Sherwin Williams White Duck: The best warm off-white a girl could ask for…
When it comes to paint colours that are neutral and versatile, White Duck is in my top five. With its unique blend and just-right depth, it’s a great option for everything from walls and cabinets to exterior siding and more!
In fact, I refer to White Duck ALL the time in my Online Paint Colour Consulting as it’s a great hybrid between the cool paint trends of the last five years and the warmer trends that we’re slowly dipping our toes into.
So, without further ado, let’s take a closer look at this bad boy…
What type of paint colour is Sherwin Williams White Duck? Is it warm or cool?
White Duck is a warm neutral paint colour that’s an AWESOME hybrid of cream and greige.
Greige is a blend of warm and cool – beige and gray, whereas cream is a yellow-based paint colour. If you have north-facing, afternoon eastern or morning western light, you may find White Duck leans that bit more into the greige, while still holding tight to its cream base. However, if you have south-facing light, White Duck will lean more into cream, without going OVERLY yellow.
Read more: North, East, South, West – Which Paint Colour is the Best?
Will White Duck look like a real cream paint colour?
Nope. While White Duck is definitely a warm paint colour with a creamy APPROACH, the greige calms it down considerably, making it look FAR less like a traditional cream paint colour!
If you love cream paint colours, but DON’T love yellow (which every cream has) this could be a FABULOUS choice for you as the yellow is cut CONSIDERABLY back, even in those warmer exposures.
BTW, if you’re looking for a REAL cream with less of that neutral base, check out Sherwin Williams Creamy.
What’s the LRV of White Duck?
White Duck’s LRV is 74, which parks it in the off-white range. It will hold itself a BIT better in a bright room compared to an off-white with a HIGHER LRV, but can still washout (learn more HERE). In a dark room, it can look a bit dingy (not like a fresh cream) if you don’t have good interior lighting to support it, in which case, you might also want to sample a warmer cream paint colour.
Not sure what LRV is? It could save your paint lovin’ life – read all about it HERE.
What are the undertones of White Duck? Will it look yellow?
White Duck has VERY neutral undertones with no obvious yellow, orange, pink or green. If you’re hoping for a more muted, greige approach, YES it could look a bit too creamy for you, but generally speaking, it’s NOT an overly yellow paint colour.
What’s the best way to sample White Duck?
Like with every paint colour, I highly recommend using SAMPLIZE. Samplize is a peel & stick paint sample that you can easily move around your room for over HALF THE COST of traditional sample pots – and they deliver right to your front door!
Learn all about SAMPLIZE HERE
If I’m painting my walls White Duck, what’s the best white paint colour for my trim?
With White Duck, I DO like the muted white approach of Sherwin Williams Pure White, but you can easily go brighter with High Reflective White.
White Duck on the walls
Read more: SHOULD I Paint My Wood Cabinets White? A QUESTIONNAIRE
Read more: The 4 Best White Paint Colours from Sherwin Williams
Is White Duck a good colour for the exterior of my home?
White Duck can be a FANTASTIC exterior colour for siding, brick or other surfaces. It has a passive warmth which will fall back in north or east-facing light but can lean creamier/warmer in south-facing or afternoon western light.
Read more: 5 Tips to Choosing an Exterior Paint Colour
AND DID YOU KNOW? I have an AWESOME Youtube channel, full of colour reviews, with dozens more waiting to be published – check it out HERE!
Is White Duck a popular off-white paint colour right now?
White Duck is definitely popular. More and more people are getting away from the cool, gray end of things, but aren’t QUITE into the creams and warm beige and tans yet. White Duck is a great way to get warmth without a golden approach.
What Benjamin Moore paint colours are the same as or similar to White Duck?
GOOD QUESTION! Every colour has its own particular nuances and there will be NO perfect match – you WILL see shifts in undertones, temperature and depths, but you could check out…
- Benjamin Moore Ballet White is very similar to White Duck
- Sherwin Williams Shoji White if you just want a slightly adjusted version, while sticking with Sherwin Williams
And if you’re thinking of colour matching between brands (ie: getting BM to make an SW paint colour), you might want to read THIS first.
Shown above, Benjamin Moore Ballet White
What type of paint colours look good with White Duck?
When it comes to paint partners for White Duck, there are MANY great options, such as…
- Gray paint colours that are the same depth or darker, particularly ones with a blue or blue-green undertone. It doesn’t love a purple undertone quite as much, but it can depend on which one you’re looking at
- Some greige paint colours, preferably a green undertone rather than purple
- Blue-green blends
- Navy blue and other dark accent colours
Not sure if White Duck is right for you? I’ve got more!
BENJAMIN MOORE BALLET WHITE
Read more: Paint Colour Review of Benjamin Moore Ballet White
THE BEST OFF-WHITE PAINT COLOURS
Read more: The 5 Best Off-White Paint Colours
Not sure which paint colour is best for YOUR home?
Check out my Online Paint Colour Consulting – I’d love to help!
KYLIE M INTERIORS E-DESIGN AND ONLINE VIRTUAL PAINT COLOUR EXPERT, SPECIALIZING IN BENJAMIN MOORE AND SHERWIN WILLIAMS PAINT COLORS DIY DECORATING AND DESIGN ADVICE BLOGGER
Hello
Your page Los saving me from a paint breakdown. I’m curious what trim color you would do with white duck ?
With White Duck I do like the soft look of SW Pure White or the cleaner approach of SW High Reflective White 🙂
What would you do for cabinets in the kitchen if you do white duck on the walls?
Hi Terri, it’s definitely MORE about what your countertop/backsplash look like as that combo is the most important. Generally speaking though, I might look at SW Pure White :).
I am trying to decide between Ballet White and White Duck. Your reviews of both colors mention that they are very similar. However when asked about trim color pairings with each color, with Ballet White you recommend White Dove and with White Duck one of the colors you recommend is Simply White. Why do you not recommend White Dove with White Duck? Thank you!
Thank you for introducing me to white duck!! I had been struggling to decide between cabinet colors, and this is the perfect solution. Now I just need to pick a wall color! Your recommendation to pair SW Pure White with it is helpful, but I was hoping to do a slightly warmer white. Would BM White Dove or SW Alabaster be a nice complement to SW White Duck? Thank you in advance – you rock!!! Great name by the way. 😉
KYLIE M! Well, at least we know there are THREE of us in the world! Sadly, Kylie Minogue gets most of the glory ;).
Now, I don’t dislike the idea of Alabaster, but PREFER the idea of White Dove as it’s just that bit more muted :). I hope that helps and i’d LOOOOOVE to see it all done!
haha I use Kylie Minogue as a reference when I try to get people to remember my name
And thank you!! Yes, it is a tough decision because our cabinet maker only uses SW and I was hoping to incorporate the wall color in our range hood. I will definitely share the final outcome (need to figure how to attach pictures first)!
THANK YOU SO MUCH! Cheers!
Hi! I’m in love with Ballet White but my contractor uses SW. You compare these two — I live up north and get little natural light. You say this could look dingy, and I’ve read that elsewhere. Is the same true of Ballet White?
Hi Sonya! If you are worried about Ballet White being a bit dingy, White Duck won’t be much better, as it’s slightly less warm. It’s LOVELY, but not a terribly clean colour. Have you looked at a colour like SW Creamy maybe???
What about pairing Greek Villa for trim and ceiling with
White duck for walls? It’s in the same color line. What are
Your thoughts on that?