Benjamin Moore Winds Breath: my new FAVE neutral paint colour
When it comes to warm neutral paint colours, you get to choose between colours like warm grays, taupes, beiges and creams. But what if you can’t decide? What if you want a little bit of them ALL? This is where Winds Breath comes in handy and is why we’re taking a closer look at it today with its COLOUR REVIEW!
BEFORE YOU GET STARTED…
In order to show you RELATEABLE & REAL homes, I ONLY use photos from my Online Colour Consulting clients. This means I don’t always have the quality photos I need or the RIGHT photos, but DEFINITELY have some SUPER helpful info to help you on your way!
What type of paint colour is Winds Breath? Is it warm or cool?
Winds Breath is a WARM paint colour; hovering between the worlds of warm taupe and beige, making it QUITE the hybrid (there’s even a TINY nod towards cream)! With the flexibility of Winds Breath, it’s a great option when you need a paint colour that doesn’t commit hard to one shade of neutral or another. This can be handy when you have tricky finishes to accommodate.
In this next photo, see how Winds Breath isn’t quite as beige as Sherwin Williams Accessible Beige (top) nor as warm and creamy as Benjamin Moore Ballet White.
However, with the degree of flexibility in Winds Breath, you can expect it to lean a bit more into taupe in north-facing rooms or those with a flat eastern light – not NEARLY enough to make it gray, but these natural lights can mute the warmth of Winds Breath a bit.
On the other hand, if you have south-facing light or warm afternoon sunshine, Winds Breath will lean into its warmth, without looking overly golden or creamy.
North, East, South, West – Which Paint Colour is the Best?
What’s the LRV of Winds Breath?
Winds Breath has an LRV of 70, which puts it on the HIGH side of the light range. With this higher LRV, if your room has average or brighter light, it could act more like an off-white. If your room is SUPER bright, Winds Breath will definitely wash out, as will any paint colour in this range.
On the other hand, if you have a DARK or low-light room, because it’s a warm neutral, Winds Breath could look a BIT drab. Make sure you improve your interior lighting and partner it with a relatively clean white trim colour.
Not sure what LRV is? It could save your paint lovin’ life – read all about it HERE.
How to Make a Dark Room Look Brighter – and it ain’t with paint!
The Best LIGHT Paint Colours for a DARK room
What are the undertones of Winds Breath? Will it look pink?
Winds Breath is DEFINITELY a complicated warm neutral paint colour. While its undertones are VERY subtle, it can pick up a very gentle taupe (pink-violet), but can ALSO lean that bit into cream in certain situations. HOWEVER, even if you’re sensitive to these undertones, they’re so subtle that you might not even notice them at all!
These next two photos are BY FAR, the creamiest you can expect Winds Breath to look…
What’s the best way to sample a paint colour?
Let’s take a quick break to talk about paint samples…
Undoubtedly, you’ll be heading out in the near future to grab paint samples – stop right there! I want you to check out SAMPLIZE. Samplize offers peel and stick paint samples that are more AFFORDABLE, EASIER and more ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY than traditional paint pots. Here are just a FEW reasons why I recommend Samplize to my clients…
- samples arrive ON YOUR DOORSTEP in 1 DAY, depending on location
- they’re more affordable than the samples pots/rollers/foam boards that are needed for traditional paint sampling
- if you keep the samples on their white paper, you can move them around the room
Visit the SAMPLIZE website HERE
What’s the best white trim or cabinet colour with Winds Breath?
- Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace
- Sherwin Williams Pure White
3 Steps to Picking the Best White Paint Colour
The 8 Best Benjamin Moore White Paint Colours
Paint Colour Review: Benjamin Moore White Dove
Is Winds Breath a good exterior paint colour?
When my Online Paint Colour Consulting clients are looking for exterior colours, they’re usually looking for colours that are a bit more COMMITTED to something – usually WHITE or a colour with a bit more depth or body (ie. LRV of 55 or lower).
If you choose Winds Breath, EXPECT it to lean warmer. And whereas that wink of cream isn’t always as noticeable on walls, you can expect it to show up more on an exterior.
5 Tips for Choosing an Exterior Paint Colour
Is Winds Breath a popular colour for kitchen cabinets?
With off-white and light depth cabinet colours being so on-trend, Winds Breath could be a good choice. Just remember, because of its LRV, it takes up this colour slot. This means that your walls will either need to be the SAME colour, WHITE, or a colour in the light-medium range with SIMILAR undertones to get any kind of contrast. This can be VERY LIMITING in the short-term and long-term.
Also, just as with exteriors, Winds Breath often looks a BIT warmer than expected on cabinets!
How to Choose the Best White Paint Colour for Your Kitchen Cabinets
The Best Paint Colours for Kitchen Island & Bathroom Vanities
The 4 Best Gray & Greige Paint Colours for Kitchen Cabinets & Vanities
What paint colours are similar to Winds Breath for some comparisons?
Every paint colour has its own personality and nuances – there will be NO perfect match. You can fully expect to see shifts in undertones, temperature, and depths, but you could check out…
- Sherwin Williams Egret White
- Benjamin Moore Classic Gray
- Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray (a bit darker and more grounded)
And if you’re thinking of colour matching between brands (ie. getting Benjamin Moore to make a Sherwin Williams paint colour), you might want to read THIS first.
What type of paint colours go with Winds Breath in a colour palette?
- cool grays with blue or blue-green undertones that are DARKER than Winds Breath
- relatively clean and simple whites
- some GORGEOUS blue-green blends, particularly more muted ones
Not sure if Winds Breath is your perfect colour?
READ MORE
Paint Colour Review Benjamin Moore Pale Oak
Paint Colour Review of Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray
Paint Colour Review of Sherwin Williams Egret White
Paint Colour Review of Sherwin Williams Aesthetic White
Not sure which paint colour is best for YOUR home?
Check out my Online Paint Colour Consulting – I’d love to help!
Chat soon,
Thanks for reviewing this color. Would you use it on walls with Edgecomb Gray cabinets in a bright space? Other suggestions?
Love, love, love your blog!! Please share your thoughts on Edgecomb Gray and Winds Breath with honey oak trim.
Author
BEAUTIFUL! I see no problem with this – of course, I say that without seeing your space :).
Thank you for this! This article was validation for my decisions and feelings about Winds Breath. It is my favorite paint color in my house. I used it with SW pure white trim and have it in the majority of my—smaller sized—townhouse. It brightens things up, but still feels welcoming. It is adjacent to a room with magnolia home’s Emmie’s Room (blue/green) and I think it works well. After all of my painting mistakes it was nice to find WB, it just is calming and doesn’t yell at you when you walk in the room. I’m about to have my bedroom repainted with WB after making the mistake of FB peignoir (way more purple than the test pot..I needed to sample a larger size…ahhh!!!).
Love your color expertise and humor! Thinking of using winds breath or edgecomb grey on our walls(southeast light) and doing the cabinets in requisite grey. do you think either wall color would look ok w the cabinet color and compliment each other ok???
Just painted kitchen in Winds Breath…it looks green in natural light. Any suggestions?
Author
Hi Terri, that’s likely coming from the outside and one way to balance that is with colours that have a bit more taupe (violet-pink or pink) in them :).
Hi, I had my Kitchen cabinets painted in Windsbreath. I am looking for a white for my walls. I’m having a hard time choosing. Our trim has been painted in Pure White. Do you have any suggestions? I was looking at Chantilly Lace.
Author
If you have Pure White trim already I HIGHLY SUGGEST using Pure White on the walls too. Chantilly Lace could make your trim look dingy/darker in comparison!