Hi Alissa, while they can definitely have similarities, they’re different colours at heart 🙂

THANK you for this, Petula! It’s comments like yours that really help others see if a colour could work for them – especially one like Atrium White that has trickier undertones – thank you!!!

I’m a happ person living with Atrium White on my walls on a bright basement. I get southeast and southwest direcisun and the room is warm and cozy. The undertones here come out to a light, creamy peach, but very delicate. Its a room full of light wood accents, white furniture, one dark navy/gray couch and a few plants. It pairs nicely with doors, trims and ceiling snowflake white, also by BM. The floor is a medium dark brown.

Phone cameras don’t do it justice but I jave to say it’s such a pretty colora especially at sunrise and sunset. Perfect for my yoga practice or tea with the girls.

thanks for this – i’m on the struggle bus. Semi open floor plan and need wall, trim, cabinet paint. Floors dark walnut – both rooms south facing and lots of trees outside so not as much sunlight as I would like even though lots of windows. i’ve read through your website – my kitchen countertops are more like a venetial gold (more bigger movement but those colors as house built 2000). so your blog says I need to focus on warmer whites (backsplash is a travertine – not gold and the grout is more taupe neutral). Considering Alabaster for trim/cabinets. Heres the catch is the wall color for both rooms. My couch is beige but has cooler undertones. Right now walls are SW Neutral Ground and reads too creamy with the couch. I like light airy and I think I can pull off some cool tones as you said south facing as it pulls in some warmth which warms up the cooler walls. I think colors like repose gray and agreeable gray are darker than what I want to go with. But with alabaster trim I have to be careful. Oh and my fireplace is a limestone with some warmth there.

I know you are very busy! and you like to drink a wine. 🙂
However, The more I look at the posting and paint the sample, the more difficult it becomes, so I leave a message because I need your help!

I narrowed the paint colors to paint in my living room to a few.
The floor is the problem. It’s “travertine”. I saw in your post that Kilim Beige goes well with it, but I want to go in a brighter tone (east and west facing widows I have) because the color feels too dark too toasted and there’s not much lighting in my house.

So I think BM white dove or oxford white or SW aesthetic white. I have no furniture yet.

Could you save me from the paint dilemma that lasted for several weeks? I studied a lot with your post, but it’s still hard for me to choose between these three.
I watched a lot of your YouTube videos as well. 🙂

Thank you very much!!!

Would you do something completely different then? I would like the kitchen to be brighter. The house is over 100 years, it has 9’ ceilings, 8” baseboards and 7” headers over the doorways and has crown mouldings. I have a east facing window over the sink, 4 doorways – one door leads out to a south facing covered veranda, so it does let in a bit of light. The walls in the kitchen are BM Natural Linen and the walls in the dining/living room are Piedmont Grey. The entire house has Oxford White trim. Sometimes the light in the kitchen the trim looks almost the same as the Simply White cabinets as it’s oil based paint, painted over 20 years ago. Thanks so much!

Ooo, that’s a tough one Cindy. YOu already have two competing whites going on with different undertones. My best thought would be Simply White as any whiter white WILL make your cabinets look more yellow in comparison, especially with a lacquer. This being said, even Simply White walls could make your cabinets look a bit more yellow in comparison BECAUSE of the lacquer – you’re in a very tough spot as far as white goes.

I love the look of a white kitchen with black accents. Right now my kitchen has Oxford white trim and Simply white cabinets and linen coloured walls. What white would I use on the walls? I don’t want the cabinets to look to yellow (they have lacquer in the finish). I’d like to have the clean white look. The kitchen has a east facing window.
Thanks in advance

Hi Ijay, i HIGHLY RECOMMEND sticking with the same white for all surfaces so you don’t have one making the other look more dingy/yellow/etc… :).

Thanks for this amazing information in understanding whites. Very helpful. I’m in the process of choosing the paint colors for my new build. I really like the BM White Dove for all the walls, and leaning towards the BM Simply White for the Trims, doors and Cabinets. Would this be a good combination?

IJAY

I love your web site and have learned a lot. I wish I had read it sooner. I painted my laundry room Simply White and it flashes yellow. Really yellow. The new appliances and sink we ordered are white. I’m afraid the two will not go together. I’m thinking of repainting the room Oxford White or White heron. Will either of those go with the white appliances? Thanks so much!

Hi Kelly, I DEFINITELY recommend using the same white on a variety of surfaces for consistency. There are some whites that can be mixed and matched, but you have to be so careful as undertones can clash SO fast.

Well, it depends on what you don’t like about it and what you were HOPING for. In my opinion, seeing as you’re researching and left a comment, that changing it could be a good thing :).

Shoelace by Behr
Simply White by Benjamin Moore
Tibetan Jasmine by Ralph Lauren
Wevet by Farrow and Ball
White Tie by Farrow and Ball
Creamy by Sherwin Williams
Pointing 2003 by Farrow and Ball

Hi Elizabeth, take a look at BM Oxford White, see how it feels 🙂

I might look at BM Oxford White 🙂

Wow, well is that every a nice note to get, THANK you! If you can let Tim know that I’m funny, that would be great – he just rolls his eyes ;).

Hi Jude, I do wonder if you might like the just slightly COOLER approach of Benjamin Moore Decorator’s White, which is a softer white that isn’t warm!

Well, personally, I’m a matte finish gal myself, but it’s NOT as wipeable as eggshell, so it really depends on how hard you are on your home ;).

Well, I might just keep it simple with something like BM Super White!

i’m helping my son paint his house which is BM linen white . most of the house faces North so the yellow actually gets toned down pretty good. I’m wondering what color to paint the trim ? Most of the doors are a factory white paint i’m trying to get as close to that without it looking to stark ? The SW pure white looks the closest but it comes across a little grey., .any suggestions?

Hi Amanda! So, there is quite a difference between Oxford White and Dove Wing and yes, for what it sounds like you want to do, it could be a bit dingy, in which case, you could look at White Dove on the ceiling to off-set this a bit. However, Oxford White in a north-facing room wouldn’t be very warm (I’m a big White Dove fan for what it sounds like you want to do, just sayin’).
And yes, sheen is a great way to play with a single colour – flat for ceiling, matte or eggshell on walls and satin for trim – my fave combo!

Hi Stefanie! It means that if you don’t have a pure/clean/crisp white next to it, it will look white. However, if you put it with a clean white, you will see that it’s actually softer.

Oooo, those could be pretty…but maybe a bit warm. Opposites attract and bounce off of each other. The warmest I would do would be BM Simply White, where you’ll still get some reaction between the siding/trim, but not as much yellow. I also LOOOVE SW Pure White, which is considerably cleaner, and only a wink soft, if you don’t mind doing a different brand on the trim (I do it all the time).

Ooooo, I hope I’m not too late! If it were ME, I would choose the same white as it can be tricky with mixing and matching white undertones (hot mess). You’ll find that the sheen of the paint will off-set the colour just slightly too (walls would be matte or flat and trim would be satin). For a good general ‘white’, SW Pure White is awesome but can look a bit stark/cold if you have northern light. If you have northern/gray light, BM White Dove is beautiful because it’s softer and warmer.
One blend I DO like though is BM White Dove and BM Oxford White on the trim – but really, I’d just choose 1 white if it were me :).

The second question is: what is the best paint to accompany a darker faux-concrete painted wall in a bedroom with black sliders? A million thanks.

Hi Pilar! I do like Pure White as it does have a bit of softness, while still acting quite white – 2nd would be Decorator’s White 🙂

Hi Haily, I like the sounds of that! White Dove is a softer, warmer white and can help out in eastern rooms for sure!