OOO, it’s tough with Simply White trim already in place AND a white cabinet (which will be a different white) and then the white of your quartz. I would look at the off-white/light depths as the degree of yellow in Simply White will be very touchy with cool tones that are too light.

Oooo, the world is your oyster! Our lake home is gray with white trim and I did SW Connors Lakefront. Hale Navy is also wicked pretty – or even SW Riverway!

Hi Kay- I’m also about to paint siding and trim of bay home Pure White. Just curious how yours turned out. Are you happy with it?

What did you decide on?

Welllll, without painting the other trim, any NOT super bright clean white will look dingy/yellow/blue/green, even Pure White can do it! I’m afraid that there’s no great way to get where you want to go without painting that trim!~

It’s HARD to say. Generally, soft ivory suits slightly warmer more yellow-based whites. I mean, Pure White has some warmth to it, but not much. OVERALL, though I do like the sounds of ivory/cream/navy/light blue! And being on the trim, you’ll have MUCH more forgiveness than if you were to do the walls AND trim in Pure White.

Curious if pure white went with your calcatta laza countertops? I am having the same issue.

First off, Loveeee loveee your blog! Thank you so much for explaining so well. We’re young newlyweds and acquired our first apartment so all this painting and decorating is new to us and you’ve been super helpful.

We’re looking for a color for our kitchen cabinets. Our kitchen faces south-east and only gets a lot of natural lights for 2-3 hours in the afternoon (we live in montreal, canada). Walls are sea salt, which we know you love. We chose it because we decided to keep the original trim from the house in certain spots. Around the window, the 2 doors to the kitchen and around the patio door is a honey-orangey coloured oak (think 80s) . To tie in the wood, we have shelving in that same wood stain and will maybe do a mini breakfast counter in the same. Our countertops and backsplash are the same : Calcutta gold quartz with both gold and grey veins running through. Appliances are stainless, the frigde and stove have touches of black. Faucet and hardware will be brushed gold. (haven’t picked light over island and stools but thinking to incorporate both gold and wood to “marry it all in”). We have hardwood floors in out kitchen that are maple and the color is a light beige (rustic) with some mocha and grey spots in it to complement the trims in the house (link to floor : https://appalachianflooring.com/product/travertine-maple-excel/). The idea is to modernize but still keep some of the charm of our 1950’s home.

We want a warmer white for our cabinets in order to compliment the wood in the kitchen, trims and flooring. However, with there being both the counters and backsplash being calacutta gold and the “background” being so white, I don’t want the cabinets to appear dirty. I don’t want them to look beige either though, I also don’t want the color to “pull” green or blue from the sea salt walls (in my kitchen the color looks smack in the middle like an aqua rather than very green). We would greatly appreciate your input on this please.

Also if you have any ideas or suggestions regarding stools & above island lighting fixtures, I’m definitely all ears.

Happy holidays and thanks in advance!

VANCOUVER ISLAND – SWEET! I love when I see locals pop up :). And if you ask me, I would do Simply White on the walls. It can be tough to mix and match whites as what you’ve already experienced will happen – one white showcases the DIFFERENCE in another. Pure White would potentially look even a bit more dingy next to Simply White as it’s less warm than White Dove.

Just to share…an essay to show I’m paying attention! I am currently almost finished having my bathroom expanded and renovated and I think I’ve reached peak decision overload. My normal inclination would be to do some color but I splurged on a gorgeous handmade blue-green tile for the shower wall so I want that to be the star! The shower side walls are white subway tile. The floor is a slightly warm grey, as is the vanity top—the vanity is cherry, so…warm. The room is north facing and while it has a big window for a small bathroom, it’s still a normal bathroom window. I’ve been thinking SW Greek Villa for a while with High Reflective white for the door & trim. Thought being it was slightly warmer while not being too warm. But after reviewing your articles and comparing with the tile color, I’m leaning Pure White or High Reflective for the walls, but the latter seems a bit too bright for all walls. And is slightly brighter than the tile. How am I doing, teach? At least this is a way lower pressure decision than picking permanent fixtures!!! Thanks for all you do!
🙂

I am in the process of updating my kitchen. We have replaced the cabinet doors and painted the SW Pure White (which I love). My countertops are Cambria Ironsbridge. I am having a difficult time choosing a white subway tile that coordinates well with the Pure White. The stark white tiles are too white and the softer white come off as slightly off white. I see you have photos of Pure White with subway tiles. Are there specific brands that you can suggest?

