Picking paint in itself is hard, really really hard, but picking the perfect white paint increases the difficulty by 1000%!
How to pick the perfect paint
1. RESEARCH
Go on Pinterest and Instagram and look at different paint options. With white paint some popular colours are: Chantilly Lace (a true white), Simply White (slightly warmer but still white), Swiss Coffee (much warmer), and White Dove (almost a slight beige) all by Benjamin Moore. I recommend narrowing your potential white list down to 4.
2. BUY SAMPLES
For $10-$12 each you can get samples made up of your front-runners.
*quick tip-most paint stores will have a paint swatch of popular paint brands and will paint match and sell you a sample tin for a fraction of the cost!
3. TEST SAMPLES
Whenever I test out a new paint colour I paint it on a cut up piece of primed drywall. This gives me the most realistic finish of what the end result will be. I then bring my tiny pieces wherever I am hoping to paint. If it's an entire house I bring it into each room at different times of the day to see how it looks.
4. COMMIT
You've done the research, you've tested out some colours, now just go with your gut and commit. Having lived in 20+ houses over my lifetime I assure you paint is honestly one of the easiest things to change (and thank the Lord for that because I went through a lime green, bright red, AND fuchsia pink phase)
When we repainted our rental home a few months ago we went with Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee (at 75% strength). I loved the warmth that Swiss Coffee brought to the space. It looked fresh and current but still tied the other tones of the home in nicely. It looked different in the West facing bedroom (left photo) verses the East facing living room (right) but I loved it in both spaces.
Fast forward to when it came time to choose a white paint for our new home. I went back to Benjamin Moore and picked up 4 white highly reviewed white paints. I was choosing between Swiss Coffee (75% strength), Simply White (which I had forgotten I had tried for our rental and hated), Chantilly Lace, and White Dove. Simply white ended up being our favourite and we love it in every room!
It just goes to show that there is no perfect white paint instead it's about finding the perfect white paint for your unique space.
Happy choosing,
-The Millers
Appreciate the discussion of paint color choice. We used Chantilly Lace on the walls and ceiling of our tiny bathroom with Stonington Gray wainscot and trim for the express purpose of highlighting the carrera marble tile floor and shower. Just shows that each room and home has specific needs.
I tried Chantilly Lace in my small upstairs bathroom and the space wound up looking like an art gallery. With no discernible undertones it reads (on my walls at least) as sterile and stark. I’d imagine it would look great as a trim color, but I can’t recommend painting an entire room with it.
If I use Swiss Coffee at 75%, is there any point in using Chantilly Lace as the trim and vanity color or should I just use a different sheen of Swiss Coffee?
Hi! Thank you for your description of the white paint colors! I have an East facing master bathroom with lots of white and soft gray marble-looking porcelain. I'm trying to warm it up a bit and am using wood accents etc., but am debating between Swiss Coffee or Swiss coffee at 75%. I don't want it to be too yellow, but it needs some warmth in the paint. Thoughts?