Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace (OC-65): Undertones, LRV, & Best Uses
Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace is a bright, warm white paint color. It works beautifully on interior trim and doors, kitchen cabinets, and walls.
Its slightly warm-leaning undertone can influence how Chantilly Lace coordinates with interior finishes. It’s also greatly affected by lighting conditions.
When finding the best white paint color for your project, Chantilly Lace is a great place to start, whether you’re painting walls, cabinets, trims, or even your exterior. However, even though it’s badass and beautiful, it’s not always the best white for the job.
This is why we’re diving deeper today with a close-up look at this gorgeous white paint color…
WHY IS CHANTILLY LACE SO DARN POPULAR?
Some whites are super creamy and warm, while others are stark and cool—not Chantilly Lace. This gorgeous shade of white bridges the world between warm and cool, offering a relatively neutral, true-white experience.
This isn’t to say Chantilly Lace is a true white; however, as far as Benjamin Moore is concerned, it’s THE WHITEST shade of white!
But that’s not to say it’s the whitest white ever, as Behr, Kelly Moore, and Sherwin Williams take those top spots (I’ll post the links later at the end of this article). Even though there are brighter whites, if you love Benjamin Moore paint, I won’t hesitate to say that Chantilly Lace is a great way to get a gorgeous, relatively true white look.
IS CHANTILLY LACE A WARM OR COOL WHITE?
Being a relatively clean, simple white, Chantilly Lace will flex greatly depending on your exposure and interior finishes. Sure, it has a wink of warmth, but you’d hardly know it unless you compare it to a real, true white or a cool one.
Like every white, its high LRV means it will change a lot depending on your room’s exposure and interior lighting. For example, if you have a north-facing light, it might pick up a subtle, cool, grayish cast. If you have south-facing light or even afternoon western light, you’ll see it leaning a bit warm, without looking as warm as a traditional warm white paint color would.
North, East, South, West – Which Paint Color is the Best?
WHAT’S CHANTILLY LACE’S LRV?
Chantilly Lace has an LRV of 90.4, which puts it well into the white range. While it isn’t the WHITEST WHITE, it can act that way in the absence of a brighter white. In fact, I find some of the brighter whites (with higher LRVs) can come off a bit sharp or harsh. The beauty of Chantilly Lace is that it offers the appeal of a clean white without looking as stark.
Not sure what LRV is? It could save your paint-lovin’ life – read all about it HERE.
WHAT ARE CHANTILLY LACE’S UNDERTONES?
The great thing about Chantilly Lace is that it has very little undertone (color or gray), meaning it’ll act like white—more so than most other Benjamin Moore white paint colors. Sure, it has a wee tiny wink of warmth, but it’s fractional, at best.
If you read that Chantilly Lace has a blue undertone, don’t mind that. It seems this way if you compare it to the surrounding colors in the fan deck. However, if you separate it from its friends, it’s a very slightly warm white.
WHICH WHITE GOES WITH CHANTILLY LACE?
So, you want to know which shade of white goes best with Chantilly Lace. The answer is…Chantilly Lace. Sure, it can humor a wide range of whites, but its best partner is itself.
Why?
When you play two whites off each other, one will highlight the undertones/softness/temperature in the other. In most cases, Chantilly Lace is the brighter of the two whites. This can make a white with a lower LRV look dingy, yellow, blue, pink, or purple – just in comparison.
White Walls, Trims, & Cabinets: Do They Need to Match?
- If you paint your walls Chantilly Lace, I 100% suggest painting your trim/cabinets Chantilly Lace as well to avoid contrasting undertones.
- If you have Chantilly Lace trim/cabinets and want a white for your walls (and don’t want to reuse it), your walls should be a darker shade of white (lower LRV) than Chantilly Lace. Compare your chosen white to CL to make sure you like what you see.
- It would be best if you didn’t have Chantilly Lace walls and a darker white on the trim and cabinets – it’s ass-backwards.
- BLOG POST: Which Two White Paint Colors Go With Each Other?
