Benjamin Moore White Down OC-131: Paint Color Review
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
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?
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.
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!
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!
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?
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
I think White Down would be a bit too strong.