If you want a warm white, then choose Navajo White (warm yellow undertones) or First Crush (warm pink undertones). White Dove is more neutral than either of these, though its undertones are slightly more yellow than pink.

China White, Atrium White, and Decorator's White all have cold undertones -- mostly bluish grey.

When we lived in Windsor Terrace, our north-facing apartment was painted White Dove. It really played up the (pitiful) amount of light in the room, and we were very happy with it.

Based on experience with white, NYC loft & Philly rowhouse, I encourage looking for a white with pink undertones. Will warm rooms & flatter complexions. Museum white is too stark, great for art, but not people.

I live in a house that faces north. I have north and south facing windows, but my back yard has a lot of tall trees, so the south facing windows don't let as much light in as I would like. I painted my interior Benjamin Moore Cloud White and I love it! It is a nice warm white, but not too warm. And it amplifies the sunlight that I manage to get.

White Dove is a great Benjamin Moore color that is slightly soft and warm. It sounds like that is what you want.
If you want a crisp and clean white, use Decorator's White.
If you want your apartment to look like an 80's rental, choose Navajo White.

Can you ask for White Dove for the walls and Decorator for the trim?

Atrium White. We live in the South and used Atrium White throughout the house. It has a lovely warm glow (disagree that it is a cool white). Some rooms of our house are darker than others and it works perfectly in low light or bright light. Very soft, which we love.

Just moved into an apartment painted Linen White (also Benjamin Moore) - although I'm not usually a fan of just plain white, it is an easy color to work with. The apartment faces east and west (the western side is covered for now with trees full of leaves), however, it looks good in on both sides, as well as with a black and white tiled kitchen with wood floors.

Before moving into my current home (apartment style condo), I painted it from stem to stern in Cloud White. I have a relatively colourful design sense and the Cloud White plays up with just enough warmth while not competing or accentuating any specific color... this color's a keeper!!! (if you go with Behr paint, the closest color is Swiss Coffee). Good luck and let me know if you want me to send photos of how it turned out!

I just did this. I highly recommend living with samples for at least a day or two. Ditto on the Navajo White---it's very rental and unflattering. We were going to go with White Dove as I wanted something warm, but for my taste it was a little too pink at certain times of day. I ended up with Snow White, which was much cooler than I thought I would like, but it has worked out perfectly on both the walls and trim. It's a great neutral backdrop to our bright rugs with very warm tones, and also our cooler items. Good luck!

When you choose a white paint, the colors and style of your decor should play a part in your choice, as well as the light. Decorator White is about as neutral a white as you can get. It's the color of white cotton sheets, the color you often find on the walls of art galleries. It will take any color scheme, any style furnishings, and it does well in NYC light. It works as well on ceilings and trim as it does on walls. I have used Atrium White, which has a warm cast that calms down the white glare. It is a popular exterior-paint color for that reason (I was told the White House is painted Atrium White). It works well with greenish blues. I find Navajo White too "boring beige", and dreary. BM's Seashell, which has a slight yellow-orange undertone, is excellent in both north and south light (I have it in part of my home). It is warm and soft without looking pastel, and is clean and bright in all seasons and lights...including lamp light and overhead light. White Dove is quite creamy, so works well with traditional furniture and s beautiful in gloss for trim. I think China White looks dirty -- just my opinion.

I understand your dilemma. Who would think picking a white color would be such an ordeal? It is, because there are so many to choose from. I am not familiar with any of the colors except Navajo White. How in the world can anybody judge that as a "rental" color? I don't think anyone could walk into a room that color and say, "That's Navajo White. So passe, dahling!" Natural light as well as artificial lighting changes the color, and your furnishings influence the paint color as well. If I were you, I would go with a creamy white that is as neutral as you can find. A good paint tech (or artist) could help you. You could purchase tiny sample bottles of 2 or 3 colors you like and put them on a board to see how they work. Good luck. I so identify with where you're coming from, but I'm sure it will be fine. Trust your own judgement on this.

I painted my house in Benjamin Moore Atrium White throughout. I have natural wood, slate and red accents, and they look great with the Atrium White, which has the very, very slightest bit of a pink undertone. Definitely not cool. I agree with others that Navajo White is kind of tan and dreary.
I don't know how accurate the color will be here, but my home was in the Small Cool contest in 2011. For what it's worth, you can see pics here:
http://community.apartmenttherapy.com/contests/smallcool/2011/entries/2287

I recommend Chantilly Lace. It's a very pure white that doesn't feel cold, but then I have a lot of natural light in my place so may look different in your space. See if your BM store has testers and throw the different whites on the wall--good, cheap way to see which white you like.

The number one question you need to ask yourself is, "Do I want a true white or an off-white?" If you want a true white, then you significantly narrow your field of choices. Personally, I like Simply White or Decorators White on walls with Super White trim. Both true whites. But when I want a white room, I want it to be indisputably white.

For that reason, I am not a Najavo White fan. It's an off-white with strong yellow undertones. Many people prefer off-white, because a warm white is said to flatter the skin and hides dirt and scuffs. The latter reason is why people often refer to Navajo as a "rental" paint color. They're not being derogatory or saying it's "passe"-- quite the opposite actually. It's continues to be a classic go-to color for landlords because off-white hides marks, true white doesn't.

I have to add my issue with navaho white. I am a decorator with over 30 years experience. For some reason, navajo white became the go to color for years for offices and for model homes. The neutrality of it works well with most color combinations. It is still popular but there are so many more choices now that work better. Here's the problem: Navajo white does not flatter most skin tones. It may be a neutral but with time, it deadens and becomes dingy. It is never even my second or third choice. I avoid it.