However, if you’re okay with mixing and matching, knowing that Chantilly Lace will make MOST other whites look a bit off-white or creamy (or at the worst, dingy or cold), you could explore colors like Benjamin Moore White Dove…
Chantilly Lace cabinets, White Dove walls
Is White Still TRENDY for Walls, Cabinets, & Exteriors?
Get your Samplize Peel & Stick of Chantilly Lace!
IS CHANTILLY WHITE A GOOD EXTERIOR PAINT COLOR?
If you want to paint your exterior siding or brick white, it certainly could be. White is also a great choice for trim and garage doors, providing a clean contrast with the main color.
However, white is DAMN REFLECTIVE, and you’ll have a bright white home if you paint your siding, brick, or stucco this shade of white. If this is what you want, awesome possum. However, many paint their exteriors softer, flexible, warm off-whites to avoid an overly bright look.
5 Tips for Choosing an Exterior Paint Color
IS CHANTILLY LACE THE MOST POPULAR SHADE OF WHITE?
According to Samplize, it’s the top shade of white. But because many people have sampled it doesn’t mean it’s the best. Sure, it’s in my TOP 3, but it doesn’t beat the flexibility and popularity of Sherwin Williams Pure White and Benjamin Moore White Dove.
The 4 Most Timeless Shades of Beige
Why?
THE CHALLENGE WITH CHANTILLY LACE
Chantilly Lace is gorgeous once the dust settles. However, getting to the finish line with this shade of white is tough. This is because Chantilly Lace doesn’t have great coverage. Sure, every shade of white struggles as whites don’t have a ton of tint in them, but more so than others, Chantilly Lace is well-known for its pure coverage.
Chantilly Lace built-ins with a lightened version of Edgecomb Gray on the walls
For white to look its best and most solid, you need three coats of paint. And depending on which color you’re painting over, you might even need a coat of primer to start. Again, all whites are harsh, even a soft white like Benjamin Moore’s White Dove. However, the brighter a white is, the more challenging it can be.
The great thing is that Benjamin Moore uses Titanium White in their paints, which has decent coverage. Ask your paint store to top up the gallon of paint with extra white tint, which can help with the coverage.
All the same, expect to paint at least three coats.
Top to bottom – High Reflective White, Super White, Chantilly Lace, Decorators White
WHAT COLORS ARE SIMILAR?
There is no perfect match amongst shades of whites, especially with Chantilly Lace. Sure, once you hit the true whites, you can get pretty darn close, but once you have even a slightly lower LRV, a white will have its undertones. However, I love comparing a few shades with Chantilly Lace when looking for the best white for walls, cabinets, or trims.
- Sherwin Williams White Snow is awesome and comparable to Chantilly Lace. Its LRV and overall approach to being ‘white with a tiny wink o’ softness’ is similar. However, it’s in the Emerald Designer Collection, so it’s more expensive.
- You might also check out Sherwin Williams High Reflective White, a brighter, truer white. It’s awesome sauce, but it’s not as easy to get.
- If you’re craving a bit more warmth than Chantilly Lace offers, take a boo at Benjamin Moore Simply White.
- The best way to figure out which white is best for your home is to COMPARED popular shades. Make your sampling life easier with…
A CURATED Warm White Color Bundle
Also, brands can’t color-match each other’s whites – if they say they can, it’s not true. Sure, they can get similar or close, but when dealing with undertones and whites, close isn’t good enough for this color cowgirl.
What Are the WHITEST White Paint Colors?
Here’s another image showing some good comparables (with warm natural light)…
Pure White | Chantilly Lace | White Dove | High Reflective White
WHAT COLORS GO WITH CHANTILLY LACE
Being a brighter shade of white with fractional warmth, Chantilly Lace is one of the most flexible and versatile white paint colors. However, there are a few things to consider…
- It loves cool shades like blue, green, and violet and neutrals with these undertones. I’d name some, but the list is pretty massive (it’s hard to go wrong).
- It often comes down to the contrast you want to see. Many colors look good with Chantilly Lace, Benjamin Moore White Dove, or Sherwin Williams Pure White. Chantilly Lace gives a cleaner contrast, whereas the other two offer a slightly softer but still white look.
