White Paint Colors: Your Questions, Easily Answered
A Color Expert’s advice for your top white color concerns…
While it’s not always easy to pick any paint color, choosing the best white can be the hardest.
Why?
I’m gonna give you a solid handful (which is what Tim calls me) of reasons why white paint colors inspire nightmares. However, rather than the usual spiel, I’m doing it through the questions I get on my Kylie M Instagram, Kylie M YouTube, and blog.
So, let’s get this color party started.
1. WHY DOES MY WHITE PAINT COLOR LOOK GREEN?
There are a few reasons your white room may take on a wink o’ green.
1. WHITE IS THE MOST REFLECTIVE COLOR
White is the most reflective color, so it reflects any light it receives. So, let’s say you have a lot of greenery outside your window – either grass, trees, or nearby landscaping – your white walls will reflect that green and pick up a wee tinge (or more).
99.5% of the photos in my blog are from my Online Color Consulting clients, readers, talented photographers, & friend’s homes – real homes, real budgets, real people. Maybe they aren’t magazine-perfect, but they’re packed with ideas & proven color choices to help you create a home you love.
2. YOU CHOSE A WHITE WITH GREEN UNDERTONES
Another reason your white walls might look green is that you mistakenly chose a white paint color with a green undertone.
This happens a lot with colors like Benjamin Moore Snowfall White, Icicle, and Vanilla Milkshake. While they can look like more or less white, there’s green hiding in them thar hills. This is why it’s SO important to compare any white paint color to similar shades, as well as a true shade of white.
BM Icicle is on the cabinets. It prefers a color like BM Revere Pewter more than the current color’s pink-purple undertones.
While it’s not always the case, if you find the previously mentioned colors in the fan deck (Color Preview deck), and scan down their color strip, you’ll see a buttload of green (don’t worry, it’s a technical term).
Many think that choosing an ‘opposite’ paint color will help offset green-tinged walls. While it might help a bit, but…
a) you need to love that color at night, as the green goes away when the sun goes down, and b) you need to love that color on a cloudy/sunny day, where you might get more or less green.
The best way to stop your white walls from picking up green from your landscaping is to play with the quality (CRI) and Kelvins of your interior light bulbs.
Which leads to my third point…
3. YOUR LIGHT BULBS MIGHT NOT BE HELPING
The Kelvin of your light bulbs can affect how your white paint looks. Play around with different Kelvins to see if your perception changes.
LOOK at the difference in cabinet color from left to right. When the right bulb burned out, I bet they replaced it with a bulb with a better/higher CRI (low CRI bulbs can cast green).
Also, cheaper bulbs with CRIs of 80 or lower can cast a green light on your walls, as can some older fluorescent lights.
2. WHAT’S THE BEST WHITE WITH NO YELLOW UNDERTONE?
Ermmmm, Houston? We have a problem. If you don’t have yellow in your white, where do you think the warmth comes from? Yellow is what makes the best warm whites…warm. If we take the yellow out, we’re left with gray, green, blue, pink etc.
The only other way to get warmth from a white is via pink. Do you want a white-pink? I doubt it.
Here’s Sherwin Williams Pure White, a SUPER passively warm white…
The far-left wall gets south-facing light. The main wall gets north and eastern light. Notice how even a subtly warm white like Pure White picks up more yellow-cream in southern light, but drops grayer in north/east light.
Here’s your Peel & Stick sample of Pure White…
The Best White Paint Colors for North & East-Facing Rooms
Here’s the same home, with Pure White in the south-facing dining room on a cloudy day…
Seeing as your room’s exposure and how your natural light progresses through the day can change drastically, you need a strategy. The best one is to board up your windows, find a white with as little yellow undertone as humanly possible. A few of the most popular choices for this include…
- Sherwin Williams Pure White (review)
- Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace (review)
- Sherwin Williams White Snow (review)
Remember, if you take the yellow away, the ONLY way you’ll get warmth is from pink. Otherwise, you have a stark/true or cold shade of white. There are no beige-whites; there are only beige-tinged OFF-WHITE paint colors.
3. WHAT’S THE BEST CREAMY WHITE EXTERIOR PAINT COLOR WITH NO YELLOW?
This question comes up a lot with my Online Color Consulting clients in southern climates, where they get a ton of sunshine and worry about an overly warm/yellow exterior paint color.
The main house color is Sherwin Wiliams Balanced Beige – the trim color is TBA.
Again, without yellow, you don’t have cream. Cream IS yellow; it’s just yellow with a neutral base added to calm it down.
There is no creamy white exterior (or interior) paint color with no yellow undertones. It literally doesn’t exist.
One of the best ways to get a creamy white look is with a well-chosen, warm off-white paint color rather than white. This way, you can pick up more neutral undertones that still have warmth in them, but less ‘obvious’ yellow hues – yellow can come up pretty strong in some whites, whether they’re creamy whites or not.
Let’s revisit that previous exterior…
What did you think about the trim color – pretty? It’s like I know what I’m doing (wink wink).
The trim color isn’t white; it’s actually an off-white called Sherwin-Williams Aesthetic White. Its LRV is 73, so not only is it not white, it’s almost in the light depths with its LRV.
Here’s a Peel & Stick sample of Aesthetic White, with some similar colors to sample and compare!
Here’s Aesthetic White on another exterior (#2 areas)…
Keep in mind, this is on a cloudy, rainy day. It will brighten up with sun on it.
What’s the main difference between a creamy WHITE trim and the average off-white paint color?
Approximately 10 LRV points.
Instead of creamy warm whites, check out the off-white range – paint colors with LRVs between approx. 70-75. Not sure what LRV is? Check it out.
Here’s another beautiful off-white exterior, this time with a more purposely chosen warm, creamy look…
Compared to one that’s more muted…
4. WHY DOES MY WHITE PAINT COLOR CHANGE ON DIFFERENT WALLS?
Ooooh boy, what kind of rabbit hole do you want to go down? A nice big Easter Bunny-sized one? Or are you non-denominational and want a regular ole hare hole?
Several things will make your paint color look different throughout the day (or in different rooms).
EXPOSURES
Your room’s exposure. North and south-facing exposures are a bit more consistent throughout the day (while still having changes and challenges). On the other hand, east and west-facing exposures change drastically from morning to afternoon to evening.
The right wall has a bit more southern influence. The left wall gets a bit more east-north.
So, the sun moves (or the earth moves – whatever, I ain’t no scientist), the color and/or quality of light coming through your windows changes.
North, East, South, West: Which Paint Color is The Best?
LOCATION OF LIGHTS/LIGHT BULBS
It can be pretty hard to make a room perfectly and evenly well-lit when using a mix of task and accent lighting. This means that the wall space that’s closest to a bulb might look warmer (or cooler, depending on your bulb’s Kelvins) than a wall without that type of light.
WHITE IS REFLECTIVE
White is the most reflective paint color thanks to its high LRV (Light Reflectance Value). This means it can pick up colors from its environment, including…
Do you know why these two walls look almost the same? A photographer (my talented friend at Wynd Media) took the photo and adjusted it for the exterior lighting.
- Green grass outside a window
- The reflection from your nearby neighbors’ red siding
And so on. So, while one wall might pick a green or red hue, another might not.
SO, HOW DO YOU GET A WHITE PAINT COLOR TO LOOK THE SAME ON EVERY WALL?
You can’t. Full stop. Don’t go all crazy-pants on me, painting each wall a slightly different shade (oh yes, I’ve seen it done).
Benjamin Moore Super White (finally, a well-named white!)
Your white will change its look throughout the day. While some rooms will be a bit more consistent based on a mix of exposure/interior lighting/etc., stop trying to control it. With any luck, at some point throughout the day, your walls will look all the same – but then the earth moves. C’est la vie, which is French for MOVING ALONG!