Hi Christian, great question! I prefer a high quality matte on the walls (personally) or at the most, eggshell. On trims, it’s almost ALWAYS satin/pearl ;).

Thank you for the super informative post! When painting walls and trim with SW Pure white, what sheen do you personally recommend on the walls vs. the trim?

Thank you so much!

Hi Amy! While I can’t say that whites the BEST choice for your home without seeing it, if you’re thinking white and already have Pure White in play, then YES, I would stick with Pure White 🙂

Well, speaking from PERSONAL opinion, I chose to paint our INTERIOR DOORS a soft warm gray (BM Revere Pewter) and it’s not that i don’t love them, I do, but they TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY limit me when I want to make FUTURE colour changes – I always have to accommodate the depth/undertone. A room can really only handle one paint colour in a certain depth, so having Agreeable Gray trim means that if you don’t want white walls down the road, you either have to KEEP them or go with a light-medium to medium depth on the walls. For this reason, they make me nervous. HOWEVER, between painting trim and doors, I would ALWAYS paint doors as they’re way easier to change down the road than all the trim!

Thank you!!

Hi Allison, generally, I don’t worry AT ALL about HRW with slightly warm finishes – you’re good!

Hi Amanda, people do it, but it depends on what YOU want out of your white paint colour. HRW will show off or ENHANCE the subtle warmth in Pure White making it look that bit more yellow in comparison. PERSONALLY, i lean towards having all of the surfaces the same white so that one doesn’t set the other off ;).

I’m having a huge dilemma. I painted my kitchen cabinets in SW high reflective white after a post you made on that color. I ended up having to repaint my kitchen and dining area in SW pure white after that since the white color I had on the walls prior came off way too creamy in comparison to high reflective white. We have now decided to use SW pure white as a whole house paint color. I’m wondering if it would be ok to use high reflective white on all trim and doors against the pure white walls. I know the LRV is a difference of about 9. Do you think this will look ok? Thank you!

Ooooo, I HAVE to say Pure White, only because off-whites are trickier as trim colours and WILL limit you in the longer if you ever want to change wall colours!

Thank you so much!

Hi Krista, I don’t think either would be bad, but Pure White would give you a SOFTER contrast as the LRV is a bit lower than Oxford White 🙂

Well Jen, from the SOUNDS of it, Alabaster could likely be a better fit and it REALLY IS a gorgeous white (whereas I’d definitely be talking you out of Creamy 😉

Hi Diana! Of the 2, I LEAN into Sherwin Williams Pure White as it’s that bit softer. I also love the slightly whiter approach of BM Oxford White, which isn’t AS white as Chantilly Lace :).

Aww, I’m so glad to hear that! And don’t worry, while I can advise people ALL DAY LONG, I get massive (massive) anxiety when choosing colours for my own home, so I get it!
So, if it were ME and I were you, I would probably hit SW Pure White on the cabinets and hope that the change in rooms/exposure/lighting fudges any shifts (which it really SHOULD). The goal is that only YOU would know they were different whites :). Actually, check out BM Oxford White too…:)

I love your blog and Instagram and am so thankful for it!. I have been a student of your blog for a year now and you have helped me tremendously! Picking paint colors has always caused me so much anxiety, but your information has given me confidence to start trying!

Hi Vanessa, it’s SUPER IMPORTANT that the white you choose matches the white in your backsplash. If it’s more yellow (ie: Alabaster probably will be, even though it’s a lovely warm white) it could look yellow in comparison to the brighter look of traditional white subway tile. Pure White could be a happy medium as it probably isn’t as white, but at least it’s less yellow! Really, High Reflective White is often a closer choice :).

I love your posts. Seriously some of the best advice when it comes to paint colors. I never knew about LRV and why it’s important until I came across your blog. I am sort of stumped on picking a white for my kitchen walls trim and doors. The kitchen has north and east facing windows and seems on the darker side. The cabinets are painted SW Dorian Gray, the countertops are concrete with a white subway backsplash and charcoal gray tile floor. I want a softer tad bit warm white. I am considering either SW Alabaster and SW Pure White. This would be the same trim and door color through the entire house with SW Gossamer Veil on the rest of the walls. Would painting the walls, trim and doors all the same color be too much of one color? Again thank you for your content.

Vanessa

This is true! And thanks for catching that Melanie, at first I was confused :).