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Choosing the Perfect Warm White Paint Color

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Today I’m sharing our journey to find the perfect warm white paint color in a SEA of white paint choices. If you’re here, you probably know how…overwhelming this journey for warm white walls can be. *insert sweating emoji*

I ordered all paint samples from Samplize. It is really important to note that paint colors will read differently from home to home. You should absolutely order paint samples before committing to a whole house wall color. For instance, our living room has a blue hue to it due to the windows and skylights in our living roomso I need a slightly warmer color to truly read warm.

I have found Samplize to be the most cost-efficient AND time-efficient way to sample multiple paint colors. And truly, if you are researching the right paint color for your home – samples are needed. Take it from someone who has chosen the wrong shade before!

Now that I’ve really stressed that (lol!), we can continue.

warm white paint color

OUR CURRENT PAINT COLOR AND WHY WE ARE CHANGING IT:

Our living room is currently painted Simply White by Benjamin Moore, and while I love this color throughout the rest of our home – in our family room, due to skylights, tall ceilings, and the way our windows face – it can lean a bit blue. Simply White is a bright color, with an LRV (light reflectance value) of 89.5. That is very high and reflective of light, so our living room is always VERY bright. Which is wonderful in low light situations, but our living room is the opposite of that.

This time around, I knew how important LRV was. I also knew to paint attention to undertones (our walls tend to make everything lean a bit green). So I knew to look for a paint with subtle purple/pink hues or a very solid neutral.

warm white paint color

After researching colors I loved for MONTHS, here are the colors I ended up testing out in our space. I’m including what the color samples look like on our wall, as well as the inspiration photos for the color choices.

These photos have not been edited in any way in order to show you the truest representation of these colors on our Simply White walls.

HOW TO FIND THE PERFECT WARM WHITE PAINT COLOR:

Finding the perfect white color is all about understanding your space’s natural lighting, artificial lighting, and how colors shift in different rooms.

For instance, if you have a south-facing room, you may want to opt for cooler whites like Chantilly Lace, Benjamin Moore’s White Dove, or Simply White by Benjamin Moore. If you’re working with a north-facing room, warm white colors like I’m discussing in this post may be a better fit.

You will want to look at undertones and LRV before committing to a paint color.

In the end, the best white paint color for your home depends on the room feel you’re going for. Testing stick samples or ordering samples from is essential. Trust me, different colors will look wildly different under various conditions!

WHAT IS LRV AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

LRV stands for Light Reflectance Value, which tells you how much light a paint color will reflect. It’s very important when choosing a warm white because it affects how bright or soft the color looks in your space. A high LRV (closer to 100) means the color will reflect more light and make a room feel brighter, while a lower LRV makes the color look richer and cozier.

Since warm whites have subtle undertones, checking the LRV helps you avoid a color that looks too bright and stark or too dull and heavy, so you get the perfect soft, inviting look.

This is the mistake we made choosing simply white in our very blue-lit, tall ceiling living room. We needed a lower LRV to ground the space.

WARM WHITE PAINT COLOR OPTIONS WE CONSIDERED:

Dover White by Sherwin Williams

Dover White by Sherwin Williams is a creamy white with soft beige undertones. It has an LRV of 83, which means it reflects enough light to keep spaces airy without being too bright. Set against Simply White, it’s a tad darker and several shades warmer. This one definitely reads a bit yellow in warm light, but in a very beautiful way.

warm white paint color

This color sets cozy atmosphere and a welcoming feel that I really love. And while some do not usually love to see yellow undertones in paint colors, I really appreciate how this one brings warmth to a space. In our case, I do not think the LRV is low enough for the contrast that our walls need.

I first fell in love with this color after seeing it in helloimaubs beautiful home on instagram. Buttery goodness! I love the soft contrast.

White Tie by Farrow & Ball

White Tie by Farrow & Ball is a warm white shade with warm undertones. This one, very much like Dover White, has an LRV of 84—so it is light and airy but not too bright. White Tie keeps its warmth, even in north-facing rooms, which is what originally drew me to this color for our living room.

This color looks so beautiful in inspiration photos, but in my house, it reads almost orange during certain times of the day. It is absolutely stunning in houseofbobalou’s home.

This color reads differently at different times of day. In the early morning and evening, this color does read more like the inspiration photo. But midday, it gives off a bit too much of an orange feel in our home.

Greek Villa by Sherwin Williams

Greek Villa by Sherwin Williams is a soft white with very subtle undertones of beige and yellow. Again, with an LRV of 84, it will be light and airy without being too stark.

Compared to Simply White, this color reads a tad darker and warmer. Compared to Alabaster, this color is a bit lighter and warmer. It really is a beautiful color, but not as warm as I’d like for our living room.

While it’s not as warm as our living room needs, it would certainly read very warm in the right space.

