My Favorite White Paints

Choosing a white paint is one of the most difficult tasks when decorating a home. Here I’m giving you my favorites. These are the ones I use in client homes and my own.


You could spend literal hours researching and searching for the perfect white paint. It’s so difficult because there are so many choices and there are so many factors to consider when choosing white. White, like all colors have undertones. Some end up looking slightly blue, yellow, grey, green or even pink depending on lighting, surrounding colors and reflections. Your lightbulb choice defenitely affects the way white will look in your home. If you choose a daylight or fluorescent bulb, your white is probably going to look slightly blue or grey, very cool. If you have more of a yellowish bulb, then your white will pull those warm tones. The location of your windows and which side (directionaly) your room is on your home will also affect the way your paint looks. Let’s say you paint your cabinets white and it is an East facing room with lots of windows. That bright morning sun is going to shine in your room and make your cabinets look true, bright white with maybe a bit of yellow reflecting from the sun. Then as the day progresses, they look a bit more cool gray and then in the evening when you have lights on they pull a bit yellow. Are you seeing why choosing the perfect white is so hard?

Don’t worry, I picked out some really good whites.

  1. SW Pure White

    This color is a really good one for cabinets. It definitely changes throughout the day, but most of the time it’s a true white.

    Below you can see it on walls, compared with another popular color, painted on trim and how it looks on kitchen cabinets. I also love this white on doors and trim.

2. SW Alabaster

This color is beautiful! As you can see above compared with the Pure White, it is definitely a warmer color.

sw alabaster white walls in living room white curtains white sofa white interiors interior design

3. SW Greek Villa

Greek Villa is a gorgeous rich, creamy white. If you want to add some subtle warmth to your space, this will do it.

4. SW Dover White

You can see here that Dover White is another creamy white.

5. SW High Reflective White

If you’re looking for more of a bright white, this one might be it.

6. SW Shoji White

This color could actually be considered more of a neutral rather than a white. I included it in the whites just for simplicity because of the name. It is a very, very light beige/warm white. Looks good on cabinets if you’re not into white but still want very light.

7. SW Origami White

Origami white is another beautiful white. Not gonna lie, I think I originally chose it for the name. It just sounded interesting (for a white). It really is a beautiful creamy white.

8. SW City Loft

This is one of those colors that seems to pull beige and gray a bit. It can read more cool than some of the others I chose. In the picture below you can see it paired with Pure White on the paneling.


Which white is your favorite? If you choose one of these, let me know how it works out!

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