- As for warm colors, Chantilly Lace loves them and looks great with a wide range of creams, tans, and beiges. If you already have Chantilly Lace, sample it with the warm color you’re exploring and see how things look. However, warmer colors usually prefer a warmer shade of white. This isn’t to say it doesn’t work, but if you’re starting from scratch, you can probably do better (check out some of the popular warm shades of white from Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams).
Not sure if Chantilly Lace is right for you? Want a bit warmer or cooler? I’ve got more!
READ MORE
The 8 Best Benjamin Moore White Paint Colors
The Ultimate Guide to White Paint Colors
Not sure which paint color is best for YOUR home?
Check out my Online Paint Color Consulting – I’d love to help!
ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IN 2020, UPDATED IN 2024
Hi Kylie – I am learning so much about paint colours from your site! If I were to paint a room say chantilly white walls and trim – what do you recommend for the ceiling?
Thanks Susan
Hi Susan, I would DEFINITELY do Chantilly on the ceiling too! Just in flat finish :).
Hi Kylie, I am painting my walls white and after reading your reviews, narrowed down to 2 colors: BM Chantilly Lace and BM Simply White. Which of these 2 would you recommend for an east-facing room?
Many thanks, Gina
Oooo, it can depend on the interior finishes, but the wink of yellow in Simply White can be nice to counteract the flat time of day (afternoon).
Hi Kylie,
We have been reading your articles and watching your videos, and really appreciate all the information you have to offer. We are in the process of picking colors for our new construction and have reached a bit of a road block. Our thoughts were to stay fairly neutral with BM Revere Pewter for walls throughout most of house, accent wall of BM New Providence Navy in office and son’s room, accent wall of BM Weston Flax in daughters room and BM Chantilly Lace for trim and doors. Our issue is that we can not determine what a good ceiling white would be. What would you recommend?
Much thanks,
Don & Kay
Hi Don and Kay! If you’re doing Chantilly Lace on the trim and doors, I HIGHLY recommend using it on the ceiling as well, just to keep the whites consistent so you don’t have undertones popping up here and there :).
Kylie,
Thank you so much, we really appreciate it. My wife wanted to know if you have ever worked with BM Boothbay Gray? She was thinking about painting the bathrooms that color with the trim, doors and crown Chantilly Lace. The bathrooms have either north or east facing light. We just cant find that much info on it….and if not, what gray would you recommend that would be a nice transition from Revere Pewter that is in the other rooms.
We also wanted to thank you for the introduction to Samplize, we have placed two orders already… its been a big help….
Don & Kay
Hi Kylie,
First time homeowner here. We like Chantilly Lace and settled into either using it as trim against Calm, per your suggestion, or Chantilly Lace on both walls and trim in all our rooms. However when we told our painter, he said CL has poor hide; requiring 3-4 coats to cover existing colors. Do you have any alternative suggestions or ways to modify CL?
Thank you, your content has been incredibly helpful!
Di
Hi Di! Well, MOST whites are terrible for coverage when they’re brighter whites. What helps is a) a higher quality paint and b) asking the paint tech to top up the gallon of paint with white tint. This gives the paint a BIT more of a backbone. Also, make sure you do PRIMER first if your walls aren’t already white, just to give yourself a better white base to cover :).
Hi Kylie!
Love your helpful info. We have a two story foyer and stairwell where the existing window pane molding (under a chair rail) is painted BM White semi-gloss (the premixed white you can just grab at store). We decided to have carpenter install molding all the way up the foyer and stairwell walls and plan to paint all white. I’m worried semi-gloss will be too shiny on the walls as we have windows in stairwell, as well as over and on either side of front door. Would satin finish work, and if so should I just use the premixed BM White in satin to match the color of the trim already installed? I’m also debating just painting everything (existing and new molding) in a custom white color in satin finish like Chantilly Lace or Simply White? Hallway adjoining the stairwell is BM Light Pewter. Any help you could provide I’d appreciate! Thanks.
Hi Kylie, we are confused between 1) Simply white cabinets with Chantilly lace walls or 2) Chantilly lace cabinets with Simply white walls. We are going to paint the island dark gray. Would love to get your thoughts and suggestions. Thanks!
i HIGHLY suggest having the WHITEST white on the cabinets. PERSONALLY, i would choose just one white for all surfaces so that the yellow in Simply White doesn’t pop up :).
