONES?
So, here’s the deal…you can’t get cream without yellow – it’s like having good wine without grapes! However, the yellow in White Down is significantly reduced compared to many other cream paint colors, thanks to a soft gray undertone.
In the above photo, my client hired me to change her room from White Down into something more muted. However, I kept the photo showing White Down’s overall approach in an average room. It doesn’t work because it’s too yellow for the orange-pink and taupe tones in the fireplace stone. That being said, as far as cream paint colors go, it’s pretty tame.
To the RIGHT of the fireplace, notice how much more muted and subtle White Down can look!
Here’s your Peel & Stick sample of White Down…
WHAT’S THE BEST TRIM COLOR WITH WHITE DOWN WALLS?
With its pretty, soft warmth, White Down leans more toward warm whites than stark or cold ones, for example.
- Benjamin Moore Cloud White
- Benjamin Moore White Dove
SHOULD I Paint My Wood Cabinets White? A QUESTIONNAIRE
The 4 Best White Paint Colors from Sherwin Williams
IS WHITE DOWN A GOOD COLOR FOR KITCHEN CABINETS?
White Down can be a gorgeous choice for kitchen cabinets if your countertop needs more warmth than a traditional white or warm, soft-white paint color offers.
However, if you have a choice, warm shades of white offer much more versatility. White Down is most often used in homes with existing finishes (e.g., early 2000s Tuscan-style homes), country homes where a bit more charm is wanted, or slightly traditional homes.
Even then, use White Down cautiously, as it sets the stage for your whole home’s palette.
WHAT COLORS ARE SIMILAR TO WHITE DOWN?
You should never pick a paint color by itself. SAMPLE AND COMPARE similar shades to see shifts in undertones, temperature, and depths.
- If you’re worried that White Down lacks warmth/yellow/cream, check out Benjamin Moore Linen White; it could be the perfect shift.
- Benjamin Moore Ballet White is a great color to compare with White Down.
- For a more muted look with far more gray, Sherwin Williams White Duck is fabulous.
- Oooo, I LOVE Sherwin Williams Creamy, too!
Sherwin Williams White Duck
Benjamin Moore Ballet White
And if you’re thinking of color matching between brands (i.e., getting BM to make an SW paint color), you might want to read THIS first.
WHAT TYPE OF COLORS GO WITH WHITE DOWN?
White Down is a SUPER flexible and versatile neutral paint color, allowing you to explore colors for adjoining rooms like…
- A wide range of warm gray and greige paint colors.
- It looks beautiful in a palette with cool or stormy grays with a blue undertone.
- Some beige and tan paint colors (just not overly golden ones or pink undertones)
READ MORE
The 13 Best Cream Paint Colors
Warm Neutral, Off-White Paint Colors
8 Warm Neutral Paint Colors With NO Yellow Undertones!
NEED HELP?
Check out my Online Paint Color Consulting
ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IN 2020, UPDATED IN 2024
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Meet Kylie
Do you need help, but aren’t quite sure what ‘help’ looks like? Are you drowning in paint samples and decision fatigue?
Does every color you like at the paint store look terrible in your lighting or pick up a funky undertone? I’d love to help.
Hi, I’m Kylie
For over 24 years I’ve helped 12,000+ homeowners and renters make more confident decisions on paint colors and affordable home updates using real home examples and practical, experience-based advice. My goal is simple: help you love the home you have.
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Homeowner’s Guide: White Kitchen Cabinets
This isn’t another ’10 Best Cabinet Colors’ list, because there is no SINGLE best white for every home and every kitchen.
Learn how to choose a white cabinet paint color that works with your countertops, backsplash, flooring, trim, lighting, and home—so you can rule out the wrong whites, sample fewer colors, and choose with confidence.
158-page PDF – Instant Download
$34.95Accent Colors – And How to Use Them
This isn’t about plastering your home in the ‘Color of the Year’ or following the latest trends (unless you really want to).
It’s about finding accent colors that work with YOUR home, YOUR style, and YOUR comfort level.
Because the best accent color isn’t one you love on a paint chip, it’s one that makes everything around it look better.
