UncategorizedThe Best White Paint Ever January 23, 2014 I’ve long been in search of the perfect white paint color. I love white paint. Y’all know that. I have had a long love affair with white walls. When we bought this house, I knew I wanted almost, if not all, white walls. I am no minimalist. I love texture, I love pops of color, I love wood, I love metallics. That list could go on forever…so for me, I love having a white pallet to pile all that stuff on. Not to say I will never use a different paint color or heaven forbid, paint a room dark. But I do think my love of white will carry throughout most of the walls in my life. So, if you’re painting every single wall of your house white, you need the right color. Who would’ve thought there were a million white paint colors? I mean, white is white, right? Oh no, my dear friends. In researching, I quickly learned that there isn’t just white and off-white. No, there is stark white. There is white with hints of blue. There is gray white. There is yellow white…it goes on and on and on. So, what did I want? It was really important for me to have a creamy, warm white. I know, warm and white don’t seem to go together. But trust me, there are some stark, cold whites out there. I quickly remembered that one of my favorite blogs, Milk and Honey Home, had a favorite white. Benjamin Moore’s White Dove. I realize that this chip from their website looks like gray and not white. But, I promise, in person, it is white with just enough cream to warm it up without being yellow. I told our contractor that I wanted everything painted this color. He seemed confused at first. Didn’t I want the trim painted differently? What about the ceiling? What about the kitchen cabinets? What about the built-ins? No. Spray it all Benjamin Moore’s White Dove. And I seriously love how it turned out. So take my word, friends. If you’re looking for creamy white that isn’t yellow, but isn’t stark white…white dove is your soul mate. *** Sidenote: My first contributor post is up on Makely Home today! I’m sharing some really easy DIY Valentine’s Art. Make sure y’all go say hello! And notice the white board and batten behind it? Yep, White Dove strikes again.
cassie says January 23, 2014 at 3:11 pm love it! my go to white with ben moore is cloud cover- it’s in our kitchen, hall, guest room, emmy’s room! Reply
Linsey says October 18, 2016 at 9:33 pm I love cloud cover as well, are your cabinets cloud cover as well? If so, do you have a picture you could upload? I’d love to see it as I am thinking of doing both cabinets and walls in cloud cover. Reply
Meg@OliverandRust says January 23, 2014 at 3:22 pm it is my favourite as well. it is the colour of our dining room and kitchen and will be the future colour in our main floor bath. i have used bm simply white and it comes across slightly yellow. should have stuck with this tried and true. Reply
Bethany @ Dwellings by DeVore says January 23, 2014 at 4:11 pm Thanks for sharing! I would love to paint all our main living spaces white, now I just have to muster up the motivation to do it! 🙂 Reply
Jennifer @ Dimples and Tangles says January 23, 2014 at 4:43 pm Beautiful! I’m planning to go white or very light this year too. I hope you got a great deal on your painter b/c he had a really easy job! 🙂 Reply
Kristina says January 23, 2014 at 5:19 pm I can testify that this is a great white, since I’ve seen it in person. 🙂 We experienced the same confusion when shopping for white paint and really like Behr’s “Polar Bear.” It’s a nice crisp white, very true and pure. However, a whole house of it would most likely feel cold. It’s been great in the dining area, guest room, and hallway though. Reply
Monica says January 23, 2014 at 8:29 pm Love this color. I had it put all throughout our house too- trim and walls, my builder thought I was nuts too. But you know me… I’m a color lover, so I’m not sure it’s anywhere except for my ceilings and my master bath bc I haven’t touched that and it’s a hot mess 🙂 Congrats on the contributor gig for Makely. I love her! I wish I knew you were up for grabs!! Reply
Kelley Lively says January 23, 2014 at 9:12 pm That’s my favorite white too! I painted all of my trim in that color and have decided to paint our bedroom that color as well. Love your house! Reply
Julia@Cuckoo4Design says January 23, 2014 at 10:14 pm I have always loved white too. ALWAYS and I might just continue to paint more white! Looks like you found your perfect white because it looks gorgeous in your home. Reply
Gabbi @ Retro Ranch Reno says January 23, 2014 at 10:32 pm It’s a beautiful shade of white, and your home looks amazing smothered in it! Yummmm! Reply
Cindy says January 24, 2014 at 3:12 am I just painted a wall in White Dove yesterday (northwest-facing room, big windows but almost no direct light). I love it very much. The thing I like about it is that it just does its job as a white wall. Some whites are so cold or warm that you walk in the room and see the wall first thing. They really draw attention to themselves. Not White Dove. It just does its thing. And when you do notice it, it’s smooth and creamy. Love it! Reply
