Should Walls, Trims, & Cabinets Be The Same White Paint Color?
WHITE ON WHITE: SHOULD THEY MATCH?
When it comes to paint and wine, whites are DEFINITELY the hardest to pick.
- Does this Chardonnay go with my sofa?
- Which shade of white best suits a steak dinner?
While I can’t answer these particular questions (and am personally not that fussy; I’ll drink wine with Kraft Dinner), I can answer almost ANY question regarding the best white paint colors for you and your home!
And hands-down, the most COMMON question I get asked on my Kylie M Instagram feed and Kylie M Youtube channel is…
‘Do my walls, trim, & cabinets need to be the SAME WHITE paint color?’
The short and curly is YES, you could/should use the same white paint color; the long and braided is a bit more complicated.
The thing is, not all whites are created equal – they have undertones. This means that one white can potentially make another look dirty, yellow, pink, blue, etc… in COMPARISON to another.
However, you’ll have some flexibility depending on which type of white you plan to use or currently have on an existing finish.
But the question is, do you REEEEAAALLLY want this flexibility? Or do you want to humor the crazy lil Ginger, make your paint-pickin’ life much easier, and use the same white on everything?
Oh, you are a GLUTTON for punishment…I like that about you.
While I’ve answered the question of ‘Should my walls, trims, and cabinets be the same white paint color?’ with a resounding YES, that’s not where this story ends. Some people don’t want to use the same shade of white.
As long as you understand that one of your whites might not look so white (compared to the other it can look like an off-white or cream). The undertones can also be more noticeable.
Notice how the walls look a bit creamier than the ceiling/trim.
If this is cool beans with you, it’s cool with me. In this case, I’ve got a ton of tips and ideas to share with you. To start, let’s make a list of what the rest of this blog post covers:
- You already have WHITE CABINETS and want to paint your trim and/or walls white.
- You already have WHITE TRIM and want to paint your cabinets and/or walls white.
- If you already have WHITE CABINETS & TRIM (and I pray they match each other), and you want to paint your walls white.
- You’re starting from scratch and want to use TWO different whites in your room (I draw the line at two; three is a hard no – it’s so hard I’m getting excited).
Am I missing anything?
Long story short, if you plan to use two different white paint colors on more than one surface, this info applies.
Sherwin Williams Pure White on walls, trims, doors, and ceiling.
But before we start (seriously, I don’t stop talking in real life either; this stuff LIGHTS ME UP LIKE A FIRECRACKER!), I have one more important point to make…
Regardless of what you read below, if you decide to mix and match whites, your best chance will be to use a TRUE WHITE or BRIGHT WHITE (listed shortly) on trim/cabinets and a white with a lower LRV on the walls – don’t do it the other way.
You’ll also find a helpful blog post to check out at the very end (you won’t regret it).
Let’s start with those of you who are starting from scratch with creating your white palette…
CREATING A WHITE PALETTE FROM SCRATCH
As mentioned above, I’m a big fan of using the same white paint color on all surfaces and letting the SHEEN do the work for you – but I have to let that go (although I do have a great blog post about paint finishes and sheen).
One thing to note about paint finishes is that the way a paint color appears can change from one paint finish/sheen to another.
FUN FACT: This isn’t just because the sheen reflects more LIGHT, but because the formulation can change slightly between the different paint lines.
Here are the usual finishes…
- CEILING: flat
- WALLS: matte or eggshell
- TRIMS & DOORS: satin
- CABINETS: satin
Of course, there are regional exceptions, as well as those for rooms with moisture issues (you may need shinier paint). However, for the average room, those are the ideal finishes.
MOVING ALONG!
There’s an art to starting your paint palette from scratch when using two different shades of white. To keep it simple, here’s what I recommend…
- Choose your trim, door, and ceiling color first (they really should all be the same white…please). Make sure this white suits any interior finishes you’ve chosen or plan to choose.
- Then, coordinate your white wall color from there, making sure your trim has a higher LRV and your wall has the lower LRV of the two.
When choosing your best white, I have some fool-proof ones that work more often than not. All the same, do your research to discover what white best suits your interior finishes and exposure.
But remember, just because you CAN doesn’t mean you SHOULD…
(Which is my passive-aggressive way of saying I STILL recommend using the same white on ALL surfaces for a true ‘white-on-white’ look. Anyway).
If you aren’t creating a color palette from scratch and are working with an ‘existing’ white paint color, let’s dive a little deeper.