118-Page PDF – Instant Download
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Homeowner’s Guide: Exterior Paint Colors
Painting your home’s exterior is a BIG investment and choosing a color based on a tiny paint chip, a trend or the house down the street can be an expensive mistake.
Learn how to look at YOUR roof, YOUR windows, YOUR brick (or stone) and YOUR home as a whole so you can understand what colors make sense.
The goal? Less guessing, fewer samples and a lot more confidence before gallons of paint go on your home.
206-page PDF – Digital Download
$44.95Exterior Trim Paint Colors
This isn’t a list of ‘the best trim colors’, although you’ll get a ton of links to great shades!
You’ll learn how to look at your home and understand whether it needs contrast, repetition, connection, or a little visual peacekeeping to pull it all together.
Because trim might seem like a small detail…but spread it around all four sides of your home on multiple surfaces and it suddenly has a pretty big job.
118-page PDF – Instant Download
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Comments
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I just had my dining room painted white down and kitchen painted elephant tusk. My cabinets are honey maple and my dining room furniture is dark woods and warm white with yellow undertones. I like the elephant tusk but the white down looks a little cool with my furniture. Thinking I should have gone with Berber White which leans more tan. Either my eyes need to adjust or I need to paint the furniture or repaint the walls. Do you think I should give it a couple weeks?
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I painted my west facing bathroom in White Down, fixtures are unfortunately beige with beige bath tiles. Painted woodwork in white and white tile floor. Thank you for the early recommendations for west facing rooms. It looks fabulous! Thank you again.
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Hi,
I’m doing my kitchen over . I just sent my maple cabinets out to be painted Benjamin Moore White down. What would be a good wall color. My quarts is white with swirls of silver&holds. My tile floor suede look sand & cream same goldish tan in the counter. I would love any suggestions. I’ll try to attach floor and counter.-
Hi Carmella! I would worry that White Down could be pretty yellow for a white quartz – even White DOVE can be tough sometimes and it’s more of a warm white!
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Hi Kylie. Thank you so much for all of your helpful advice. I have a log home that has pine tongue and groove walls and ceilings and all of it was stained when the house was built 50 years ago. Over time the stain color has aged to an orangy-honey color that we are determined to change. To lighten up this wood work, we’ve decided to paint the tongue and groove walls only. We’re teetering between White Down and Ballet White and just don’t know how these will react to that orangy-honey stain color on the ceiling. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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Ooo, it’s definitely hard to say without seeing it, but off the top, it sounds like a slighlty more beige color (having an orange undertone) could be better than these more cream (yellow) based colors? Have you looked at colors like BM Muslin and Maritime White?
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I used Linen White. I absolutely love how warm it is.. it’s too bad it’s too yellow for me. My small kitchen has both mixture of bright light in the morning and on the darker side for the rest of day. When it’s bright it’s too yellow. I don’t like it. But later on it while it’s still yellow it does give that warm feel, which I really like. So which color do I go with? White down as you said? It’s more subdued. Or go even less yellow like white dove?
I want it to be creamy with as minimal yellow as possible. I do like yellow but it’s all wrong for my kitchen. -
How do you think this would pair with revere pewter on the trim and moldings
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I think White Down would be a bit too strong.
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Is White Down going to look dingy next to buttecream kitchen cabinetry? I want my dining room to look less yellowish but there is no line of delineation between the upper and lower kitchen cabinets on one side.
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Oooo, I’d have to see to say for sure, but i BET it is.
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Hi Kylie!
I have read some much on your website and choose Edgecomb Gray for our family room and I am loving it!!I need advice for a creamy paint color for my kitchen/living/dining room open floor plan (bilevel home)My home is East facing and my cupboards are what I refer to as American walnut warm toned. Can you please help me decide what colors would work? Please and Thank you .
P.s. disregard the flooring as we are placing that! 🙂🙂-
Hi Phyllis, I”m glad my info has been helpful! I often steer readers to my Online Consulting at this point, as while I love to offer a ton of complimentary info, this girl’s also got to pay her bills :). I’d also need to see photos of the space and know a little more 🙂 https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/hire-kylie/
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