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g_indecisive

Whites Dilemma! Chantilly Lace Simply/Super White. Cabinets Trim walls

4 years ago

Hi all. Joining the white dilemma party. It’s a real one and it’s painful :) please help! I’ve been studying @Lori A Sawaya amazing posts and scientific data on the whites to try to make the right decision.

We are renovating our kitchen + painting the rest of the house. We have a lot of crown & molding (& columns) throughout the entire house so when I mention trim, it’s a lot of trim that plays into the picture. Kitchen is east facing.

Paint surfaces that need to be determined are:

1/ kitchen cabinets

2/ trim/molding (which is throughout the entire house both floors)

3/ walls:

-kitchen will have minimal remaining drywall since cabinets are going to the 9’ ceilings

-hallway that enters the kitchen and extends to the 2-story entry foyer

-2-story great room - that is connected open-concept to the kitchen with columns

4/ ceilings

I tested 8 whites and am very surprised by my initial reactions! I thought White Dove might be a clear winner but it actually is almost in last place. These are what I tested:

1/ Bm White Dove

2/ BM Atrium White

3/ BM Simply White

4/ BM Chantilly Lace

5/ BM Decorators White

6/ BM Super White

7/ SW High Reflective White

8/ SW Pure White

Pic #1 is in a room with a decent amount of natural lights but is east facing like the kitchen although some of the windows are bag and technically face NE and SE.

Pic #2 is a hallway into the kitchen that gets a lot less natural light

(I was shocked at how White Dove is so blah and seemingly disappears)

So I think/thought Chantilly Lace is the winner for kitchen cabinets and was going to work from there but the more I read I worry - is it too stark? Not the color itself but considering the calacatta quartz countertops? And thinking about trim color (since the commitment impacts the entire house both floors!) Every time I look at the sample wall, it’s the winner…but with the concerns I wonder about Simply or Super white instead.

Kitchen is large so it’s a lot of cabinets so a lot of whatever white I choose. The island I decided to contrast with black (oh goodness, will black pose This amount of dilemma, too!!) as will be the hood. FYI our range is matte black.

With all this, I guess my questions are (but open to other thoughts/suggestions too!) are:

IF CL cabinets, what color for walls & trim? AND what would be a light light gray that would work with the trim for the neighboring great room?

And the same questions if:

-simply white (does it read too yellow)

-super white (does it read too blue/purple?)

Sorry for the long posts but really hoping for a lot of input to help me make some decisions! Cabinet color needs to be decided ASAP!!! THANK YOU!!!





Comments (34)

  • 4 years ago

    I think I’d remove the following colors from the list. All for different reasons. (Photo below.)
    And Your sampling on top of a beigish color.
    You should really sample on top of primer or such. ....

  • 4 years ago

    Sorry forgot the pic 🤭

  • 4 years ago

    Thx for the quick reply! yup, knew someone would call out the samples over our existing yellowy-beige. ill narrow down and do again over white/primer.


    im suprised you’re keeping White Dove in the runnings. dont you think it just gets totally lost? And i’d love to hear more about why Super White is out for you. thank you!

  • 4 years ago

    Haha!! Sorry! But doing over white will help you. So figured I’d mention lol.
    I crossed off super white because I felt it looked a drop pinky in your space.
    In general it’s a great color. Very basic white. But It’s important to make sure that the color works in your space.
    And it could be the pink undertones was just on my screen....

  • 4 years ago

    In my previous house I used BM Simply White for all trim, doors, crown and a vanity in one of the bathrooms. My son wanted white walls, so I also painted his north facing bedroom with Simply White. That house was a Spanish style house and I had some stained wood and some medium wall colors. I loved the Simply White in that house.

    Future house I want a brighter and lighter feel overall. I tested all the same whites and decided on BM Chantilly Lace for all the cabinets, buil-ins, trim, doors, crown. I plan on an off-white wall color throughout the house, so I wanted the trim to still appear white. The CL is bright, but it isn't stark. Now that the construction is progressing I am glad I picked the brighter white.


    The cabinet company also made me a cabinet door and drawer in the CL so I got a good feel for how it would look as a finished product.


    What are your other finishes and colors?

    Style of house? Climate?

  • 4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    It is always better to do sample on foam core boards. You can move them around the space and one color does not impact another.

    I think Simply White is a good choice. White Dove is one of Benjamin Moore's most popular colors. I think you should focus on them.

    Good luck!

  • 4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    Thanks everyone for your responses so far! im doing new samples as we speak - haha! i like Simply White but am afriad of the yellow undertone. always hated our existing color which is throughout the entire house. i think i suffer froM PTSD from a yellow house. So I have a pretty severe aversion to yellow! We have maple hardwood floors throughout the majority of the house, which if you know maple wood floors, yellow over time. We are refinishing the floors to bring out the more natural “whiteness” of the maple and will use UV protectant to try to minimize the yellowing over the next decade! 😀 with that said…there’s the background story on my wavering over the Simply White. Any thoughts, advice? @chispa I think we are thinking the same on the favor for CL…& you’re speaking from SW experience.