IF YOU CURRENTLY HAVE ‘TRUE WHITE’ TRIM OR CABINETS
If you have (or want) true white trim or cabinets and want white walls, I suggest using the same white on your walls for ease, of course (okay, I’m done now). However, if you’re not the easy type and want a different shade of white on your walls…
A true white on your trims/cabinets will make it easier to create a coordinating white-on-white color palette that works.
Why?
Because true whites don’t have undertones (or at least nothing obvious to reckon with), it’s easier to embrace bright or soft whites with them without worrying about clashing undertones.
Don’t assume the white you currently have on your cabinets, trims, or walls is actually WHITE.
Go to your local paint store, grab that brand’s WHITEST WHITE, and bring it home to compare to your white – you might be pleasantly (or NOT so pleasantly surprised) at what you see!
The 8 Best Benjamin Moore White Paint Colors
IF YOU CURRENTLY HAVE WARM WHITE TRIM OR CABINETS
If you have cabinets or trim that are a WARM WHITE and you can’t/won’t repaint them, and reeeeeaaallly want white walls, guess what you’re choosing…WARM WHITE, BABY (with exceptions)!
Benjamin Moore Cloud White, a soft, warm shade of white (north-facing light)
Why?
Just as with cool whites, if you partner BRIGHT, COOL, OR TRUE white walls with warm white trim or cabinets, the new white will make your warm white look that bit…more…creamy. I’ve found that most people with warm white trim or cabinets don’t want to enhance them and would rather calm ’em down and blend ’em in.
Hands down, the best way to blend them in is to literally…blend them in.
For example, take a look at this lovely kitchen below. You could say this kitchen and dining area is ‘white’ and quite lovely at that…
You’re looking at Benjamin Moore Cloud White, a soft, warm white with an LRV of 85. You might notice and appreciate the casual warmth of Cloud White without being overwhelmed by its yellow undertone. HOWEVER, take a look at this same room with one weeee adjustment…
How does it look NOW? A little creamy, perhaps?
Previously, Cloud White didn’t have a whiter white to be compared to. However, as shown, adding a TRUE or COOL white (the two back doors) changes our perception of Cloud White and its visual temperature!
(My Online Color Consulting client hired me to choose colors for her two back doors. I just filled in the doors via computer in the first example and am eagerly awaiting her REAL after photos!)
Look where the wall meets the crown molding/shiplap – sweet!
There are definitely some warm white combinations that work well together (which we’ll get to shortly), but your best, most pain-free chance of using two different whites is if one of them is a true white or darn close (90+ LRV).
IF YOU CURRENTLY HAVE COOL WHITE TRIM OR CABINETS
If you have COOL white trim or cabinets and can’t or won’t repaint them, I highly suggest using the same cool white on your soon-to-be-painted surface, and not because I’m obnoxious about using the same white (although I am).
With cool white trims and cabinets, I don’t recommend any other shade of white…ever.
Benjamin Moore Super White walls, trims, drawers, and ceiling.
Why?
If you use a TRUE white on your walls, it will be lighter than your trim and cabinets, making them look icier and colder, and maybe even a wink gray, blue, or purple in comparison.
Here’s Benjamin Moore’s Decorator’s White (LRV 82.68, making it a soft, cool white) with Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace (LRV 90.04, a bright white that happens to be BM’s truest)…
- Now, imagine that Decorator’s White is on the trim and cabinets and Chantilly Lace is on the walls. Yeeeeah, no.
- Or, how about Chantilly Lace on the trim and cabinets, and Decorator’s White on the walls? This works a lot better, but you no longer have soft white walls, they look more like an off-white gray with purple undertones.
If this isn’t the look you were going for, you have three choices…
- Paint your walls the same color as your trim/cabinets
- Paint your walls a NON-white color, perhaps a purposeful (not accidental) light gray paint color or a soft shade of blue.
- Repaint your trim (and/or cabinets if they’re white, too) with a more flexible white paint color.
AND LASTLY, THE MOST AMAZEBALLS BLOG POST FOR YOU DUAL-WHITE LOVERS…
Just because I prefer one white on all surfaces for the previously said reasons doesn’t mean you’re on board – I forgive you (wink wink). If you want two shades of white, it’s DOABLE, but only with specific colors and a few guidelines…
The Two Shades of White That Go Together
HOW DO I FIND THE WHITE THAT MATCHES MY EXISTING TRIM OR CABINETS?