kristen f davis says January 24, 2014 at 3:45 pm i love white dove, too. but beware ever buying it from anywhere but benjamin moore – you risk YELLOW! have seen this happen multiple times. I bought it for my old condo from home depot and it was yellowy. i saw a contractor buy it from sherwin williams – yellow. only buy ben moores! Reply
Carole @ Rustic Artistry says January 24, 2014 at 5:06 pm I hear you on the challenge of finding the right warm white. I just went through this myself and found so many of them seemed kind of gray and dingy. Finally settled on Benjamin Moore Snowfall and it worked out great. I also painted the ceiling a very pale shade of blue, which looks nice with the navy blue I’m using as my accent color. Reply
Sara Davis says January 24, 2014 at 10:01 pm I am so glad you posted this! I was just thinking about this the other day and trying to figure out which white works best to do a whole house effect. THANKS! Reply
erin @ house envy says January 26, 2014 at 2:51 pm This is a great white. I too recently painted my main living areas white. I went with Benjamin Moore’s ivory, which is also not stark white but also not yellow or gray. White can be a beastly color to pick out! Thanks for sharing Reply
molly says July 8, 2014 at 9:42 pm What sheen did you use? Did your painter literally paint the same sheen on all the surfaces? Thanks! It’s beautiful! Reply
Lindsay says July 9, 2014 at 10:33 am Hi Molly! Great question 🙂 We did use the same sheen on all surfaces: satin. However, we won’t do that again! We realized we desperately need oil-based on trim because it’s really hard to clean. It’s worked out great on the walls, though! Reply
Lollie says September 5, 2014 at 8:03 am Love dove white too. Your photos are beautiful. I have a question. Did you paint your ceiling in a satin white also? Reply
Lindsay says September 6, 2014 at 7:47 am Yes, Lollie! We painted everything the same because we sprayed it 😉 Reply
veronika says September 17, 2014 at 6:37 pm kristen f davis…Yikes…. thank you for the heads up on white dove only in ben moore. I always use ben moore but the painter who will be doing the whole house in white dove uses sherwin williams. I thought i’d just have them recreate the ben moore formula. Does anyone know the sherwin williams colour that replicates white dove? Reply
Mill macc says September 15, 2015 at 9:53 am Hi, Veronika. Did you discover a sw equivalent to white dove? I’m having the same issue. Reply
Angela Kim says June 4, 2015 at 2:50 pm I’m looking for that perfect white paint as well. I think I’m going with white dove too. Thanks for your input and review! Reply
Kate says February 8, 2016 at 9:10 pm Ok…I’m convinced that White Dove is it! What finish do you recommend? And, are we sure Sherwin Williams can’t replicate the color? Reply
Lindsay says February 19, 2016 at 8:29 am Hi Kate! I’m not sure about Sherwin Williams, but I do love White Dove! Reply
rick desormeaux says April 19, 2016 at 12:29 am thanks for the advice, gonna get benj.moors white dove for my living area its all open with 15 foot ceilings,beams and music listening room loft (mezanine) 15×15 . all to be painted white. merci Reply
Cindi says April 26, 2016 at 9:54 pm Just tried some white dove. It looks a lot whiter on my walls than what I have, which currently read white until you put white next to it and realize they’re very creamy. But on the ceiling the white dove looks gray and dingy looking. I’m staying away from cool undertones so not a fan. I was pretty shocked because I don’t see gray in my color chip at all. I might try simply white, although some say there’s a bit of gray in that too, although just enough to neutralize the yellow and make it appear white. My husband now wants to stick with “white” ceiling, but of course there is no pure white and I don’t want a blue white. So hoping that Simply White is bright enough. I tried Acacia White also which is the new name for Ivory (OC38) and it is close to my wall color, as is Seashell. Reply
Lindsay says May 12, 2016 at 4:07 pm Simply white is a lot brighter I think! That’s what’s so hard about white paints, I think. All the chips look white until you put them on the wall and then with other whites. Good luck! Reply
Amy says February 9, 2017 at 8:59 am Hello! Love your home. I am going to be painting my FL condo in White Dove. Did you use the actual BM brand of White Dove or did you have it color matched at Sherwin Williams? Wanting to make sure I get true results. : ) Thank you! Reply
Amy says February 9, 2017 at 7:54 pm Thanks, Lindsay! I love the Home Depot paint so that is good to know. 🙂 It has great coverage. Thank you for sharing your wonderfully inspiring home. Best, amy Reply