The ULTIMATE GUIDE to Choosing White Paint Colours

How to Pick Your Home’s BEST White Paint Colour

When choosing the best white paint colour for your walls, cabinets, trims, and ceilings, it doesn’t REALLY matter which white you like; in fact, your preferences come at the bottom of the pile. That’s right, amongst the variety of things to consider, your personal tastes rank pretty low compared to the needs of your HOME.

This is why we’re looking at some of today’s most popular white paint colors and what goes into picking the best one for your home. The topics we’ll be covering include…

• learning about the FIVE TYPES of white paint colors

• learning about the main UNDERTONES in white paint colors

• how to choose a white paint color that suits your INTERIOR FINISHES and style

• how to choose a white paint color that suits your room’s EXPOSURE (north, south, etc…)

• how to MIX & MATCH white paint colors in a room (and whether you even should)

• links to the TOP white paint colors and their FULL COLOR REVIEWS

But before we get into the meat n’ potatoes, let’s talk about the HIERARCHY of choosing the best white paint colors for your home. What does this mean? It means you should follow a chain of command when choosing paint colors, and here it is…

The FOUR THINGS that matter the MOST when choosing a white paint color

1. INTERIOR FINISHES

Your interior finishes call the BIG shots. If your paint colors don’t coordinate with your interior finishes, your up shit’s a very muddy creek.

2. YOUR HOME’S EXISTING PALETTE

If your current paint color palette already uses a consistent white, especially as it relates to trims, there’s a good chance you need to keep going with this white to avoid a hot mess of white madness (read more about this).

3. EXPOSURE

The exposure of your room will DIRECTLY affect how warm or cool a white paint color looks.

4. PERSONAL TASTES

Guess who comes in last place – you! But don’t take it personally, as putting your tastes aside will be your BEST chance of finding the best white paint color for your space. Remember, if you love a color that doesn’t suit your interior finishes, you shouldn’t use it.

Why do you need all of this info?

Because if you focus on the white YOU love without considering these other topics, there’s a good chance you’ll end up with the WRONG white. If this happens, you’ll be tossin’ BACK the white (wine) as you sob in a corner hyperventilating and twitching uncontrollably (it’s actually quite therapeutic).

Sherwin Williams High Reflective White

LET THE GAMES…BEGIN!

What are the FIVE types of white paint colors?

That’s right, five. But don’t be scared; once you figure out which TYPE of white your home leans into, you’ll automatically eliminate SO MANY OTHERS. This knowledge will help you focus on the few whites that will actually work in your space. And guess what, buttercup…

There are probably only two to three white paint colors that will actually SUIT your home.

Sherwin Williams Pure White

Learning which white paint color your interior finishes best suits is your FIRST step in choosing the best white paint color for your room.

1. WARM WHITE PAINT COLORS

While warm white paint colors can have a pink undertone, the most POPULAR shades lean into yellow, giving a creamy vibe in many situations…

Benjamin Moore Cloud White is a popular warm white paint colour.

If your main surface (i.e., countertop or tile) has a warm white in it, it only makes sense that a warm white paint color will be the best choice. In fact, warm whites are the most COMMON, as they’re found in more interior finishes than true or cool white paint colors. Even if your surface doesn’t have a white in it but leans to the WARM side, it will probably best suit a warm white paint color.

Because the backdrop of this countertop (Brittanica Warm) isn’t a true or cool white, but rather a soft, slightly WARM white, this is the type of white paint color it will prefer…

How would I KNOW the above countertop is a soft, warm white? I’d compare it to a TRUE white.

THE 5 MOST POPULAR WARM WHITE PAINT COLORS

• Benjamin Moore White Dove & Swiss Coffee (similar)
• Benjamin Moore Cloud White
• Benjamin Moore White Dove
• Sherwin Williams Alabaster
• Sherwin Williams Pure White

Are White Walls, Cabinets & Exteriors STILL TRENDY?

2. COOL WHITE PAINT COLORS

Cool white paint colors tend to favor a blue or violet undertone, although a weeee willy wink o’ green pops up here and there.

Benjamin Moore Decorator’s White is a COOL white paint color – LRV 85

Cool white paint colors are LESS common as they suit fewer interior finishes. However, they’re often a good choice for some marble finishes or south-facing rooms with minimal interior considerations.