Take off a piece of your trim and take it to several paint stores to have them professionally color-match it. NO eyeball matches – go to a store that uses a machine. If they want to tweak things from there, great, but starting with a machine-made match is best. Go with the brand that gets it the closest. Remember, there can be a shift in how a white looks based on the paint finish (trim is usually satin or semi-gloss, and walls are usually matte/eggshell).
WHAT COLOR SHOULD THE TRIM BE IF MY WALLS ARE WHITE?
If your walls are white, the trim should be the SAME white in a different sheen. While it can be trendy to paint your trim a non-white, like greige, taupe, or gray, be careful as it won’t be in style forever. It will have a longer life in OLDER homes, but for a more modern home, it will eventually be dated.
Alternatively, you can paint your trim or cabinets a white paint color with an LRV that’s a good whack higher than that of your walls. However, read my previous advice to make sure you get a good combo.
READ MORE
6 Questions to Ask BEFORE You Paint Your Kitchen Cabinets WHITE
White Dove vs. 10 Popular Shades of White (Cloud White, Simply White, & More)
The Ultimate Guide to White Paint Colors
Sherwin Williams 3 Best Warm White Paint Colors
Should You Paint Your Cabinets White or Keep Them Stained? A QUESTIONNAIRE!
Need Kylie’s help?
Check out my ONLINE PAINT COLOR CONSULTING!
ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IN 2021, AWESOMELY UPDATED FOR YOU IN 2025
Hi Kylie, thanks for sharing your extensive knowledge on your blog. It has been immensely helpful.
I decided to use Simply White in my open floor plan family room/kitchen, and used the same color, but different sheens.
My doors and trim look like a much brighter white than the walls – almost like a different shade of white, and looks like the whites clash. I wanted to paint cabinets Simply White (island Hale Navy), but am now second guessing that.
I came right to your site and found this article and your sheen recommendations. Hubby wanted to use flat for walls and semi-gloss for trim/doors. Is it possible that, since the sheens we used are almost on complete opposite ends (so to speak), that the semi-gloss reflects more light against the flat, than satin would to matte or eggshell? Should I darken the semi-gloss by 25%?
We need to paint the crown moulding, but the 10 year old Behr Swiss Coffee on it matches the walls better! Perhaps once it is all done I will get used to it. I can already tell how certain lighting changes how the SW can look like a bright white or more yellow at times – so maybe the doors/trim will look better depending on that.
Any advice would be appreciated!
P.S. Benjamin Moore should give warning about how many coats (after two coats primer) this stuff takes!! 😆 I really am considering painting ALL the kitchen cabinets Hale Navy to avoid dealing with it, lol. Though, I will say it is a beautiful white and has a lovely finish, for sure – BM is great paint.
Wellllll, you’ve discovered one big flaw in ‘some’ white paints. Brands often have a tough time getting their OWN COLORS consistent as you change they types of paint you use. Each paint can starts out with a ‘foundation’ – but each type of paint changes (eg. wall paint vs trim paint) it has a differnt foundation. This makes it hard for them to create the same color (although you’d think with all of the technology available, they could fix this). The FRUSTRATING thing is that it’s not a ‘given’ – sometimes it’s perfect, other times it’s not. I did my daughter’s room a few years ago and her White Dove trim is different from her walls – not just in sheen. However, in the rest of my home, it’s bang-on.
NOW, sheen can DEFINITELY impact things as sheen reflects more light and makes something look brighter, so some of what you’re seeing (who knows, maybe ALL of it) can account for that.
Oh, and seriously, I did Simply White years ago and after 5 coats I gave up! Apparently if I’d primed the walls (over a color that wouldn’t normally need primer), it would’ve covered better!
I’d lvoe to see photos of how it’s all turning out! kylie@kylieminteriors.ca and see this ‘shift’ in color!
Hi! Are these the finishes you used for BM white dove? Why do you think the trim in your daughter’s room turned out differently from the other rooms?
* CEILING: flat
* WALLS: matte or eggshell
* TRIMS & DOORS: satin
* CABINETS: satin
Yup! Now in my daughter’s room, it was a project unto itself and I’m thinking I must’ve used a different line of BM paint for her trim – different from the rest of the home, as everywhere else turned out great!