5. HOW DO YOU FIND THE UNDERTONE IN WHITE PAINT COLORS?
This is such a fantastic question; I’m glad you’re curious. You’ll need a few tools in your belt to find your white’s undertones.
1. COMPARE IT TO SIMILAR SHADES
One of the best ways to find your home’s best white paint color is to compare it to similar shades.
For example, let’s say you’re considering Benjamin Moore White Dove as you like how it looks on these kitchen cabinets…
But then, you compare it to similar shades, and it’s maybe NOT what you expected…
Compared to whites like Benjamin Moore Simply White and Chantilly Lace (2nd and 3rd from left), White Dove is MUCH softer.
What colors do you compare your white to?
Compare your potential shade to similar colors…
- The Best Warm Whites from Benjamin Moore
- The Best Warm Whites from Sherwin Williams
- The Whitest White Paint Colors
- If you need cool white paint colors, you’ll find them here: 5 Types of White Paint Colors
2. COMPARE IT TO THAT BRAND’S WHITEST WHITE
Another way to find your white’s undertones is to compare it to that brand’s truest shade of white; you’re likely to see some undertones, depth, and temperature differences.
- SHERWIN WILLIAMS: Grab a sample of High Reflective White (peel and stick sample HERE)
- BENJAMIN MOORE: Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace is usually the best bet (sample HERE).
- BEHR: Behr Ultra Pure White is daaaamn white.
6. WHAT’S THE BEST WHITE PAINT COLOR FOR A DARK ROOM?
First off, if you think a white paint color will save your dark room, think again. Sure, it can help more than a darker shade, but…
Nothing will make a dark room look better than more lighting.
I don’t care if you install lighting or find battery-operated ones, so you don’t have to hire an electrician.
As God once said, LET THERE BE LIGHT!
That God, he’s got a lot of great one-liners.
Do you think it’s just the paint color saving this bathroom? It’s the color and the lighting combined that help this dark room lighten up.
However, if you’re maxed out on your lighting situation and just want me to move along to the best whites, I gotchu, boo.
TO ACTUALLY ANSWER YOUR QUESTION…
The best white paint colors to help a dark room look brighter are bright whites. While soft whites will still work better than darker colors, bright white paint colors reflect the most light.
So, even if you can’t give your walls a ton of light, your walls will take what they can and run with it.
MY FAVORITE BRIGHT WHITES FOR DARK ROOMS
- Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace (review)
- Sherwin Williams Extra White (review)
- Benjamin Moore Simply White (review)
- Sherwin Williams White Snow (review)
Here’s a Peel & Stick sample of Chantilly Lace…
7. SHOULD MY WALLS, TRIMS, CEILINGS, & CABINETS BE THE SAME WHITE?
Most of the time, yes, it’s best to use the same white paint color for all the white-painted finishes in your home (or at least in your room).
Another way to ask this is…
Should I use the same shade of white throughout my entire home?
Benjamin Moore Cloud White works with the standard, builder-white trims/ceilings in this beautiful home. Notice how the white trim accents the warmth in Cloud White.
While there are exceptions, as you can mix and match some whites, you need to know what to expect when doing that – make sure it’s the look you want.
Here’s Cloud White again on the walls and trims. The only shift you see is the shift in SHEEN…
I highly recommend reading more about whether your white walls, trims, and cabinets need to match – there’s a lot to learn!
Or if you’re so inclined: The 2 White Paint Colors that Go Together
8. WHY DOES MY WHITE PAINT COLOR LOOK DIRTY OR GRAY?
There are several reasons your white paint may look dingy, drab, or gray. Here’s a shortlist (could be one or multiple reasons)…
Benjamin Moore’s White Diamond looks grayish in the staircase (right) because it’s a white-gray (blue, too) – it comes by it honestly.
- You chose a white with a gray undercurrent.
- Your white is slightly cool, grayish, or has a super muted warmth. Then, you compounded the effect by painting it in a room with north-facing or flat eastern afternoon or morning western light.