No one else has recommended it, but after a lot of testing against all the other elements in my house (Maple-y wood floor, wood trim, stone fireplace, existing furniture), I went with BM Bone White, which is warm and creamy, but still reads quite neutral. I think my art and walnut furniture looks good next to it. Good luck!

Atrium white is slightly pinkish. I use it on ceilings. I use White dove for walls and trim and love it. Slightly warm and very versatile.

I'm not certain what style your home is but I've had fantastic luck with Swiss Coffee in Satin for walls and High Gloss WHITE base (the white base thats sold for tinting is a true white) on all baseboards, trim, doors. The contrast between the two is lovely.

i live in ditmas park, a few neighborhoods south of you, with north-facing windows. decorators white definitely has a touch of grey & is very cool--I have it in high gloss on my ceilings, moldings, and original chair rail. we have navajo white on the walls. i think the contrast is gorgeous. navajo takes on a really pleasant candle-light glow with the right lighting, but is really airy during the day.

Sounds like you've really done your research! I have a western facing bedroom so everything was turning purple or pink for me. I ended up going with BM's Dove Wing and it has a HINT of warm grey, but its not cold. I love it. I also read an article by the Editor of Southern Living who wisely said "let me save you some time, just go with Ivory White every time." He had tried and tested his theory many times and this BM color always won. For warmth and no yellows to it.

I find Navajo White too yellowy, and not in a pretty way. Kinda like old ivory.
From the colours that you listed, I prefer White Dove. I painted my bedroom with it and I love love love that colour. (My bedroom is facing north-west). Very warm and "soft" colour.

Ultimately, I think it depends on the individual colours appeal to YOU and affect YOU.
How about if you select 3-4 colours that you like the most and buy tester pots (they are about $5 per pot). Paint samples (at least a square foot each) on the wall to view the paint under different light conditions (morning, evening, night). Then pick the one that you like best.
Good luck!

Benjamin Moore whites are nice; Donald Kaufman Color whites are transcendently beautiful.

Donald Kaufman is the foremost colorist in North America.

He does custom work for architects, designers and galleries across the country, including work for Richard Meier for the Getty and John Pawson (most famously, the Calvin Klein store on Madison Ave., which was a revelation to me, and set me on the path of finding the amazing white used for its walls). Donald Kaufman is known as the "King of Whites", mixing some of the most gorgeous, luminous (key word), whites anywhere, ever.

The key to what makes his colors special, which makes them luminous, is that they are made with between 6 and 14 different pigments, some of which can be translucent. As lighting levels and quality changes, different pigments come to the fore, changing the color of the wall, as opposed to grey it. The color appears actually luminous because of the way the many pigments vibrate. I have Donald Kaufman Colours on my walls, and can say that my walls literally glow. That's why I'm on a one-woman campaign to open people's eyes to this amazing line.

He has a commercially available line, Donald Kaufman Color, which is based in Pratt & Lambert bases. You can buy the swatches online (they are expensive, but they are large, and actually painted with the paint in question), as well as sample pots and the actual paints (check out Cox Paints). I believe there are 18 whites in the collection; I have DKC-51 which is a light cream, and DKC-67 which is a beautifully balanced pure white, but there are many to check out, and they really have to be seen in your specific lighting conditions.

Good luck!

that being said, i actually kept the navajo that my landlord painted it (speaking of rentals...) and the ceilings were a grey white. i touched up the trim to match the ceiling on my own. paired with everything else, it reads like a pleasant ecru, not dingy.

a friend on the UWS has their apartment painted the opposite, keeping the walls a brighter white and a darker, warm white on the ceiling.

another great cream not yet mentioned is bm's mayonnaise. i once had walls that color with ashby blue on the ceiling which really opened up the room.

Ugh... should always remember to preview, especially when I've been writing a post while doing a dozen other things...

All I can do now is say -- Donald Kaufman Color whites are transcendentally beautiful, and hope everyone can figure out the rest...

We went with Benjamin Moore's White Dove based on the suggestion of one of my favorite blogs, and it's great. It's clean and white but not too stark or cold. Let me tell you, it makes a world of difference in the house (http://kellyandolive.com/blog/?p=3268).

How about Oxford white by BM - it is crisp and fresh goes well in a modern decor. The finish, and the hour of the day, will also play on the light effects. White walls are a canvas. The colour of your furniture will bounce on it and add subtle hues. I just hate bluish whites.

Get plain white paint, unmixed. Home Depot brand is fine. If you are painting the trim, do the same thing but get it semigloss. Save yourself a bundle, and it's easy to touch up. Trust me, after a couple of months you won't care if it's Dove or Navajo. In fact you'll be thinking that your ceiligs look strange with your beige-y walls. Plain old white is what you want.

David Kaufman paints cost a fortune. No landlord is going to pay for them.

I normally paint a piece of blotter board from an art supply store, fold it in half and tape it to corners around the room. The fold gives you some ability to see what the color will really looks like, when it reflects off itself. Make the sample as large as possible and move it around, at different times of the day and in different lights.

Colors chase depending upon the paint base used, so make sure that when the landlord buys the paint it is the exact same line within e.g., BM as the sample. If you move to a different line, the color will be different. You may not see it is you're not sensitive to color but, if you are, the difference can be significant.

We did our Philly rowhouse BM Bone White with Decorator White trim right before we put it on the market. Looked great with our wide pine plank floors (warm colored original wood), and made the space look big and elegant (which it is not, exactly). I prefer bright warm colors, but it really liked it. And the house sold in 6 weeks in a tough market!

Thank you thank you for sharing this combination! I just mocked it up on my new kitchen pictures (north/east windows in MN) and it looks inviting, bright, and very Scandi-MN. Cannot wait to try samples.

Oops, this is addressed to aoconnor re: navajo white and glossy decorator white.