It’s a brand new year, and as a paint color consultant advising homeowners daily, I have seen my share of 2024 paint color trend posts roll out everywhere. Goodness! Trends can be interesting. As a trained psychotherapist and naturally curious person about the dynamics between emotions, interiors, and consumer behavior, I enjoy staying informed. But to help others make solid choices for their color stories at home? Choices that will enhance daily life now and make sense then? Give me timeless tones we can trust since they are time tested. Bring me neutral, natural, and white paint colors for kitchen cabinets and walls that deliver calm, light, clean vibes without fashionable trendy trappings.
White Paint Colors for Kitchen Cabinets, Trim & Walls
How to Use This Paint Guide
A word of caution before falling in love with a particular color as it appears in an image here…Post-editing, the amount of natural light, the time of day a photo was snapped, and even computer/mobile screen variations are factors influencing how a color looks here.
If you find “the look” you’re after here, that’s awesome! Do PIN these ideas. But bear in mind the perfect color may require sampling at least 3 different paint colors in your unique space to find the closest approximation. You don’t always notice undertones in a white color just from viewing a swatch or photo alone.
It’s when you see different whites side by side that you begin to perceive subtle temperature and undertone differences. Since painting cabinetry is more complex and labor-intensive than painting walls, all of the detective work, pinning, testing, and sample work is going to be well worth it.
Benjamin Moore PALE OAK OC-20
This is such a versatile color for cabinets or walls if you tend to like putty, white oak, mushroom, limestone, and warm greige-y beige tones.
With its warm gray undertones, this versatile neutral conjures the quiet majesty of white oak and has a light reflectance value (LRV) of 68.64. Not too light and still reflects lots of light back into the space.
What a bonus to see this color in a kitchen with white oak to notice the relationship with that wood species and also with warm antique brass hardware finishes.
Here’s the color on cabinets in another project with bright white subway tile for the backsplash.
Pale Oak is also a lovely neutral for walls for off-white or cool white cabinetry.
Maybe I am partial to Pale Oak since it reminds me so much of BM White Sand. I used this warm white throughout the interiors of the French country manor house we built in 2007.
Benjamin Moore WHITE SAND
I loved it with the white oak hardwoods we put throughout that home, and I used BM Dove Wing on all of the doors and trim.
White Sand is a muted, easygoing creamy beige that looks appealing in both traditional and modern spaces with an LRV of 66.95. It’s just a tad darker than Pale Oak.
The cabinets had a custom finish that was a creamy antique white (but not at all yellow-y). Believe it or not, images of my kitchen from 2007 are trending on Pinterest now…17 years later. Crazy and proof that trends are trends…timeless just happens to be trending.
If you love Belgian linen as I do, you’ll probably like White Sand.
The dining cabinet is painted BM White Dove in case that helps you to note the contrast with White Sand. And if it’s just a touch too dark for you, BM Ballet White may be perfect.
This mood board captures the warm, European luxe, coastal feel of White Sand:
Sherwin-Williams GREEK VILLA 7551
If you are after a white more muted than Pale Oak and White Sand, you could peek at Greek Villa.
This is a sunny white said to come to life in natural light. Sherwin Williams says to use it to brighten any space or on trim to make other colors pop.
Since the LRV is 84, it is going to reflect a lot of light should your space be on the dimmer side.
Don’t you love the idea of using it for Old World style European-influenced interiors where you want the walls to be suggestive of creamy old plaster?
Because the right paint color can truly change the mood, character, and even age of a room. There aren’t many other design elements that are more affective AND effective at a relatively low price point!
And you may want to keep Greek Villa in your back pocket for any exterior paint projects ahead…isn’t it stunning on brick (above)?
I independently selected products in this post—if you buy from one of my links, I may earn a commission.
Sherwin-Williams MARSHMALLOW 7001
Searching for a bright white that will invite you in with a pillowy embrace? Ooh la la. Marshmallow with its slight pink undertone may just be the right vibe. (SW describes its mood as a warm hug). Below, you can see it on the kitchen walls contrast softly with cool white trim.
