Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
melissa_collins99

whats your favorite white trim paint?

Melissa Collins
4 years ago

what is your go to and why?
what things to consider when painting trim

Comments (22)

  • ryburns26
    4 years ago

    SW Extra White. It makes the wall color pop. If you’re using a flat wall paint, the trim should be semi-gloss. I like the trim a couple sheens brighter than the wall color.

  • PRO
    Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
    4 years ago

    My favorite is Ben Moore White Dove, but I prefer softer rather than bright whites. It all depends on your lighting, and what else is going on in the room.

  • Mary Elizabeth
    4 years ago

    I use Benjamin Moore Vapor - AF-35. Soft & creamy, but still "white". Also, try the BM Scuff X paint!


  • allie2020
    4 years ago

    SW Pure White

  • PRO
    Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
    4 years ago

    Gee I have White Dove in many of my rooms, and I've never felt it was "dirty."

  • homechef59
    4 years ago

    I use SW 7012 Creamy. But, my home trends toward a warmer white. If you have greys in your home, it won't work.

  • Lisa
    4 years ago

    I have Benjamin Moore white base right off the shelf. Nice, crisp clean white.

  • roarah
    4 years ago

    I use white dove on all trim.

  • Jennifer Hogan
    4 years ago

    Diana, Sorry! No offence meant. I didn't start working with color at an interior design level, but as an artist and learned to "Dirty" whites and colors by adding black or the contrast color. Most colors in interior design are dirtied to some degree, some are cleaner or dirtier than others.

  • Melissa Collins
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    so most my house is different shades of "griege" .
    im possibly painting my bedroom "white dove" will white dove go with griege walls?

  • typeandrun
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    @Melissa Collins I have BM white dove with BM Bleeker Beige and BM Quiet Moments

  • Jennifer Hogan
    4 years ago

    Melissa, White Dove is white base with yellow oxide and black added, making it a very light greige. This is why it works so well with almost everything.

  • Melissa Collins
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    so jennifer hogen- my bedroom has a small north window and small south window- do you think white dove would be too cool for that room? this is the north window and ame window is on other side

  • PRO
    Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    Jennifer, in my interior design courses on color, pure colors were called "highly saturated/chromatic." When adding black to a pure color you get a "shade," when you add white you get a "tint," and when you add both black and white (gray) you get a "tone." When you combine complementary colors (opposite on the color wheel), you get a neutral brown. The browns can be reddish/greenish/purplish/yellowish/orangeish/or blueish, depending on the amount of each color used. We actually were assigned projects to mix colors to see for ourselves the effect that black/white/gray/complements had on the resulting color. It was very interesting and gave me a good accurate reference with which to describe colors.

  • Jennifer Hogan
    4 years ago

    It is hard to tell much from the picture, but IMHO white should not be used in rooms without a lot of light. White doesn't have color to carry it's weight, it relies on the light it reflects to look pretty. If you don't have enough light it goes flat and dingy.


    Northern exposure never gets as much light as southern and can make all colors appear grayer, so I usually increase chroma, pick a more saturated color when I have northern exposure or inadequate light.


    The other option is to add light. A windowless basement with a ton of lights can be painted white and look pretty because you never go into a windowless basement without turning on the lights.



  • Melissa Collins
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    so i am pretty set on white for my bedroom!! i think i will either do white dove or simply white . it has two windows north and south so im hoping it will be alright. it also has lots of lighting.

  • Melissa Collins
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    is there and benjamin moore colors u recommend that have more chroma?

  • Melissa Collins
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    or do you think a biege or griege would be better in a darker room?? just so sick of the darker color i have now loo

  • Jennifer Hogan
    4 years ago

    Diana,


    Are you saying that gray colors are not available in full spectrum color paints? Only colors and browns? Full spectrum paint uses no black.


    If you think back to your color theory classes I am sure you will recollect that black absorbs all color wavelengths evenly and completely , white reflects all color wavelengths evenly and completely, gray absorbs some of the color wavelengths and reflects some of the color wavelengths, but a pure neutral gray does this perfectly evenly across the color spectrum, giving you a chromatic value of 0.


    Brown, tan, beige and cream reflect more yellow, red or orange than blue, green or purple.


    As for my choice of words, I choose to say things in ways that are easily understood by the masses. If we walked into home depot and asked 10 guys buying lumber which white was dirtier, showing them samples of Cotton Balls and White Dove I am betting all 10 would choose White Dove as the dirtier of the two. If we asked them which white was the most saturated or chromatic white I am betting most would incorrectly choose White Dove because it appears slightly darker, but in reality the chromatic value of white dove is lower than the chromatic value of cotton balls.


    Most people who have not taken a color theory class and don't work with color on a consistent basis don't understand the difference between shade, tint and tone. They think in terms they understand - a light blue gray or a pink beige.


    I read an article the other day in Forbes. The advice at the end of the article is targeted toward math and science concepts, but is really good advice for anyone trying to communicate information on any topic that may not be widely understood.


    https://www.forbes.com/sites/marshallshepherd/2020/03/23/is-the-math-too-hard-for-people-to-understand-covid-19-coronavirus/#793f20dd6a9c

  • PRO
    Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
    4 years ago

    No, Jennifer, I didn't say anything about full spectrum paints or what colors are available in them, since I have no expertise in that area. I merely reflected on the verbiage I use to describe colors, which is not very difficult to understand, and doesn't assign value judgements to color. Because I think that words matter, and I'm very particular about precise word usage. I really don't want to get into a scientific discussion on color, as that is not my area of expertise either.

  • Jennifer Hogan
    4 years ago


    Melissa Collins, If your bedroom gets plenty of light there is no reason not to do white. Dove White is an extremely versatile white and is good on walls and trim when lighting is adequate.


    It looks like you have tested a bunch of whites in the room. You are testing directly on a wall that already has color. The color on the wall can really throw off the color of your white paint, so you may not be getting an accurate read of what it will look like.


    I would paint a few different sample boards, prime the walls and then set the sample boards around the room to see how each one reads in the space.


    Until you know what is wrong with the samples you have I can't tell you what may work better,


    If you have a white or color that is close but looking a bit blue or yellow or green or gray I should be able to help you get it right.



Sponsored
Daniel Russo Home
Average rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars13 Reviews
Premier Interior Design Team Transforming Spaces in Franklin County