As shown in this next example, this marble tile caters to the COOL side rather than the warm side. If you put a warm white with this tile and countertop, it would look yellow or dingy in comparison. This means that cool or even true white paint colors are the best choice…

THE 3 MOST POPULAR COOL WHITE PAINT COLORS

• Sherwin Williams Extra White
• Benjamin Moore Decorators White
• Benjamin Moore Super White

3. BRIGHT WHITE PAINT COLORS (can be warm or cool)

Bright white paint colors have higher LRVs, but undertones vary depending on whether they’re WARM bright whites or COOL bright whites.

Benjamin Moore Simply White is one of the best warm, bright whites – LRV 92

Bright WARM whites are more common than bright COOL whites. In fact, I don’t even have a great bright cool white to share with you (SOFT cool whites are more popular).

THE 2 MOST POPULAR BRIGHT WHITE PAINT COLORS

• Benjamin Moore Simply White
• Sherwin Wiliams White Snow

Not sure what LRV is? READ ABOUT IT HERE – it’s a game-changer!

4. SOFT WHITES (can be warm or cool)

Soft white paint colors have LRVs in the low to mid-80s and can have subtle or more noticeable undertones, depending on whether they’re WARM or COOL.

Benjamin Moore White Dove is a WARM SOFT white (personal fave) – LRV 85

Soft whites are definitely the most COMMON white paint colors for walls, cabinets, and trims (particularly WARM soft whites).

THE 8 MOST POPULAR SOFT WHITE PAINT COLORS (warm & cool)

• Benjamin Moore White Dove & Swiss Coffee (similar)
• Benjamin Moore Cloud White
• Benjamin Moore White Dove
• Sherwin Williams Alabaster
• Sherwin Williams Pure White
• Sherwin Williams Extra White
• Benjamin Moore Decorators White
• Benjamin Moore Super White

White Dove vs. These Top 10 Popular Shades of White

5. TRUE WHITES

True whites are the most genuine whites of the bunch, clocking in with LRVs in the mid-90s.

It’s hard to beat the ever-popular look of Sherwin Williams High Reflective White! LRV – 93

True whites come in a hot second place to soft, warm whites in popularity as their lack of undertone gives them a bit more flexibility.

THE 3 MOST POPULAR WHITES (TRUE) WHITE PAINT COLORS 

• Sherwin Williams High Reflective White
• Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace
• Behr Ultra Pure White

And remember, I don’t want to inundate you with too much info in this one blog post, so look for helpful links throughout, such as this one…

THE FIVE TYPES OF WHITE PAINT COLORS (in more detail) 

How to choose a white paint color that COORDINATES with your interior finishes

No matter what else is happening in your space, what matters FIRST is that your white paint color is coordinated with your interior finishes.

Sherwin Williams Pure White was the best choice for the painted cabinets in this next kitchen. Had we gone with a warmer, creamier white, the Zellige tiles would’ve looked too pink/taupe in comparison. Even if the homeowner PREFERS a warm white look, the tile is calling the shots.

And while it wasn’t easy, we managed to update the Saltillo tile floors at the same time without making them look OUTdated in comparison (#miraclesdohappen).

BTW, in order to show you REAL HOMES and REAL BUDGETS, I only use photos from my Online Paint Color Consulting clients. Thank you for sending them in; you all make my colorful little world go round! 

If you ignore your finishes and focus on your personal tastes, there’s a VERY GOOD CHANCE you end up with a hot mess on your hands. Your interior finishes will TELL you which type of white paint color they like the best. You then take this info and see if it needs to be or CAN be tweaked based on your current palette, exposure, and personal tastes.

Remember, this isn’t about finding the white you love; it’s about finding the white that your HOME does.

In this next home, with its white quartz countertops AND southern exposure, Sherwin Williams Pure White was the perfect choice (on all surfaces)…

See this WHOLE HOME in Pure White!

As shown in the above photo, along with tile, countertops are a super common surface to get inspiration and guidance from in a kitchen or bathroom countertop. And while this topic is an ENTIRE blog post unto itself, the gist is that you must choose a white paint color that works with the shades and hues in your countertop (or another dominant surface).

For example, do you know what this next countertop told my client? It said LOUD and clearly that it didn’t want white cabinets and preferred an off-white cabinet color instead…

Sherwin Williams 3 Best Warm White Paint Colors

The Best Off-White Paint Colors for Kitchen Cabinets

Remember, just because YOU want something doesn’t mean your home agrees.