- You have a dark room and haven’t given your white paint color (warm, cold, or otherwise) enough interior lighting to play with.
- You’ve paired it with a color that’s too clean, which makes it look dirty ‘in comparison’. This doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a dirty white; the color you pair it with changes your perception.
Check out Benjamin Moore White OC-151 (below). Being called just ‘White’, you’d think it would be, well…white.
Nope. Instead, White OC 151 has an LRV of 83.56. True, bright whites are up near 95. The reason it has this lower LRV is that it has gray (black) in its mixture.
And how would you know White OC 151 has a gray undertone? Because you listened to the crazy lil’ Ginger and compared it to a few other whites…
BM Chantilly Lace | BM White OC-151 | BM White Dove
9. ARE WHITE KITCHEN CABINETS TIMELESS?
Yes. People often deny this because they don’t like white cabinets. However, whether you personally like them or not is irrelevant.
Sherwin Williams Alabaster | The Best Warm White Quartz Countertops
White cabinets are timeless because of ALLLLL the paint color options, including stained wood cabinets, white cabinets have the best shot at…
a) satisfying the average homebuyer/homeowner
b) the RIGHT shade of white suits a range of finishes and other paint colors
c) can transition through the different trend cycles
While wood is definitely up there (compared to most other paint color options), it all comes down to stain, grain, and cabinet style/profile, which vary a ton.
The 6 Most Timeless Kitchen Cabinet Colors (PART 5 of 6)
10. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WARM & COOL WHITES?
When comparing warm and cool whites, you’ll see one main difference: undertone. And sometimes, the ONLY way to see undertone is to compare whites to each other.
While undertone is a discussion all its own, the idea is that you see the main color ‘white’, but there’s an undercurrent or wink to another color, like blue, yellow, or pink.
- Warm whites can pick up yellow undertones. There are also some warm white-pinks, but some say pink isn’t a warm color – you do you.
- Cool whites can pick up purple, blue, or green undertones. Often, this is mixed with a slightly grayish look.
Take a minute and explore these samples…
SW High Reflective White | BM Super White | BM Chantilly Lace | BM Decorator’s White
At first glance, they’re all white. But, when you slow down, you see a few things…
- The bottom sample looks a bit gray or even slightly purple compared to the one above it. You can see this more easily when comparing it to the door trim.
- Compare the 2nd and 3rd down – look for a weeeee tiny shift in warmth from one to the other – the 3rd sample is the warmer one. Being warmer, it has a yellow undertone.
It’s not always quite that simple: that yellow can have a bit of green in it, or you might see blue and purple, but it’s really the YELLOW that lets you know a white is warm (as it relates to the most popular white paint colors).
11. WHAT’S THE MOST NEUTRAL WHITE PAINT COLOR?
When we’re talking about neutral whites (not warm or cool), we’re looking for whites with no undertones – or as little undertone as possible.
As it relates to whites, this means they’re TRUE whites or the whitest whites with the highest LRVs.
Why?
Because once you get a white with a lower LRV, it contains more tint/colorant. This gives it ‘color’ or ‘undertone’.
The brightest, cleanest white from Benjamin Moore is Chantilly Lace. However, some people feel that Super White and White OC-151 give the ‘clean, crisp’ look they want in a true, neutral, no-undertone white (even though they’re white-grays).
Here’s a Peel & Stick sample of Super White.
If you ask this color cowgirl, the best neutral shades of white, without getting too shockingly white, stark, or cold a look (which you really do risk), are Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace (bright) or Sherwin Williams Pure White.
Yes, both have a wink of warmth, and Pure White harbors a touch of gray, but both tend to settle quite nicely. This means they can read as more or less neutral (depending on your perception).
Do you have a question about your white room or a potential white paint color? Ask away in the comment section, I’ll do my best to answer!
READ MORE
The Best White EXTERIOR Paint Color
A Color Expert’s Guide to White Paint Colors
Get the best paint color advice with Kylie M’s Online Color Consulting.
