Well, Maureen, it depends on how fussy you are. ANY warmer white that’s lighter and/or less creamy than your cabinets will make your cabinets look that much more yellow ‘in comparison’. This would drive ME crazy, but I know not everyone is as nutty about colour as me ;). If it were me, I would be more inclined to match the trim and cabinets. Mind you, if they are VERY VERY cream, I could change my mind on that.

This is true…kind of ;). The thing is, a white like White Dove has a bit of gray to it, but the gray only acts to calm down the warmth. As soon as it’s a VISIBLE GRAY, it’s not a warm colour anymore. I know, it’s a hard one to wrap the ole noggin’ around ;).

So, if I’m reading this correctly, there’s not a great white that is a very very small bit on the warm side that has gray undertones???? And, I have serious doubts that I’m reading this correctly…. HELP!

Kristy…thank you 😉

I love your humor! Don’t ever stop being you! 🙂

Hi, Kylie

I love reading your posts. The information is always very informative. We are in the process of repainting our master bedroom and master bathroom. There is a large cut glass window over the tub in the bathroom, and the window faces northwest. We have a new Caesarstone Taj Royale countertop. We installed Crema Cappuccino marble in the shower and the floor of the bathroom. The cabinets are painted BM Whital Brown. We decided to paint the walls BM Maritime White, but are having difficulty choosing the trim color. We’ve used Maritime White trim in the rest of the house, but the color looks very brownish in the bathroom on the wall facing Northwest. We are considering BM White Dove and BM Cloud White. The bedroom will be painted BM Manchester Tan, and we hope to use the same trim in the bedroom and the bathroom. Do you have any recommendations? We appreciate your time and your expertise.
Thank you,
Dana

Interested to hear how Silver Satin worked – lighter than the Balboa Mist but seems a beautiful grey.

Hi Mary! I do find that the Saltillo tiles work a bit better with slightly warmer whites vs stark or cold ones. Take a look at SW Pure White perhaps. I do love Chantilly and it can look great if you have south-facing light, but it can look a bit chilly if you have north-facing light! And whites are THE WORST to sample as the undertones tend to be OVERexposed, so you have to be super patient. And while I never rely 100% on Pinterest, I do sometimes find it easier to base things on Pinterest as in person, those white samples can just look pretty colourful!

Hi Nicole, yes, I would recommend that for consistency :).

Oh Jenny, thank you, I’m glad you guys think I’m funny – my hubby doesn’t always agree (I think I’m ALWAYS funny 😉

Happy painting!

Hi Katie! Probably not. Ballet White has a decent depth to it and it really DOES come to life when it has some trim to contrast with. I’d look at BM White Dove :).

I wanted to come back and thank you for your input but couldn’t find my post! We had to put our cabinets on hold but are revisiting the idea again. It seems that BM Decorator’s White blends the best with our trim but I am nervous to pick a white that leans cool. SW Extra White is the other contender. Hopefully we will pick the “right” white 🙂

Hi Kathy, you might want to check out Sherwin Williams High Reflective White, which is just pretty darned white and flexible! I love SW Pure White too, but it is a wink warmer/softer. As for the built-ins, I wouldn’t do them a different white. If you’re doing white throughout, I would do the same white, otherwise, you’ll enhance the undertones in the different whites.

Hi Monique – you are SO right, the sheen of the cabinets will ABSOLUTELY affect how the colours look! Cabinets are usually a satin/pearl finish (I love BM Advance) and that can make things look that bit brighter. From what I’m hearing, don’t do Cloud White. I wonder if you might like White Dove slightly lightened. Sadly, it’s not an easy thing to sample, but the idea is that they add 4-6 drops of white to the gallon of White Dove, which just lifts it a stitch. That is my BEST thought for you 🙂 I do love Simply White, but find it can look a wink yellowish for my tastes 🙂

Thanks for the reply – I’ll keep working on it!