Source: fourgenerationsoneroof
warm white paint color

Edgecomb Gray by Benjamin Moore

Edgecomb Gray by Benjamin Moore is a technically a greige, and not a white. I considered it though because of inspiration photos that I found where it reads delicously warm and creamy. This is also our paint cabinet color, and I can attest to how warm and versatile the color is.

It has an LRV of 63, so while it’s not as light and airy as others mentioned above, it’s still on the lighter side. If it has any different undertones at all, I would say there is a hint of green in there.

It’s really important to note that Edgecomb Gray is much lighter and warmer in my kitchen. In this room, however, it reads darker with more gray notes coming out. So again, another reason to test this perfect shade in your own home! In my opinion, this is the darkest this color will read.

edgecomb gray

Slipper Satin by Farrow & Ball

Slipper Satin by Farrow & Ball is a warm off-white with subtle pink and beige undertones. It has an LRV of 82, so (have you noticed a theme for me here! lol) it is bright without being stark. This is such a yummy, soft white.

I really loved this color and truly considered it. However, it pulled a bit too green in our living room.

Source: thedurdlehome

Linen White by Benjamin Moore

Linen White by Benjamin Moore is a soft, warm off-white with yellow and beige undertones. With an LRV of 77, it reflects light gently, creating a warm and cozy vibe.

I fell in love with this color after seeing it on mandyenohome’s instragram. She pairs it against Simply White walls and uses it on all interior doors and trim work. It really is stunning as a trim color or accent color.

In my home, it pulled kind of peachy.

warm white paint color

Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore

Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore is a warm, subtle off-white with very soft yellow and beige undertones. With an LRV of 81, it is a light and bright color. I find that this color reads gentle white (no yellow) unless paired directly with a bright white (as seen below).

The photo below shows Swiss Coffee against Simply White by Benjamin Moore (our current wall color). I knew going in that this would most likely not be as warm and rich as I needed for our living room, but I wanted it as a point of reference.

I really wanted to love Swiss Coffee. It certainly had a lower LRV that I was after as you can see against the Simply White, but it wasn’t warm enough.

Navajo White by Benjamin Moore

Navajo White by Benjamin Moore is a warm, off-white with strong yellow and beige undertones. This color has a very rich, earthy feel. It has an LRV of 81, so again, keeping that airy feeling without being stark.

It is absolutely stunning color drenched in this home. In my home, this color read straight orange throughout most of the day.

Source: Jenny Steffens

Schoolhouse White by Farrow & Ball

School House White by Farrow & Ball is a muted, off-white with subtle gray and beige undertones. This color has a very understated feel with its low contrast and gentle cool warmth. I love the lived-in, neutral, effortless feel of this color.

I think this color is absolutely beautiful, but in my home it read too green.

Shoji White by Sherwin Williams

Shoji White by Sherwin Williams is an off-white with subtle greige undertones. I would almost call it a very, very light greige with a subtle pink undertone. It has an LRV of 74, so it’s a nice in-between between a lighter or darker color.

Shoji White is kind of the sweet spot for our home. It has a low enough LRV to really bring warmth and depth, and it has a very subtle pink undertone to combat the green/blue light our living room receives. Initially, it wasn’t my first choice. But as I sat with the colors for a few days, it quickly became a top contender.

Alabaster by Sherwin Williams

Alabaster by Sherwin Williams – if you haven’t heard of this one, you’ve probably been living under a rock for the past 5 years! This is a very popular warm white paint color option with soft beige undertones. I find that it is pretty neutral, without leaning too warm or too cold. With an LRV of 82, it creates a light, airy atmosphere. In my opinion, this reads true white without being stark.

Compared to Simply White, it reads darker and more neutral. You hear so much about what a warm white Alabaster is, I was actually surprised to find that it pulls a bit less yellow than Simply White.

White Duck by Sherwin Williams

White Duck by Sherwin Williams is an off-white with a perfect balance of subtle greige and beige undertones, giving it a natural, earthy feel. With an LRV of 74, it reflects light gently, creating a cozy and inviting atmosphere without being too bright or stark.

While it leans a bit greige in my blue-hued living room, it still has warm tones. For our space, it was a bit too green.

OUR FAVORITE WARM WHITE PAINT COLOR:

What a great question. That as I type this, I wish I had an answer to. After making the wrong decision for our space with Simply White, I’m hesitant to rush this decision. BUT what I can say is that my two front-runners out of the samples here are Dover White and Shoji White.

I love Dover white for the sun-drenched vibe. I truly love the saturation and yellow undertones of this paint that bring so much warmth. But I love Shoji white for its more neutral warmth and depth. Shoji White has a lower LRV (that our living room really needs for grounding).

I will be updating you guys as soon as I make a decision. I hope my journey in choosing the perfect warm white paint color is helpful in your own!

Until next time,
Courtney

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