Finding the perfect white paint color is not easy. I am sharing my top three tried and true white paint colors that I use in our farmhouse.
The BEST White Paint Colors
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Rug (Code 15DIANA for 15% off) | green metal water can
Last summer I set out to find the perfect white paint color for our farmhouse. I knew I wanted a color that was bright but not stark and warm but not creamy. That’s not too much to ask, right?! Turns out, it was no easy task finding a color that checked all the boxes. I remember going to a friends house a few weeks after starting my search and sharing with her that I was having the hardest time picking a paint collor. She [kindly] responded, “Aren’t you painting your house white??” Yes! I was painting my house white and that was the exact problem.
I’ve come to realize that there are two types of people in this world. The ones that see all white paint as white paint, and those sorry suckers like myself who know there are a thousand variations of the color white and want to find that perfect ONE.
You can find these exact curtains HERE and the curtain rods HERE.
I like to make informed decisions. This usually means I spend hours, days, and in the case of choosing a paint color – WEEKS (if I’m being really honest it took about two months but this is a judgement free zone). I hope that by sharing the colors I use it might save someone else the time I spent narrowing down the hundreds of color samples to a final 4!
Disclaimer
Before I share the 4 white paint colors I use in our home, I should share I am not a color expert. I know a lot more about paint colors than when I started, but there is still a lot that I don’t know. Also, lighting can have a huge impact on how paint colors look in a house. That means that the same color can look very different in different homes, even different rooms in the same house depending on lighting! One way to work around this is to buy samples and try them on different walls in the room you are painting. However, what I learned was that samples of white paint are not going to be an exact match to the true color. That is because there is very little pigment added to white paint. I am sharing my favorite white paint colors in hopes that it might help you make the best decision for your home or project.
SW High Reflective White
This is my favorite color for trim and doors. It is what I would consider a true white, or a white with no visible undertones. I use SW High Reflective White on all of our trim, wainscoting, and interior doors. I also used it to paint our antique tin ceiling in the master bedroom.
*Note: When buying this color from a hardware store that carries SW it does need to be mixed. High Reflective White is not the base color. If they are having trouble finding the code, kindly ask that they search for “High Reflective White” and the tint code will come up.
Rug (Code 15DIANA for 15% off) | Bedspread
SW Pure White
This color saved my sanity. After researching hundreds of colors, SW Pure White was the color I was searching for. It is a bright white without appearing stark and warm without appearing creamy or yellow. I use Pure White on all of our shiplap. I also plan to use it to paint our kitchen cabinets this summer.
Behr White Moderne
When restoring our master bedroom I decided I wanted a white that was slightly warmer. I reached out to the experts at Behr Paint and they recommend White Moderne. I am so happy with this color in our bedroom and plan to use it again in the next bedroom we work on. It is just slightly warmer than Pure White but still light bright and airy. It creates the perfect cozy feel in our bedroom.
Rug (Code 15DIANA for 15% off) | Bedspread
BM Edgecomb Gray
This isn’t a true white, however this is the color I use on all our painted floors and can appear off-white. Therefore I felt it was worth including. Edgecomb Gray is the perfect chameleon color, in my opinion. Depending on the light and time of day it can appear very different. For example, in our stairway it appears more greige. However, in our bedroom it is more of an off-white. I also noticed that it can change based on decor. For example it pulls a slight green undertone in rooms where there are a lot of plants. However, the undertone appears more gray in rooms with more black accents. Although we use this color on our floors, I think Edgecomb Gray would make a great wall color for someone who is looking for a neutral color.
The BEST White Paint Colors: Summary
Finding the perfect paint colors for our home took a lot of time and effort. I hope sharing the colors I use and love might help to make your decision a little easier. If you have a color you love that I didn’t mention, please feel free to share it in the comments of this post.
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Who makes the Edgecomb Grey paint? Behr?
The color Edgecomb Gray is by Benjamin Moore but I have it mixed in Behr Porch and Patio paint.