We get asked often what white we recommend for painting and today I have rounded up my top 5 favourite white paint colors! White can be a tricky color to pick when painting a home because it can lean towards a color very easily. Often white will read as yellow, or even a hint of blue and green. So picking the right white for your space takes a little bit of research and some sampling on your own walls to make sure you end up with the perfect white for you!

Out of these 5 white paint colors, I definitely have a favourite that we have had in our other house and that I am slowly painting almost every room in this house with. Our home is painted almost entirely with Cloud White by Benjamin Moore. I also used this paint color in my parents recent renovation and loved it there too. Cloud White does lean a little on the cream side though, so I always recommend painting samples in each space you are painting. Lighting and the direction your house faces plays a huge part in how paint is going to “read” in your home. In my house it may look like a true white and in yours it could almost look like yellow or sea foam green so always always always sample.

We ended up trying a new shade of white to us in our recent renovation project and loved how it turned out. We went with pure white by Sherwin Williams. This is a much brighter white then Cloud White, but it does have a drop of warmth in it so it won’t be cold. I have read of lots of people who have used cloud white on their walls and pure white on their trim and doors, and I think this would be a beautiful combination. We ended up painting our trim and doors cloud white but in a semi gloss instead of flat finish and that helped add dimension without having to introduce a new shade of white.

I included Alabaster by Sherwin Williams and Sea Pearl by Benjamin Moore. Both of these shades are not considered true white’s however if your entire home is painted one of these shades, it is still going to read as a white. You can see the difference in the photo of our entryway. I have the walls cloud white and the trim sea pearl and you can see a slight variation in them.

Lastly I included simply white by Benjamin Moore. This is a favourite on the internet, and I have seen it in other peoples home and love it! I do recommend with all the paint colors but especially simply white that you have it mixed at Benjamin Moore and not color matched at another store. I have tried color matching twice, and both times mine was almost a sea foam shade of green rather then a warm shade of white. ChrisLovesJulia mentioned recently that this happened to them as well and that confirmed to me that it really is best to get your colors mixed at their original store if at all possible.

So there you have it. Our top 5 favourite white paint colors…

1. Cloud White by Benjamin Moore
2. Pure White by Sherwin Williams
3. Alabaster by Sherwin Williams
4. Seapearl by Benjamin Moore
5. Simply White by Benjamin Moore