At first glance, this laundry room/mudroom below SEEMS pretty flexible, right? HARD NO! In designing this room, the white paint colour needed to be the SAME TYPE OF WHITE as the white subway tile…

Sherwin Williams High Reflective White

Why? 

Compared to the TRUE white of the subway tile, the wrong white paint color would make all the painted surfaces look dingy, yellow, violet, or blue (depending on which white we chose). Because Sherwin Williams High Reflective White is the SAME TYPE of white as the subway tile, they work well together.

Your room will tell you what TYPE OF WHITE PAINT COLOR it wants.

TIPS & IDEAS FOR COORDINATING WHITES WITH COUNTERTOPS, TILES, & MORE

• the majority of interior finishes cater to a WARM white, not a cool or true one

• of these warm whites; MORE interior finishes lean into a soft, warm white over a BRIGHT one

• if you have a finish that suits a COOL white (not as common as warm white), it’s most likely to humor a blue-violet undertone

Start your search by checking out WARM & SOFT white paint colors, which are more likely to suit your interior finishes.

If these warm whites aren’t connecting, branch out to bright warm whites, true whites, and cool whites.

Benjamin Moore White Dove walls, Revere Pewter main cabinets, Urbane Bronze island

3 Steps to Picking the Best White Paint Colors for Walls or Cabinets

SAMPLIZE PEEL & STICK

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 1-3 business days, depending on the location

• 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

Consider the OTHER white paint colors in your home

When remodeling a single space or specific area (i.e., kitchen cabinets), there’s often a white paint color already in place, usually on trims and doors. And while this white can definitely be a clue as to what your home best suits, some rooms have their own specific needs, meaning you need to introduce a NEW white to the scene.

WHITE PAINT COLORS IN ADJOINING ROOMS

Regarding white paint colors in adjoining rooms, IDEALLY, you would use the same white, creating a visual connection between the spaces. For example, because the trim throughout this next home was already painted Benjamin Moore Simply White, it made sense to continue this white on the kitchen cabinets. LUCKILY, the finishes in the kitchen SUPPORT the warmth of Simply White…

HOWEVER…

If the white you’ve used in the rest of your home doesn’t look good with the interior finishes in THIS PARTICULAR room, you must focus on THIS room’s interior finishes first. If a colour doesn’t work for the room itself, it doesn’t work at all. YES, this means you might have an awkward transition between rooms as you shift from one white to another, but short of avoiding white or redesigning one space or another, this is your reality!

3 Steps to Choosing the Best White for Your Home

White Walls, Trims, & Cabinets: Do They Need to Match?

WHITE PAINT COLORS IN AN OPEN-CONCEPT SPACE

In an open-concept space like this next one, it wouldn’t make any SENSE to start mixing up white paint colors. This means that because the cabinets were already Sherwin Williams Alabaster, it made the most sense to use this on the walls, trims, and ceiling too! If this white doesn’t work with your other finishes, that’s really saying something, and you might have a bigger painting project on your hands.

What are the best white paint colors for north, south, east & west-facing rooms?

Whether your room has northern, southern, or INDECENT exposures (a constant in our bedroom), it’s important to note your room’s exposure when choosing paint colors. And while the needs of your interior finishes come first, exposure can play a big part in how a paint color is perceived.

But why are white paint colors so DAMN HARD to choose?

Good question, and it relates quite nicely to exposure! Because white paint colors have the highest LRVs (light REFLECTANCE value), they reflect the most light around a room. Sooooo, if the light you give your white walls is tinted green with your exterior landscaping or a wink yellow with your southern exposure, GUESS what color your walls are going to reflect at you? Yup, green or yellow.

In the above photo, look at how Sherwin Williams Pure White warms up with a hit of western sunshine – and Pure White isn’t even one of the WARMEST whites!

The Ultimate Guide to Choosing Paint Colors with LRV

Sherwin Williams High Reflective White

How to Pick Paint Colors When You’re An OVERTHINKER (OR HAVE ANXIETY)

And guess what, buttercup? THERE’S NO AVOIDING this short of boarding up your windows, cutting down your trees, or closing your eyes; tis’ the nature of the beast.

This is why you want to pay close attention to your exposure and the COLOR of light it offers your room before you settle on a white paint color. But keep in mind, the exposure of a room matters MORE when choosing paint colors for walls compared to those for cabinets and trims (a long boring explanation which we don’t need to get into unless you’re a total glutton for punishment, which I’ll assume you aren’t).

