Is Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee The Best White Paint Color?
Swiss Coffee: Why it shouldn’t be popular…but is
If you’re a fan of Studio McGee and love white cabinets, walls, or trim, you’ve probably come across Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee. And Shea McGee’s BEAUTIFUL home might have you thinking that Swiss Coffee is the color for YOU – and it might be.
But before you start slapping paint on your walls, we need to chat (insert wine here).
Heck, even Nate Berkus states that Swiss Coffee is one of his favorite shades of white. I love me some Nate, but I don’t love me some Swiss Coffee (although I agree with him on Sherwin Williams Alabaster and Benjamin Moore Smokey Taupe – they’re amazeballs).
Let me preface this by saying that Swiss Coffee can be a beautiful paint color, and I’ve seen it look stunning in many homes.
So, if you currently have it and it’s working, awesome possum (in other words, don’t shoot the cute little Ginger messenger). One of the only reasons Swiss Coffee is popular is that famous people use it.
However, there’s a ‘but.’ And it’s such a HUGE ‘but’ that you’ll think it’s been surgically enhanced. But, before we chat about that, let’s cover the four most popular white paint colors…
NOT Swiss Coffee. This is Sherwin William’s Alabaster
THE MOST POPULAR SHADES OF WHITE
There are four popular shades in the soft, warm white world
- Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace: A bright, almost true shade of white with only a wink of softness.
- Sherwin Williams Alabaster: A popular, soft, warm, creamy shade of white.
- Benjamin Moore White Dove: A gorgeous, soft, warm shade of white – not as warm as Alabaster, but getting there.
- And Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee…
All of these whites have their place (just so you know, Swiss Coffee isn’t popular in my world—it doesn’t even make my TOP 10, but it is in others). Some love Chantilly Lace’s brighter, slightly cleaner approach, whereas others lean into the creamy warmth of Alabaster. But… (here it is, and it’s JUICY)…
If there’s ONE of these white paint colors that’s slightly more likely to flash GREEN, which one do you think it is?
BENJAMIN MOORE SWISS FREAKIN’ COFFEE
The green is more noticeable as it’s against a cool, white-blue background… but it’s there.
That’s right – green.
- Is it subtle? YES, very.
- Can this undertone work for some homes? YES.
- Will you see it in YOUR home? Probably not.
- Am I being anal about this? Definitely
But for most people, green isn’t the undertone they’re looking for when choosing a soft, warm shade of white for their walls, cabinets, or trim.
SWISS COFFEE?! Nope. This is Sherwin Williams Pure White
And do you know which white is SO SIMILAR TO SWISS COFFEE THAT IT’S CRAZY?
Benjamin Moore White Dove.
WHITE DOVE vs. SWISS COFFEE
While both White Dove and Swiss Coffee are among the most popular white paint colors, White Dove is more predictable than Swiss Coffee and is less likely to have a greenish hue.
So, if I’m looking for a soft, warm white, which one do you think I’ll choose 99.9% of the time? White Dove.
White Dove is also whiter and brighter than Swiss Coffee, making it a bit more flexible. You might have seen that Shea lightened Swiss Coffee by 25%, which would brighten it, maybe even a WINK lighter than White Dove.
WHITE DOVE’S LRV: 83.16
SWISS COFFEE’S LRV: 81.91
Would this affect the way the undertones read? Possibly. I’ll ask Shea next time we chat (wink, wink).
Benjamin Moore White Dove
There are 3 reasons I suggest Swiss Coffee to my Online Paint Colour Consulting clients…
- If it already exists in the home, and it makes sense to continue with it. For example, if all of the trims, doors, and ceilings are painted Swiss Coffee, then Swiss Coffee makes sense for the cabinets. Or if they want white walls and have Swiss Coffee trim already, well, we’d do it on the walls, too.
- If their finishes are inclined toward green. Even then, I might still go for White Dove.
- I like Swiss Coffee on the exterior of a home, as its softness sits a bit better than brighter shades of white (on the whole home, not just the trim).
Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee vs. The TOP 5 Shades of White!
LEARN MORE ABOUT WHITE PAINT COLOURS…
The ULTIMATE GUIDE to White Paint Colours
Is White Still Trendy On Walls, Cabinets & Exteriors?
Benjamin Moore’s 8 Best White Paint Colours
FULL Paint Colour Review: Sherwin Williams Pure White
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Check out my ONLINE PAINT COLOUR CONSULTING!
ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IN 2022, UPDATED FOR YOU IN 2024
In the final photo of this post, the caption reads “White Dove.” I’m just wondering, are the cabinets painted White Dove or just the walls or both? Thanks!
Ahhh, those are White Dove cabinets with Edgecomb Gray walls 🙂
Swiss Coffee absolutely looks green in my kitchen!! It’s a subtle cast of green and is probably reflecting the green landscape outside, but it bothers me like crazy. It’s not a stable color. I should have heeded your advice. Time to repaint to Simply White! That will be a much cleaner look, especially since I chose stock cabinets that are basically SW Colonnade Gray.
Argh, I’m sorry to hear this! MIND YOU, if you get GOOD green reflection from outside, even Simply White won’t be safe – whites are SO reflective and will pick up what they’re given :).
It is funny that you say you green in Swiss Coffee. I have it throughout my home. In the North part of my home where not a lot of sunlight hits, it is very warm white, no undertones. My kitchen cabinets are Swiss Coffee, again North exposure and you can see a bit of cream on them but not much. I then recently put it in the Southern part of my home. This room has a lot of sunshine and it turned so buttery yellow that I was shocked!! My eyes kept tweaking!! I changed to White Dove and it looks perfect. So when you say sun exposure is key, you are not kidding! I love reading your posts!
It’s very true that Swiss Coffee has little green, but compared to White Dove, it’s more inclined! And I’m SO GLAD you found a happy place with White Dove – it’s my FAVORITE!!!
Hi Kylie,
I’m trying to decide on paint colors for my north facing bathroom that gets barely any natural light. I’d like warm colors. We have board and batten trim on the bottom half and are planning on BM Clarksville gray for that portion and Swiss coffee on the upper part of the wall and ceiling (high ceiling). I wasn’t sure from your post whether you meant Swiss coffee would look good or bad with a color with green undertones like Clarksville.
Oh, I think it would be LOVELY!
Thank you so much!
Hi Kylie, thanks for the scoop on Swiss Coffee. Looking at BM Henderson Buff for my exterior walls and would like a complimentary bright and balanced trim. Was looking at Swiss Coffee, but now not so sure. Any suggestions?
Now, this could be a pretty combo, as Henderson Gold has SO much yellow and green in it!
Thanks for this Kylie.
We are thinking Swiss Coffee for our kitchen and living room because we feel like it has gray and warm undertones to it. But now I am second guessing.
Both rooms have red oak floors with a golden oak finish and old, patinaed pine and maple trim in places with slightly warm or even transparent finishes (not 100% sure.) So definitely some yellowish undertones. Will the Swiss Coffee undertones you describe compliment or clash these elements in your opinion? We are thinking Grand Teton white cabinets in the kitchen…
THANKS!!!