Hello, Kylie, we currently have SW Natual Linen on the walls, with SW Alabaster trim, we want to paint our kitchen cabinets white but think Alabaster is too bright. What are your thoughts on Shoji for the cabinets? Thanks! I appreciate your input.
Ooof, I wouldn’t do Shoji White, the undertones are wrong. With Alabaster in place, it will be hard to step away from it into a color that doesn’t clash with it or Natural LInen!
Hi Kylie! Thanks so much for the blog post. Your pantry cabinet next to nook picture just happens to be exactly what we were thinking for our home. Do you by any chance have a picture from the other angle looking at the right side of the pantry cabinet? We’re trying to place a pantry cabinet there but we have to bring it forward so it aligns with the depth of the nook, and so we think we’ll have to somehow cover the space showing behind the pantry cabinet on the right side and top as well. Any ideas for that? If we wanted to match your wains coating on the wall, that would complicate things as well. Thanks for any insight
Hey Daniel! I can’t see just the picture you’re referring to. Chances are I don’t have another image, but I can check! Send the image to me at kylie@kylieMinteriors.ca and I’ll take a look
Hi Kylie, Thank you so much for all this info. I have Mantra brand cabinets in their color called snow white. I need help deciding on what color to paint my trim and walls. I would like to paint the walls/trim an off-white color but don’t even know where to start. Any help would be much appreciated, Thank you!
Sorry Josh, I’m not at all familiar with this brand or color!
Hi Kylie, your blog has helped me so much but I keep finding myself paralyzed with indecision. We bought a home and the living area is color drenched in Behr polished marble. I actually do like the polished marble color but I am wanting to paint the orangey wood doors throughout our house. I have BM white dove trim paint and have thought about repainting the doors, trim, and kitchen cabinets this color. Do you think white dove will clash with polished marble too much?
Hey Haley, I’m just not as confident with Behr colors as I am with BM ones! It does look to mem like Polished marble is quite creamy yellow and it cooould work?
Hi Kylie. I have Behr ultra white on my kitchen walls and trim. I was thinking of painting my cabinets and island BM fawn brindle. i have a lot of natural light from my east facing white trim windows and white french door. I have faux beams and vynil wood floors.
This can work, although I haven’t seen your space and its countertops and backsplash!
What to do about white doors? If I paint walls, trim, and ceilings all a matching white my all white doors are going to stand out. Do you paint them the same matching color?
You betcha!
Hi Kylie. I love your blog and consult it before doing any project! My ensuite bathroom has white tile, white counter, white walls with a wink of peach in them and 1996 salmon coloured bleached oak cabinetry. 🤮
I am in a budget so can’t change the floors or counter. I plan to paint the cabinet and walls and wonder if there is ANY shade of white I could use that won’t clash with the floor and counter. I was also thinking of using SW Evergreen Fog just on the wall above the cabinet to tie into the master bedroom that will be painted this colour. Does that sound too matchy? I also considered a darker colour on the cabinets (like SW Urbane Bronze) but fear chips in the paint will show more over time with a darker colour. I have been trying to decide what to do in this room for MONTHS! Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Kylie,
I enjoy reading your blog! Lots of enthusiasm! What is your opinion of painting everything(walls, trim/cabinets, ceiling) in Creamy-SW on our new open floor plan farm house that is east facing?
Thank you
Welll, it’s hard to say without seeing your home, but off the top, I lean into the slightly lighter, more flexible look of Sherwin Williams Alabaster :).
Hi Kylie, I hope I’m in the right place to ask this question! I have a small apartment west facing and the walls are all SW White Snow. I was hoping to tone it down by using a toned down white (I know it’s a no no but I’m not crazy about sw White Snow- it’s too bright! So I am considering White Dove! I also think my only choice for quartz countertop has creamy undertones and some gray lines (Mara Blanca). Would BM white dove be an acceptable choice for my kitchen cabinets in my tiny kitchen with those colors?
Hi Rose! I LOVE White Dove. I prefer toned-down whites myself and have White Dove in in ALL of my main rooms (walls/trims/ceilings). I find White Snow a bit too bright and not warm enough for my tastes. I’m not familiar with your countertop, but I can vouch for White Dove!
Hi Kylie, thank you for all your information! I’ve been trying to decide on a colour for walls/trim/ceiling/doors, for a main floor, when I have IKEA axstad white kitchen cabinets. I was thinking SW pure white, could you give your opinion please?
Hi Mere, I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with Ikea Axstad to say whether this is a good combo or not!