TIPS FOR CHOOSING THE BEST WHITE PAINT COLORS FOR A NORTH-FACING ROOM

• because northern light is a gray light with a slight blue cast, you can expect white paint colors to look cooler than expected as they REFLECT this light

• the WARMER your white is, the better it will counteract a dull, cool northern exposure; make sure the warmth of it is liveable at night, too (use the right BULBS to add balance)!

• TRUE WHITES can definitely pick up a cool northern hue, whereas warm whites are more likely to add BALANCE to a room with northern exposure

• unless I have an online colour consulting client who loves ONLY a cold icy look or a room’s interior finishes DEMAND it, I would never put a COOL WHITE in a north-facing room

• overall, my favorite white for a north-facing room is a SOFT, WARM white

Pure White is a (subtle) soft, warm white that leans much cooler in this northern light

THE BEST WHITE PAINT COLORS FOR NORTH-FACING ROOMS

WARM BUT MUTED WHITES: Benjamin Moore Cloud White, Benjamin Moore White Dove, Benjamin Moore Simply White, Sherwin Williams Alabaster

TRUE WHITES: The only true one I’d consider is Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace, as it comes off slightly more gentle.

This next room has a balance of north and south-facing light, making the soft, warm vibe of White Dove a great choice…

The 3 Best White Paint Colors for a North-Facing Room

The 9 Best Benjamin Moore Paint Colors for a North-Facing Room

TIPS FOR CHOOSING THE BEST WHITE PAINT COLORS FOR A SOUTH-FACING ROOM

• whereas north-facing light is COOL, south-facing light is warm with a yellow hue, meaning most whites will pick this up with their higher LRV

• the warmer your white is, the MORE YELLOW it will look in southern light, which is why I lean into more subtle and SOFT, WARM whites

• while COOL WHITES can add balance to the heat of a south-facing room, they can STILL pick up some of the yellow and will look COLD at night if you don’t supplement with the right KELVINS

• overall, my favorite whites for a room with southern exposure is a SOFT WARM or TRUE WHITE

In this next photo, LOOK at all of the green Benjamin Moore Simply White is REFLECTING on the back wall, whereas the quality of light shifts on the front of the island…

THE BEST WHITE PAINT COLORS FOR SOUTH-FACING ROOMS

WARM BUT MUTED WHITES: Benjamin Moore White Dove, Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee

TRUE WHITES: Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace

COOL WHITES: Benjamin Moore Super White, Benjamin Moore Decorators White

The Best Paint Colors for South-Facing Rooms

TIPS FOR CHOOSING WHITE PAINT COLORS FOR EAST & WEST-FACING ROOMS

Rooms with eastern and western light are definitely the HARDEST to choose paint colors for. Why? Because their temperature and quality of light change SO DRASTICALLY from morning to afternoon!

A warm, soft white paint colour like Sherwin Williams Alabaster can be a beautiful way to add warmth to a flat eastern afternoon or western morning…

• eastern light is brighter in the morning and flatter in the afternoon

• western light is flat in the morning and bright and QUITE warm as the day progresses

• COOL WHITES are risky for fear of them looking drab and uninviting during the flat time of day

• SUBTLE WARM WHITES can add softness to the flat time of day while looking inviting during the warm times

• BRIGHT WARM WHITES are also a great way to balance the flat light of morning/afternoon, depending on your exposure

• overall, my favorite whites for a room with eastern or western exposure are SOFT WARM or BRIGHT WARM whites

Kylie M’s TOP 3 Curated White Paint Color Collections With Samplize

THE BEST WHITE PAINT COLOURS FOR EAST & WEST-FACING ROOMS

WARM BUT MUTED WHITES: Benjamin Moore Cloud White, Benjamin Moore White Dove, Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee, Sherwin Williams Alabaster, although it’s warmer than the others and will heat up in the western afternoon (but really, so will ANY white).

BRIGHT WHITES: Benjamin Moore Simply White

TRUE WHITES: Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace

The Best Paint Colors for an East-Facing Room

The Best Paint Colors for a West-Facing Room

The Best Paint Colors for Rooms with TWO EXPOSURES

While it’s obviously night in this next photo, this room has a mix of south, east and west-facing exposures, along with a BEAUTIFUL quartz countertop and marble floor, making Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace a great choice – I can’t wait to see it all done!

And finally…personal tastes.

What if your home suits a white paint color that YOU don’t love?

