What is a good warm white paint color?
Best Warm White Benjamin Moore & Sherwin Williams paint colors
Painting your house white has slowly taking over gray as the fan favorite for the past few years. But now, white has become the go to neutral paint color favorite among home owners. And to be honest, its not hard to see why white is now the favorite neutral paint color. Its fresh and inviting. You see beautifully styled white rooms in the magazines and all over Instagram feeds. Its the blank canvas to create your stunning home.
But unfortunately there is a drawback to white paint colors that you may not even discover until you spent the time and money painting your room white, only to hate it in the end. But why?
How can painting your room white go wrong?
There are two types of white paint. Cool white and warm white. Picking the correct tone of white can look amazing likewise picking the wrong tone can be disastrous.
Cool white vs Warm white paint
Cool whites have blue and gray undertones. They appear clean and crisp. Cool white painted rooms are the backdrop to create a masterpiece.
Warm whites have warm undertones of pink, red, orange and yellow. They look soft, warm and relaxed. Warm white rooms are cozy and inviting.
Cool whites are great for rooms that get alot of natural light throughout the year. Cool white can look amazing BUT they can also make a room look dingy like primer or gray in the wrong conditions.
ALL whites are NOT created equal and white can actually be the trickiest color to decorate with.
Read Best Cool White Paint Colors
Warm whites are suitable for rooms where you may have less lighting and experience cold gray weather in the winter. Warm whites are more forgiving and easier to choose than a cool white. There are also other things you need to consider like the style of the house, your style, and the undertones of the elements of a room, before you choose a paint color.
Read How do I Pick a Paint Color for my House?
Best & most popular warm white paint colors:
Benjamin Moore Simply White OC-117
Benjamin Moore’s Simply White OC-117 is a warm classic popular white and it was their color of the year in 2016. It’s a warm white with yellow undertones. If your room receives an abundant amount of natural light, you won’t notice the yellow at all.
Benjamin Moore White Dove OC-17
Benjamin Moore White Dove OC-17 is another popular white in the Benjamin Moore family. Its a warm white without being yellow, and great for those tricky north facing rooms. It would also be suitable to paint your trim with White Dove but using a different sheen than the walls for differentiation.
Sherwin Williams Alabaster SW7008
Sherwin Williams Alabaster is a classic & popular warm white that was their Color of the Year in 2016. It is loved by designers and homeowners because its warm without being creamy. It would also be called an “off-white” but can still look white. It works well for those tricky north facing rooms because its warmth will lighten up the gray shadows that you find in north facing rooms.
Benjamin Moore Cloud White OC-130
Cloud White is one of the most popular warm whites because of its warmth. It makes a room feel cozy and inviting like this classic bathroom above. It has a touch of yellow and black undertones so some could find it a little creamy.
Not sure which is the best white for your home?
Need my help? Picking out paint colors can be very tricky figuring out the right color for the sunlight equation, undertones, going with your home & furniture style. I can take the guess work out for you and offer you 3 color choices based on a short questionnaire and your photos.
Explore my online paint color packages here.
I help busy homeowners, just like you, to style their house to make it a stunning retreat, where they can live and enjoy their home. I help homeowners, make money beyond their wildest expectations from the sale of their house by guiding them when they’re getting their house ready to sell.
Hi! I’m Debi Collinson. Designer. Color Consultant. Real Estate Investor.
I grew up learning how to read blue prints, going on construction sites and helping my dad, an Engineer|General Contractor|Co-Owner of a Design|Build|Engineering firm pick out paint colors for his buildings. Since 2006, I have been styling & staging hundreds of homes to make them look like they belong in a magazine page whether the client is styling to stay or staging to sell.
In my spare time, LOL, I buy “fixer uppers” to fix up & either sell for a healthy profit or to rent. I’m currently looking for my 10th “fixer upper.” Sign up to receive my e-mails of how to make your home stunning, how to sell your house for top dollar AND how to become financially independent one fixer upper at a time! Read my full story including my design credentials here.