Thank you!! We are now doing Chantilly Lace on the cabinets and Kendall Charcoal on the island! Thanks for the suggestion 🙂
Would you recommend a bit of contrasting wall color to the Chantilly Lace cabinets? Something like BM classic gray or BM Decorators White which has a bit of gray undertone? Or you recommend going Chantilly lace on the walls as well? We have low ceiling 8”, and not a lot of natural light in the family room area which extends from the kitchen.
Your blogs and comments have been extremely helpful in our decision making, thank you!
Hi I was your article on whites love it but now I’m questioning my choices. Our new master bathroom has all white(vanity, claw foot tub, matte white subway tile and a white porcelain floor tile that has a vintage grey/blue design) decent west facing widow I was going with simply white I didn’t notice any yellow, but I have an adjoining master bedroom I may also paint white and it’s south facing I really don’t want the yellow look so would it be a better choice to go with Chantel lace for both rooms?
YES!!! Oh wait, was that my inside voice? I mean, I haven’t seen your room, but right off the bat, the yellow worries me with the other whites. Your other whites are MORE likely true or even slightly cool whites and I would be darn nervous with Simply White! Also check out SW High Reflective White :).
Hi! We are debating doing White Dove on everything (walls, ceiling, trim) in different finishes vs White Dove on walls and trim, but Chantilly Lace (or some other whiter white) on the ceiling. We have a few high ceilings, but a few 8 ft ones (also in the darker part of the house boooo) and are worried White Dove might seem too dark on the ceiling there. Would it be weird to do different ceiling colors (probably yes ha).
I tried to look through some posts to see if you recommend matching ceiling or not (even in darker spaces) but didn’t find anything. Appreciate any thoughts, thanks!
Hi Maya! We have some rooms too that are 8′ ceilings and have White Dove on the ceiling just for consistency. What about doing White Dove 25% lighter up there, for a weee shift, but keeping the undertones the same. You just don’t want the white of the ceiling making your walls look yellow or dingy ‘in comparison’. 🙂
Hi there! Love your stuff. We have Chantilly lace all upstairs including the hall way and trim. Our downstairs is all cameo white Benjamin Moore (not our choice) is there a color trim that would tie together the two well? The Chantilly lace trim on the stair trim is too white for downstairs and I’m unsure which color goes with both parts of the house!
Thinking of painting the majority of our house chantilly white, but plan to re-paint our cabinets. We’re thinking behrs ultra pure white for the cabinets, but do you think they would look too similar? The kitchen is in the south facing part of the house.
Hi Jess, there would be a small shift between cabinets and walls, but nothing SUPER noticeable 🙂
Hi there! Your articles are SO helpful!!! I’m in a bit of a pickle. My contractor already painted the ceilings of our home SW Extra White and the walls SW Toque White. I planned on doing SW Pure White for the kitchen cabinets, trim, and doors.
BUT – We recently learned that our cabinet maker can only paint our kitchen cabinets, trim, and doors with BM paint. What white color do you recommend from BM that’s not too cool (house is warmer with neutral tones), bright (concern bec ceiling is already painted with SW Extra White which has a 87 LRV) or dark (so cabinets don’t look dirty!)?
For background, we have white gold Calcutta tile flooring and plan to have similar look for our kitchen island and backsplash. Thanks so much!
Oh wow. Okay, so it can be tough to pull off two different whites in a space, especially when their other partner is a very subtle off-white (Toque White). The thing is, one white will expose the undertones in another. Toque White is off-white with a subtle pink undertone, so you will have to be very careful to avoid green and yellow undertones. You’re in a tough spot but seems to me like BM Chantilly Lace could be your best bet – avoid Simply White, Cloud White, White Dove, and any of the yellow-based ones like them :).
Thank you so much! I may just bite the extra money bullet and repaint the ceiling chantilly white as well to match the cabinets, trim, and doors 🙂
Hi Kylie,
Many many thanks for all the good info and amazing expertise!!