Throughout this process, there’s a good chance you’ve stepped away from the white paint color you’d fallen in love with and landed on one that’s not EXACTLY what you had in mind.

Remember, this isn’t about YOU; this is about your home.

I mean, go ahead and choose the white you love; fill yer lil white boots. Just know that ignoring your home might leave you with a room that doesn’t look well-coordinated, which harkens back to one of my 146 favorite sayings…

Choose paint colors for the home you HAVE, not the home you WISH you had – a la moi

Sometimes tough love is the BEST type of love.

Should you mix & match white paint colors?

Long story short – no.

As you learned earlier in this blog post, there are five types of white paint colors with various undertones and intentions. Partnering different whites together is kind of like drinking a chardonnay and pinot gris at the same time – one devalues the other, clashing on your tastebuds and leaving you with a regretfully whopping hangover. On the other hand, the right white (wine or paint) compliments itself rather than highlighting the subtle nuances in another that is often best left alone (kind of like me…with a hangover).

Sherwin Williams Pure White on ALL painted surfaces

In this next photo, you’ll see Sherwin Williams Pure White, the SAME white from the above photo. Look at how much more yellow it looks IN COMPARISON to the whiter, brighter trim in the bottom photo. Did this person WANT yellow-hued walls? Not bloody likely. Had they used the same white on the trim and ceilings, Pure White would’ve looked whiter overall, as it wouldn’t be directly compared to a more true white.

Want to see these white paint colors in ACTION? Check out Emily Henderson’s awesome blog post HERE.

Ask yourself WHY you want to have different whites…

• Is it because you’re worried about your room looking boring? If this is a concern, the bigger question is, ‘Does your room even SUIT an all-white palette, or do you need to look at an off-white paint color for your walls to get some dimension and visual interest?‘ ‘Does your room have the right decor, texture, and visual interest to support an all-white look?‘

• Because you saw it in a design magazine? While you won’t see it OFTEN, it is done, and often, not that well. Remember, just because it’s DONE doesn’t mean it SHOULD be done. And besides, the combos that do work are carefully chosen (usually by professionals) to suit the surrounding finishes and exposure.

This next open-concept space is painted in ALL Benjamin Moore Cloud White. Had they used a BRIGHTER white on the cabinets, trim, and ceiling, it would’ve enhanced the yellow in Cloud White, making it look LESS white and more yellow/cream…

Hold on a hot minute! Look at the original photo (below), where the doors are WHITE. This is a great example of what a BRIGHT COOL white can do to a WARM WHITE paint colour…GAG ME WITH A SPOOOOOON!

In this next foyer, all the white surfaces are painted the SAME white paint color – Benjamin Moore Super White. There’s simply no reason to choose a DIFFERENT white for any of these surfaces…

Want to learn more about coordinating white paint colors with each other? I’ve written an entire blog post on this exact topic as it’s a BIG one (that’s what she said). For now, let’s just hit some key points…

• if you’re going to mix and match whites, the WHITER of the two should be on your trim and cabinets; the darker white should be on the walls (this all comes down to LRV)

• ideally, the white on your cabinets and trim would be a TRUE white, so you don’t have to worry as much about interfering with undertones

Now, you know I have a LOT more to say on ALL of the above topics, so if you love learning, check ’em out…

THE ENTIRE INDEX OF WHITE PAINT-COLOR BLOG POSTS 

SPECIFIC COLOR REVIEWS NOT INCLUDED (or we’d be here forever)

Are White Walls, Cabinets & Exteriors STILL TRENDY?

White Dove vs. Cloud White, White Dove, & 10 Popular Shades of White

White Paint Colors: Walls, Cabinets & Trim – do they need to MATCH?

Sherwin Williams 3 Best Warm White Paint Colors

The 3 Best White Paint Colors for North-Facing Rooms

The 5 ALMOST FOOL-PROOF White Paint Colors for Your Home

9 Best White Paint Colors: Sherwin Williams Emerald Designer Edition

The 5 Types of White Paint Colors: Warm, Cool, True & More

The 8 Best Benjamin Moore White Paint Colors

6 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Painting Your Cabinets WHITE

The 5 WHITEST White Paint Colors

The 4 Best White Paint Colors for Cabinets & Vanities

Behr’s Best White & Soft-White Paint Colors

The 4 Best White Paint Colors: Sherwin Williams

NEED HELP

CHECK OUT MY ONLINE PAINT COLOR CONSULTING, COLOR COURSES & E-BOOKS! 

Chat soon,