What is a good warm white paint color?
Best 10 Warm White Sherwin Williams & Benjamin Moore paint colors
Choosing the best warm white paint color can transform your interior into a cozy, welcoming sanctuary of comfort and familiarity. Warm whites—with their subtle undertones of red, orange, yellow, or pink—create a soft backdrop off of which natural and warm white light can reflect for the perfect space to hang out in with friends and family.
How can painting your room white go wrong?
Picking a white paint color can be the hardest paint color to pick. In one year I had THREE clients come to me after they painted their interior white only to hate the color and wanted to repaint it.
White is the trickiest paint color to choose and here’s why. There are two types of white paint. Cool white and warm white. Picking the correct tone of white can look amazing but picking the wrong tone can be disastrous.
Cool white vs Warm white paint
Warm whites have warm undertones of pink, red, orange and yellow. They look soft, warm and relaxed. Warm white rooms are cozy and inviting.
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.
Cool whites have blue and gray undertones. They appear clean and crisp. Cool white painted rooms are the backdrop to create a masterpiece.
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. Also, pictures that you see on Instagram are typically professionally decorated and photos are professionally taken so its trickier to create that same look and feel as you see on Instagram and Pinterest.
Read: Should I Paint my Walls White? Read this first!
Read: Best Cool White Paint Colors
Whole House Paint Color
All of these warm white colors listed below, are top candidates for a whole house paint color for your common areas like hallways, stairways, and kitchens depending on the fixed elements of your kitchen.
Read: How to create a whole house color palette
Sherwin Williams Alabaster SW7008
Sherwin Williams Alabaster is Joanna Gaines go to neutral and its not hard to see why! This classic & popular warm white with creamy undertones is very flexible and works well on walls, cabinets, trim and is often used in open-concept spaces as a whole house paint color. 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.
Some people may find Alabaster a tad too yellow. Personally, I like the warmth of this color BUT you always need to test your paint color first! If you’re thinking of using Alabaster in your kitchen with white appliances and a white backsplash, this may not be the best color to choose.
Alabaster, like all warm white paint colors, can change color from room to room based on surrounding finishes, natural light, and lighting placement.
Alabaster is also a great exterior house paint color as well. Sherwin Williams named Alabaster Color of the Year in 2016.
With an LRV of 82, its just under the wire of being called a white paint color
Read: What is Light Reflective Value LRV in paint colors + why it matters!
Sherwin Williams Pure White SW 7005
Photo: MaisondePax.com
Sherwin Williams Pure White is a warm soft white with slight yellow undertones. I’m not sure why they call it pure white but if you want a warm white but less white than Alabaster, and one that doesn’t look creamy, than SW Pure White might be the one for you! Its one of Sherwin Williams most popular colors and its also very flexible and versatile as well. Its soft and warm without looking creamy. Pure White works well for walls, trims, cabinets, and exteriors. It’s LRV is 84 which puts it in the white category.
Sherwin Williams Greek Villa SW 7551
Photo: Pinterest
If you find SW Alabaster a bit too yellow, you might like Sherwin Williams Greek Villa. SW Greek Villa is a soft, sunny warm white paint color with yellow and beige undertones which makes it a bit more toned down that Alabaster. Look how warm and lovely Greek Villa looks with the white countertop pictured above!
Greek Villa is another versatile warm white that works well on interior walls, especially in open-concept spaces and as a whole house color. SW Greek Villa is also a very popular choice for house exteriors depending on the fixed elements of the exterior.
With an LRV of 84, SW Greek Villa is considered a white paint color.
Sherwin Williams Dover White SW 6385
Photo: Enthralling Gumption
Sherwin Williams Dover White is a warm, sun-splashed white, this hue makes any room breezy and welcoming
Sherwin Williams Creamy SW7012
Photo: Plan-Home.com
Creamy is a warm white that has the softest of yellow undertones to create a subtle warmth in the room.
With an LRV of 81, Creamy is considered a warm white paint color. Creamy is great as a whole house color, perfect for an open concept room and suitable for exteriors as exteriors. Creamy is going to look different on different facing walls. Creamy looks creamy on west and south facing walls, but not so much on a north facing wall. The daylight and lightbulbs used, will also effect how creamy the wall will look or not.
I would NOT recommend using Creamy for your trim, door or ceiling color. Here are better options instead:
The Best White Paint Color for Trim, Doors + Ceilings
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. With an LRV of 89.52, Simply White is considered a warm off-white paint color.
Simply White can be used as a whole house paint color, for open concepts and for exteriors as well. However, due to its yellow undertones, you would want a cleaner white paint color for trim, doors & ceilings.
Benjamin Moore White Dove OC-17
Benjamin Moore White Dove OC-17 is another popular white in the Benjamin Moore family that has been popular for years. Its a classic warm white without being yellow, and great for those tricky north facing rooms. It can be used as a whole house paint color if you’re looking for a clean warm white. You can also paint your trim with White Dove but using a different sheen than the walls for differentiation of course.
With an LRV of 83.16, White Dove in considered an off white paint color.
Benjamin Moore Cloud White OC-130
Cloud White is shown in this lovely bathroom on the upper wall. Its 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.
If you have north-facing or afternoon eastern light, you may find that Cloud White balances out that cooler, afternoon light. If you have south-facing light or afternoon western light, Cloud White can look a bit warmer. This is why testing is so important on all ways to make sure you’re happy with how the color looks at different times of the day.
Cloud White can be a whole house paint color, but it could look a tad yellow in some exposure. There are better choices for kitchen cabinets than Cloud White because of the yellow undertones.
It’s considered a soft warm white with an LRV of 85.05 its considered an off-white.
Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee OC-45
Picture: Fity.com
Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee is a popular warm creamy off-white paint color. It has subtle green undertones that keep Swiss Coffee from looking yellow on the walls but still gives a cozy and warm vibe. Swiss Coffee is a good choice as a whole house paint color and for open concepts areas in which we see above in this stunning space. It also works well on cabinets, trims and ceilings. Swiss Coffee is a popular choice for house exteriors.
With an LRV 81.91, Swiss Coffee is in their off white paint color collection.
Benjamin Moore Dove Wing OC-18
Photo: Pinterest
Benjamin Moore Dove Wing is a beautiful warm paint color with yellow and silvery undertones. It may seem a bit complicated to have two opposite undertones, but if you’re looking for a warm white that won’t show a tad yellow in some lighting like we’ve seen in some of the other colors, Dove Wing may be the perfect paint color for you!
Dove Wing can be a whole house color but be sure to test it to make sure its not too yellow for you. It can also work for kitchen cabinets and house exteriors as well. I would not use Dove Wing on trim, ceilings or doors. There are better options out there.
With an of LRV 83.16 Dove Wing is an off-white paint color.
Read: Best White Paint Colors for Trims, Doors + Ceilings
Not sure which is the best white for your home?
Do you want some professional help? Picking out paint colors, especially white, 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.
Hi! I’m Debi Collinson. Designer. Color Consultant & Real Estate Investor.
I conducted my first color consult at the age of 7, for my father for one of his design | build projects. I’m an Interior Designer, a Double-Certified Paint Color Expert, with advanced training in kitchens + bathrooms!
Since 2006, I have helped hundreds of clients, just like you, to style their house to make it a stunning retreat, that is functional for the family AND that they love and enjoy. In 2020, I moved my design business online.
I have successfully flipped 9 houses and am currently working on updating our dated 1950’s river house in my spare time lol.