I have a 1100 sq ft contemporary condo with lots of abstract expressionist paintings. I have a north facing so I don’t get any direct light. I’m debating between BM White Dove and BM Chantilly Lace and will paint the ceiling the same. What is your recommendation?? Btw my kitchen cabinets are White Dove. Thanks so much! -randi
Well, if your cabinets are White Dove, I would 100% do White Dove! If you do Chantilly Lace, White Dove will look more yellow in comparison, which isn’t a great look for a cabinet/wall combo like this :).
Hi! Loving your informative articles on paint! Thank you! We are repainting our kitchen: walls are currently chantilly lace and we are keeping this color (it is all through the house). We were going to paint the cabinets BM Super White. Is this a bad idea? Or should we just do cabinets Chantilly Lace but with a different sheen than the walls? Counters are honed marble. The room does. It get a ton of light E and South windows. Thank you so much!!
WEllll, if it were me, I would definitely keep going with Chantilly Lace for consistency! You’ll see a bit of a shift with the change in sheen 🙂
Hi! Love your article and we just got our living room painted in Chantilly Lace, however the painter did a match at Behr instead of the Benjamin Moore original which we had requested. I’m now finding it has a bit of a green undertone, especially noticeable in the early am and am unsure if the colour match is wrong or this is normal and it is reflecting outside greenery. We used samplize and it is close but I do see a very slight difference. Should it have a green undertone?
Thank you!
Hiya! It ‘shouldn’t’ be hitting green on you, but being white and having a high LRV it’s very lukely that it’s picking up your exterior, especially if it’s at a certain time of day vs other times! But yes, nothing drives me more crazy than a painter who does ‘their own thing’ and thinks you won’t notice!
Hi !!
I’m looking for the perfect white for a bathroom to keep the space clean and bright looking with contrasting dark floor tile! Would chantilly lace be what you recommend?
I do LOOOVE Chantilly Lace. Just ask them to top it up wiht white tint, as it doesn’t cover well. Additional white tint can help (as their tint actually has titanium in it, which helps with coverage).
I’m having my kitchen cabinets painted in Chantilly Lace – the walls are SW Agreeable Gray – what’s best for the trim ?
DEFINITEY, Chantilly Lace – it’s best to keep the whites consistent :).
Hi! Thank you so much for this review of BM Chantilly Lace! Behr claims that Whipped Cream (DC-001) is a dupe for it. Any experience or thoughts? Thanks!
Hmmm, interesting, I’ll have to check it out – thank you!
Stef I have the same question?? Did you test it out?!
Hi Kylie, thank you for your incredibly helpful blog! I chose Grant Beige for my kitchen with light cream cabinets (sigh) and thought of using White Dove for trim and ceiling in that kitchen. We are also repainting living room that’s connected to kitchen (open floor plan) and want to use Maritime White for walls there (it’s dark first floor with muted east light). I wanted to use White Dove for ceiling and trim but now that seems too yellow for Maritime White walls? Any advice for the white to use for ceiling and trim on that whole floor? I would be so grateful!! Thank you so much!!
Hey Yana, check out Sherwin Williams Pure White which will be a soft white still, but not as warm as White Dove 🙂
Thank you so much, Kylie! I will get that paint!! I got the “grant beige” for the kitchen based on your other blog post on best paint for cream cabinets and it’ll be so much better than what we were considering before! I appreciate your blog so much and thank you for your prompt response, as I have to get the paint today! I’ll be a client in the near future when I have more than 12 hours to make the decision! Have an amazing day and thank you again.
My home was just painted with SW alabaster. My cabinets are high reflective white. I love a warm feel in a room, but don’t want the walls to look too creamy. I am wanting to bring in lots of green plants and wondered if you recommend keeping the alabaster color, or changing it to high reflective white to match the cabinets? Countertops are also quartz…off white shade in color.
Hi Kylie,
I have spent hours this evening reading all your posts on whites and kitchen cabinets. Thank you.
I have the dilemma of all white appliances for now….will be getting new countertop and backsplash so nothing to match there…..I read all about the 5 types of white….understand that I can not use warm white on these cabinets……so what would be considered a soft cool white? Was hoping for Pure White but I assume now too warm, Chantilly Lace too bright?