Top Ten White Paints - REFRESH
Introduction:
To this day, our blog’s most visited post is a roundup of top white paints from 2017. Five years later, we decided it deserved a little refresh! So today, we’re bringing you an updated roundup of DGI’s 10 favorite shades of white.
Top Tips for White Paint:
You may think the decision to paint your walls white is super simple, but that’s far from the truth. White paint changes depending on what kind light it’s getting, meaning it can vary by room, wall, and even time of day. Our biggest recommendation if you’re searching for the perfect white paint: narrow down your options to five favorites, pick up some samples from your local paint store, and put them up onto multiple walls in your space. Live with them for a few days to look at how they change throughout the day and week as natural lighting from your windows hits each of your walls differently.
Once you decide on the perfect shade for your space, it’s important to keep the finish in mind. Flat paint is the easiest finish to touch up because there is zero sheen. However, flat paint will also show bumps and scuffs more than any other finish. We typically opt for eggshell finish for high traffic or kid-friendly areas. It has slightly more sheen than a flat paint, so it stands up a bit more to dirt.
With all of this in mind, let’s discuss our top ten white paints!
Benjamin Moore - White Dove OC-17
This is a classic, soft white shade that’s both light and luminous. It has a touch of warmth so it won’t feel too sterile.
Benjamin Moore - Classic Gray OC-23
This off-white is sophisticated and really versatile. It’s a warm shade with subtle green undertones.
Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee OC-45
This is another super versatile, off-white shade. We love it for it’s really warm undertones.
Benjamin Moore White Heron OC-57
This is the shade we decided on for our own home, shown below. It’s a crisp and classic shade, with a slight warmth to it.
Walls: White Heron, Trim: Chantilly Lace
Benjamin Moore - Chantilly Lace OC-65
This crisp, clean shade is the most pure white paint because it has no undertones so it won’t lean cool or warm in most spaces. We used it most frequently on trim in a satin finish. One word of warning: sometimes this color needs an extra coat because it is so pure and therefore can be a bit more sheer.
Walls: Chantilly Lace
Benjamin Moore - Sebring White OC-137
This is another classic, sophisticated shade of white. It pulls in some subtle yellow-green undertones.
Benjamin Moore - Intense White OC-51
Another crisp, off-white that we love! It leans to grey without bringing in yellow undertones, but it still feels warm.
Benjamin Moore - Gray Mist OC-30
Another classic - this shade of white leans to the beige side, bringing a rally warm glow to the walls.
Farrow and Ball - Wimborne White 239
This is just one shade away from a pure white, bringing in the slightest touch of warm, yellow undertones.
Farrow and Ball - Strong White 2001
This shade is a grey-based white, so it brings in cool undertones in a contemporary feel.
That completes our updated roundup of top ten white paints! We hope you enjoyed the guide to our favorite shades and our top tips for achieving the perfect white walls.
-dgw
