Best White and Neutral Paint Colors: Walls, Cabinets and Trim
Can you recommend a great paint color for my walls, cabinets, and trim? Yes, I get asked this often!
Are you looking for a great white or neutral paint color for your home? Or trying to find that perfect white for your cabinets?
I’m here to help with some options from around my home.
Best White and Neutral Paint Colors from My Home
Something that is really important to know about white paint colors is they are rarely just white.
Crazy right? Why do I know this?
I worked for Valspar for over 5 years and part of my job was analyzing sales of the best colors.
At Valspar, I had to learn how paint is tinted and how the machines work in Lowe’s Home Improvement stores.
So that means I studied the tints and learned about paint formulas too!
Here are the MOST popular paint colors from Valspar and have been for YEARS!
If you want a bright almost pure white the one to use is Valspar Ultra White, 7006-24
Plus I’ve used and seen a lot of Valspar colors in real homes.
Want to know a great tip? To SEE the undertone of a white you are considering, place the paint chip/sample on top of something pure white or even a sheet of printer paper.
You’ll see if it has a little gray, red, green, or yellow and any other color in the rainbow.
Check out these helpful post: Painting White Walls with White Trim? Expert Tips! and Stop Picking the Wrong Paint Color Undertones
In looking at the popular white and neutral paint colors from Valspar, I’ve used THREE of these paint colors in my own home.
You’ll be able to see them in real life settings plus all of the other whites I’ve used too!
Here are the best white paint colors I’ve used:
- Swiss Coffee 7002-16, Valspar (cabinets and walls)
- Blanched Pine 7005-15, Valspar (trim and stair risers)
- String of Pearls CI198, Valspar (walls)
- Satin Snow 7004-17, Valspar (walls)
- Summer Gray 7006-17, Valspar (cabinets)
- Polar Bear 75, Behr (trim)
- Decorator’s White OC-149, Benjamin Moore (cabinets and walls)
- Ultra White 7006-24, Valspar (exterior trim and fencing)
NOTE: To optimize images for the web, the colors do change and every monitor displays colors differently. ALWAYS buy a $5 sample to test it in your home first! How-to Pick the Right Paint Color
Ah Swiss Coffee, one of my all time favorite colors and I am surrounded by it as I type.
I used this paint color for my office makeover for both the upper cabinets and the walls.
It’s a BEAUTIFUL bright white that reflects light to brighten any space, but especially a smaller room.
Swiss Coffee 7002-16, Valspar (cabinets and walls)
Then a nice trim and door color is Blanched Pine, which closely matched what my builder used.
It’s now my go to white for doors and trim in my home.
Here I used it when painting my stair risers and I LOVE how it turned out brightening up the space.
If you are looking for a WARM WHITE paint color, then String of Pearls is a GREAT OPTION!
Blanched Pine 7005-15, Valspar (trim and stair risers)
String of Pearls CI198, Valspar (walls) – – if you can’t find the swatch at the store ask a Lowe’s paint desk associate to sample it for you. They will have the formula in their computer.
One of my best friends just painted her newly remodeled house this paint color.
String of Pearls truly goes with everything! Think about how pearls go with everything too.
In her home she’s installed beautiful blonde floors, so it works with lighter floors as well.
Another favorite of mine for a whole home option is Satin Snow.
Satin Snow 7004-17, Valspar (walls) – if you can’t find the swatch at the store ask a Lowe’s paint desk associate to sample it for you. They will have the formula in their computer.
I just recently used it in my open concept Kitchen and Family room.
Satin Snow is more cool than String of Pearls and works well with grays and oatmeals.
Yes, I used Blanched Pine again for the trim because it matches the rest of my home 🙂
Another nice bright white is Polar Bear…don’t you love that name?
Polar Bear 75, Behr (trim)
As part of updating the power room, I had a contractor install board and batten.
To make the toilet blend into the space, I chose a bright white for the trim.
It’s a great bright white that was a great complement to the deep blue walls.
Speaking of white and blue those are my exterior paint colors too!
Valspar, Ultra White 7006-24 (trim)
My go too white for both my fence and exterior trim (I have a LOT of it!) is Ultra White.
As I mentioned, it’s such a wonderful white because it has very little tint in it.
It comes off like a bright pure white. You can use it inside as well, but be warned it’s VERY bright!
Favorite White Paint Colors for Bathroom and Kitchen Cabinets
One thing you will find is I have lots of paint tutorials and yes, even painting cabinets!
The cabinets in the office, kitchen, master bathroom and even powder room have all been updated from the original finish.
If you want to learn how to paint cabinets, here are some helpful tutorials:
Three white paint colors I love for cabinets:
- Swiss Coffee 7002-16, Valspar (shown above in my office)
- Decorator’s White OC-149, Benjamin Moore
- Summer Gray 7006-17, Valspar
Something you may not know is that you can tint Benjamin Moore colors into Lowe’s paint products.
Cool right? Why I’ve done this is to be able to use my FAVORITE CABINET PAINT in a color I love.
I KNOW you want to see that color and it’s a classic white that is a long time love of interior designers.
Decorator’s White OC-149, Benjamin Moore
Decorator’s White is such a classic white that has just a hint of gray in it.
The reason I chose it for the bathroom is that it looks perfect with the marble and grays in the floor and shower tile.
If you’d like to see the before and after of the master bathroom, click here.
I also used the same white on the back wall of the vanity and love how it adds a layer of sophistication.
Another great white cabinet color is Summer Gray, which as you can tell by the name has a bit of gray in it.
Summer Gray 7006-17, Valspar
Here it is in use in my recent kitchen remodel, where I paired it with a grayed blue.
It’s not too bright and worked well with the warmer white on the wall shown earlier Satin Snow.
When I pulled the most popular Valspar whites, I had no idea I’d chosen a popular color.
The votes are in and Summer Gray is a great option for cabinets and walls too!
Since I’m only listing a few whites for cabinets, not to worry I have a LOT of recommendations for you.
Both posts have other whites you can consider as well.
Or if you want to do a color and a white in your kitchen, the color combo post will give you a lot of classic options.
Check out: Ultimate Guide to Updating an Outdated Kitchen
Trending Best White and Neutral Paint Colors
Hopefully, one of the whites I used in my home is an option for you.
If not, I’ve also dug through the TREND PAINT COLORS and as part of this post I pulled out neutral colors.
There are white and even darker neutrals to consider.
Oh yes, a deep color can act as a neutral especially as an accent wall.
Plus that deep bronze color is amazing as an alternative to black for kitchen cabinets.
Have fun exploring ALL of these paint color options and I hope you find something you love 🙂
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Until next time…
PORCH DAYDREAMER
Tracey