For an earthy pairing with Marshmallow, try a dark warm neutral like Foothills, and in the above kitchen, Oyster White was selected for cabinetry.
I love Marshmallow’s atmospheric feel, and it is quite close to one of my current paint color favorites…Sherwin Williams Eider White which covers the walls of my own kitchen:
I may sound like a broken record by now, but I’m tellin’ ya, the drop of magenta/pink in the formula works magic on this muted greige. Here’s Marshmallow on a gorgeous exterior:
If you’re afraid of the pink or purple undertones some whites have, you may be more likely to favor Snowbound.
Sherwin-Williams SNOWBOUND 7004
Like so many of the best neutral paint colors, you can’t peg Snowbound a cool white or even a greyed-white. The lighting conditions of your room will influence your perception of it.
With its slight gray undertone, this versatile cool white pairs well with other gray-influenced colors. Like stepping into a snowy glade.
Don’t forget to check out white paint colors without “white” in their name! Light gray colors are often the right white.
While we don’t know the exact paint for the grey shutters above, sample Farrow & Ball Manor House Gray No. 265 which is called a cool architectural grey.
Should you paint kitchen walls the same color white as the cabinets? Plenty of people keep it uniform, but you’ll use a different sheen for each.
Satin or semigloss for trim and flat or eggshell for walls. Cabinets are often painted with enamel and other specialized formulas which will stand up to use.
Sherwin-Williams SHOJI WHITE SW 7042
When you want a color for cabinets, walls, trim, or doors that is light yet cozy, here’s a warm, creamy white that borders on greige.
The reason I am showing you these paint colors on walls in rooms beyond the kitchen is because it helps to see the same color across various contexts. On cabinets in this kitchen, you can see the contrast of Shoji White with the white ceiling and backsplash:
In this bedroom context, you can see it with cool greys in a wash of natural light:
And suddenly this warm white looks bright and washed out on an exterior below.
While there are no rules, for exteriors, it is often helpful to stick with a white where the LRV (that’s the percentage of how much light is being reflected back) is less than 80. Sometimes a too-bright white will feel less than welcoming in terms of curb appeal.
Benjamin Moore SIMPLY WHITE OC-117
If you’re unsure where to begin in your paint sampling, Simply White is one of those designer favorites you could start with.
Simply White has worked for so many interiors, exteriors, and projects that its name simply says it all!
The slightest hint of warmth makes this clean, crisp white a favorite to use anywhere in the home.
BM Simply White and shiplap seem to go together like a snow on a white picket fence, and you’ll find plenty more examples on Pinterest here too. Need an idea for a high contrast neutral to use with it?
The Fox Group loves Simply White, and so much of their work includes architectural details such as paneled walls.
I can’t imagine being tasked with the job of choosing the perfect white for an area like this…so much work to ever change it!
Benjamin Moore WHITE OC-151
I have shared so many warm and creamy whites that I better throw a cool one in the mix in case you want to sample one. This was my tried and true white in our modern rustic cottage we renovated top to bottom:
In our last home, I painted the walls, trim, and ceilings with BENJAMIN MOORE White OC-151.
After sampling too many whites to mention with various undertones, this very cool, crisp, greyed, gallery-like white instantly modernized the dated rooms.
Walls were painted with a flat finish, and semigloss was used on the trim.
While it is certainly not always in order to paint trim the same white, we wanted ours to mostly disappear.
Our alder doors (left natural with no stain) contrast with the surrounding white door trim.
A favorite coastal cottage with interior design by Lisa Furey is painted inside and out with Benjamin Moore White as well.
Benjamin Moore WHITE DOVE
Have a Pinterest board reserved for paint colors? It can keep you organized.
Easiest way to see if a paint color is right in your space? Order samples with Samplize and have them delivered straight to your door.
A Few Favorites for Lovers of White Decor
I independently selected products in this post—if you buy from one of my links, I may earn a commission.
Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
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Thank you for this post. I am trying to pick a white for a couple of the main rooms in our house and
this has helped so much.
Author
Woo hoo! Let us know what white you choose! 🙂