Hi Nancy! When it comes to Behr, I’m just not as familiar with their colours to really be able to touch on that for you – my focus is primarily BM and SW. There is no harm in asking them to do 50% lighter, but at that shift you can expect the undertones to change, so be sure to do a LARGE sample to make sure you like it. Personally, I’m inclined to keep cabinets/trim/ceilings all the same, but that’s not always possible 😉

Hi Jen! Without knowing what that trim is, it’s hard to say, but i AM a big fan of matching my whites for consistency…definitely. From the sounds of it, Pure White might be a better choice as it isn’t as yellow as Simply White, but not AS stark as some whites (but it is more white than not…)

HI Kim, well if it were ME, I would do Cloud White trim too! The cool thing is that because trim is generally a satin or semi-gloss finish and the walls are either ulti-matte or eggshell, there can be a weeee subtle shift between the 2 surfaces to set things off slightly, without worrying about undertones. I wouldn’t do white…I hope that helps 🙂

Hi Paula, without knowing the exact white of your shutter, there just won’t be a safe white that I can recommend! Between Cloud White and White Dove, I would lean MORE toward White Dove, but again, we just can’t know! If you want it to match the shutter perfectly, you’d want to take it into the store and have them colour match it for you… 🙂

Thanks Kylie! I will definitely send you pictures once it’s done. But it looks like the room actually has a northeast / north / slightly north west orientation (as opposed to NW-SW). I’m worried that the Stonington will read too cold with the northern light …. so now I’m shifting to Silver Satin (FR) and Newburyport Blue (DR) instead. What do you think about Simply White trim? The southwest side of the house will be Smoke Embers … lots of sunlight there, so no issues there.

Oooo, I’m liking the sounds of that! White Dove is just a versatile, easy white to work with! I also like the slightly more clean approach of Oxford White. If you have a lot of ‘white’ in your home, Oxford might be a better fit, but if you have some softer whites, White Dove could be better (I also love SW Pure White which is kind of in between the 2).

I’d LOVE to see the Newburyport all done!

~Kylie

Hi Jed, yes north facing light could definitely kill the glory of PUre White. I’m wondering if you might like the softness of BM White Dove or SW Alabaster? Even BM Cloud White could work? I have blog posts on BOTH of these brands (re: the best white paint colours) that might help you! https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/the-8-best-benjamin-moore-white-paint-colours-undertones-and-more/

Hi Dylan, thank you for your note! When it comes to questions like yours, I actually created an Edesign business – this way I can look at photos/questionnaire and come up with ideas that work, otherwise I’m TOTALLY guessing on what things look like on your end! It is affordable and fun! If you find that the complimentary blog post info isn’t working, it might be the next step! https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/online-decorating-design-services/
~Kylie

Hi Haddie, unfortunately there isn’t really a comparable in SW – but you could ask them to colour match it for you? It won’t be 100% but close, just check it with the original sample 🙂

I have rainwashed in my entryway (which I just love) but can’t find a color to put on the top of my small dining room. Afraid to go with too much blue or similar shades. Looking for a subtle greyer blue color and failing. Any thoughts?
Thank you!
Dylan

Oooo Susan, great idea for a blog post! The only thing is that I use only my own photos and I don’t have any clients exteriors in the best whites – so it would be hard for me to reference them! Mind you, sometimes just info is helpful! BTW, I would check out SW Pure White…

Lovely comment, thank you Robin! Whites can be SUCH a bugger so hopefully the bits n pieces help!

Wonderful, looking forward to it Cheryl!

Ooo Shari, you know what – SW just doesn’t have great ones in the super light off-white gray – nobody does really! It seems that undertones come up so much in that range. Eider White is a popular off-white, but it can cast a touch purple. Egret White is a bit warmer/greige and same thing. The best as far as I’m concerned is SW Crushed Ice, but it’s getting closer to the ‘light’ range as it has more depth to it. Ice Cube is a lovely, cooler off-white, but again, you will likely see those cool undertones coming up a bit more than you’d like…