AT least once a week – I get asked about WHITE PAINT COLORS –
White is HOT and Interior and Exterior whites still rule the roost when it comes to choosing paint colors.
A few years ago, we painted the exterior of our 140 year old house which had NEVER been painted – not EVER –
BENJAMIN MOORE SIMPLY WHITE
Simply white, as it turns out was the perfect color for our house. We needed something that could complement an OLD house, not make it look too modern…but at the same time too aged intentionally. Simply white has ever the slightest bit of a gold undertone…but VERY SLIGHT…not as much as Mountain peak or Acadia or Linen….but not as cool as White wisp or Glacier or Cloud white. I was surprised at how nervous I was choosing this color…it is such a HUGE cost and mistakes are almost impossible to correct on our budget. once we got started I knew I had made the right choice.
NOW – BEFORE you run out and get any old white for your house – remember that while the fresh clean WHITE Farmhouse look is having a big moment right now – not every house looks its best in white. There are SO VERY many colors to choose from. White being just one. That being said…
HERE ARE SOME MORE OF MY FAVORITE BENJAMIN MOORE EXTERIOR WHITES…
I HAVE LISTED THESE COLORS IN NO ORDER, WITH SHORT LITTLE DESCRIPTIONS, LIKE MY SHORT HAND WHEN I AM TRYING TO FOCUS MYSELF. COLORS LIKE “GOLDEN” AND “COOL” HELP ME ORGANIZE THESE COLORS, WHICH WHEN LAID OUT ARE AS DIFFERENT AS NIGHT AND DAY….BUT IF YOU HAVE JUST ONE SAMPLE IN YOUR HAND…LOOKS LIKE PLAIN OLD WHITE.
THE ABSOLUTE BIGGEST HELP FOR ME WAS TO BUY THE PINT SAMPLES AND PAINT RIGHT ON THE HOUSE, FIND AN AREA THAT GETS GOOD LIGHT. I WAS SURPRISED AT HOW INCREDIBLY DIFFERENT THESE COLOR LOOK OUTSIDE…COMPARED TO INSIDE.
HAVE FUN!
SWISS COFFEE
WARM, DEEP AND RICH
GLACIER WHITE
EVER SO SLIGHTEST HINT OF GRAY, COOLER, “DIRTIER” IN A VERY GOOD WAY
LINEN WHITE
MORE “AGED” IN A GOOD WAY, LEANS TOWARD A VERY PALE GOLDEN UNDERTONE, WARM
WHITE WISP
A CHAMELEON COLOR, LEANS TOWARD A DUSKY GRAY / BLUE UNDERTONE, COOL-WARM
WHITE DOVE
UNCOMPLICATED, COOLER BUT STILL WARM, “PRETTY” EASY COLOR
MOUNTAIN PEAK WHITE
WARM GOLDEN UNDERTONE, CLEAN AND SMOOTH, CLASSIC
CLOUD WHITE
GREAT MIDDLE GROUND WHITE, GRAY UNDERTONE BUT STILL WARM, STATELY
ACADIA WHITE
DEEPER “AGED” WHITE, WARM AND HEAVIER, VERY VERSATILE
THERE ARE OH SO MANY MORE WHITES OUT THERE. TOO MAY IN FACT – BUT WITH TIME AND PATIENCE – IF WHITE IF YOUR COLOR – YOU WILL FIND THE RIGHT ONE FOR YOUR HOME!
Love your color round ups, always helpful, thank you!
~Deborah
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Have u seen snowfall white on exterior. Down to snowfall and cloud white for my exterior. White dove not bright enough for what I am looking for. Any pictures of snowfall exterior? Thanks so much, your posts are so helpfu.
I have not seen snowfall on an exterior but I use it a lot in my artwork. It has a blue grey undertone…making it ever so slightly cooler. I would go with Simply White if you want a warmer- brighter white.
Thank u
Beautiful!! Thank you for sharing these inspiring photos! When I was a child, there was a white house in my twon and I couldn’t get my eyes off that house whenever I got there.
I love white and dislike yellow or creamy undertones. We’ve ripped out all carpet and installed wide pine plank flooring and I’ve white washed my floors. This year, we are plunkering a huge amount of money to get our 1980s home updated with white paint inside and out. Our home is surrounded with a lot of oak trees and redwood trees- lots of foliage. I wanted to simplify by picking white paint for both inside and outside, but I never imagine how tough it is to pick the right shade of white! We’ve narrowed down to White Heron (too blueish/greenish), Cloud White (too yellow/creamy) and Chantily Lace (I like this the most, but scared that it might be too starky white). I’m going to buy another sample of Oxford white to try on our walls since I heard it has greyish undertones. Anyone have experience with Chantily Lace, Oxford White and any other recommendations?
Chantilly Lace seems to me to have the least chroma and the highest light reflective value, but I also hesitate because I figure that means it also could lack depth in a flat paint and maybe reflect too much surrounding color. I tend to like a little hint of creaminess, but if you don’t, you might consider Super White (bright white softened with just a bit of true gray), Distant Gray (a tiny bit brighter/more light reflective value than Super White, go figure, very faintest suggestion of blue when compared to Chantilly Lace), and Snowfall White (only the tiniest bit more “greige” colorant than Chantilly Lace, and the second brightest of the four). I have many, many paint boards in my basement right now…
I want a slightly creamy white house. Ours is a colonial style, however we have a medium brown shingle roof. I like a crisp white but it needs to blend well with the roof. Ang suggestions. Thinking of swiss coffee….
swiss Coffee is exactly what I would suggest!!!
Need a white that has a slight gray undertone. Three story plantation style house. Thinking Simply or Glacier. What do you think?