  • 4 years ago

    Will take more pics in the AM but fine @HU-187528210 you’re right i did the top 4 samples on primed drywall. any change in votes now? I definitely now see how White Dove reads differently



  • 4 years ago

    I've been looking at the White Dove intensely throughout the days, and I think it's reading too yellow for me. I think I've decided on the Chantilly Lace for the cabinets & by default the trim...can I get a recommendation of another white, similar to White Dove, but that reads a little more gray? I want that every-so-slight contrast against the Chantilly Lace trim for most of the house. But I'm talking white white gray...

    And THEN, any recos for a more light light gray for the great room that neighbors the kitchen?

  • 4 years ago

    What about BM Cloud cover , BM Silver Satin, BM Classic Gray or BM Sheep's Wool?

  • 4 years ago

    Thanks @J Sk ill check out some of those colors. to be clear though, Just want to state that Chantilly Lace Is the winner for the cabinets and trim (I think!). What I need is something that will contrast CL on trim every so slightly. I like the contrast amount with White Dove, but WD is reading too yellow/beige for me and want something more gray. We have so much trim, crown and molding, I want slight pop…

  • 4 years ago

    Just to clarify, I was talking about colors for the walls. In my kitchen the color on the walls is BM Glacier White. I have BM Cloud cover in my bathroom ( pale gray) and Sheep's Wool in one of the bedrooms (light gray just different shade and tiny more intense than Cloud Cover).

  • 4 years ago

    @J Sk thank yoi! what’s the color of your cabinets?


    So…i think we are Going to have to go with SW for the paint… contractor gets 50% off so feel like with having to paint the entire house, it’s probably the better route to go budget wise. I am still on the fence though just for the Chantilly Lace bc I love it…but the BM paint investment will be for all trim, crown, wall panels, doors…which is a LOT. Would you just spend more $$ for the CL?

    If we go SW, I think I want to go High Reflective White. Is that too extreme? The biggest impact will be in the kitchen with the cabinets. Extra White & Pure White feels too yellow & dingy (respectively).

    For the 2-story great room walls…I think I’m down to 2 choices: Crushed Ice & Drift of Mist. I need to go get samples…was working just with chips. Ice Cube was a strong contender but in different lights/time of day…it just reads too blue for us.

    Any opinions for us? Also keep in mind our Wood flooring Maple will be “lightened/whitened” (not bleach/white wash but maximize the natural lightness). kitchen tile will also probably be light…white-ish very faint marble or wood tile with minimal veining.

  • 4 years ago

    @G Indecisive, my cabinets color is custom color from my cabinet maker.

  • 4 years ago

    For trim i like the Super White by BM. It is a true white that makes everything look pristine and clean. But I think you have decided on SW. I love BM paints. I have had to deal with SW paints a few times because one of my painters loves SW. Try to get the best quality SW paint you can as you want to have a beautiful outcome. ProClassic SW might be a great option.





  • 4 years ago

    My kitchen cabs and all trim are chantilly lace. chantilly lace is the truest white...no undertones. many of my room walls are painted completey in CL too. my formal living room is white dove on walls and CL trim. I love wd on my walls.

    I always check the permanent hardscape fixtures in my kitchen, like backsplash and counter color undertone. For example, a bright white like CL might be too white if placed next to more earthy color undertones...look up “clean vs dirty“ colors. If counters and/or backsplash are more warm in undertone, then the stark white can be jarring and a softer creamy white often looks smoother then.

  • 4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    For what its worth - I chose super white with Corian Juniper counter, medium stained maple cabinets for a north east facing kitchen. Upgraded the led lighting and am very happy with the choice.

    i decided (not painted yet) chantilly lace for a living room/dining room space the receives northeast and southwest light and red oak floors. the trim and ceilings are SW white heron color in BM paint..

    I just moved the paint chips around the rooms throughout sunny and cloudy days and eliminated as I went along. Then did it again to confirm.

    i didnt grasp the hype about dove white.

  • 4 years ago

    Simply White will not appear yellow. I have it throughout my house. I have large south facing windows so that has some effect. It's white without the glare and cold.

  • 4 years ago

    If budget allows I would certainly pay more for BM Aura paint. I did my own interior painting for many years and have used several of the major paint brands. For me, BM Aura wins without a doubt. My GC seems to prefer SW, but will use both brands. The SW exterior stucco paint gets good reviews so we will go with that, but I plan to use BM Aura on the interior. