White can be complicated when it comes to painting your home. That's why we jump at the chance to see any photographs with their paint colors identified. Even though a photo isn't perfect, it can give you a general sense of white paints relative to one another...
These are two such photos from Canadian women's magazine Chatelaine.
Creamy White, above:
walls: Muslin OC-12
trim: White Chocolate OC-127
ceiling: Cloud White CC-40, all Benjamin Moore
Cool and Crisp, above:
walls: Soft Lace W-B-110
trim: White 1852, Nude W-F-210, Silver Leaf W-F-720 & Oat Straw 740C-3, All BEHR Premium Plus Colours
Chatelaine also offers up some categories and white paints that fall within them:
Pure (No visible tints): Behr Ultra Pure White(1850), Benjamin Moore Ultra White(CC-10), Para White(P1881-0)
Red (Flushed and warm. May look pinkish or even peachy, especially if yellow has also been added.): Ralph Lauren Petticoat White(WW06), Behr Billowy Clouds(W-B-100), Para Antique Linen(P1827-4)
Yellow (Creamy and warm. Some might have a touch of spring green, which is evidence of a blue tint.): Farrow & Ball Pointing(2003), Para Bleach Bone(P1883-4), Benjamin Moore Flurry(CC-100)
Blue (Cool, with touches of grey, blue or even a bit of turquoise [if yellow has been added, too] or purple [if there's any red in there]): Sico Beluga Whale(6209-11), Ralph Lauren Cape Blanco(SS13), Para Spirit White(P1883-4)
Read more on the nuances of white paints in Chatelaine's article The Right White.
MORE ON WHITE PAINT FROM APARTMENT THERAPY:
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
Donald Kaufman does the best whites of anyone -- he does a lot of custom work for architects, museums, galleries, etc. For example, John Pawson hired him to mix the right white for the Calvin Klein store on Madison, and Richard Meier hired him to do the (new) Getty Museum.
The interesting thing about Kaufman's whites is that they are full-spectrum colours, composed of as many as 12 or 15 pigments. I find that they literally glow... When I walked into the Calvin Klein store, I was stunned... It was so beautiful, so peaceful... I had to track down what paint was on the walls! I now have a very similar colour on the walls inside my own home, from Donald Kaufman's retail (non-custom) line.
I really encourage people to check out test pots of them on their walls... they are incredibly beautiful!
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If anyone else wanted to look up Donald Kaufman paints, here is the site: http://www.donaldkaufmancolor.com/
Looks like paint is available only in the following states: California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York/New Jersey, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Texas. Also available online, but I didn't look into that.
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I strongly disagree with the idea that a photo of variety of white paints can give you a sense of how that white might look in real life. First, not all images were taken with the same camera or with the same lighting. Then the color values for web images are often tweaked, and then compression can affect color even more. Then take the various differences from one computer to the next -- my computer at home renders images with more green, the one at work with more yellow.
Add to that the fact that any trim color, natural or artificial lighting, and textiles such as carpets, upholstered furniture, and window treatments will all affect color perception.
Case in point: I fell for a beautiful white Benjamin Moore color selected by Pottery Barn and distributed in a stack of other great color chips. The white looked great against the draperies I purchase from pottery barn so I thought I was all set. "There, wasn't that easy?" WRONG. I got the paint on the walls and discovered that my room was the palest celedon green. A lovely lovely celedon mind you, but it clashed with everything. It was not a warm white. It was a cool, almost cucumer tone. And a big waste of my time and money.
Moral of the story? Get some swatch-size tubs of paint, put them on your wall, and look at the colors in natural and artificial lighting. Then decide.
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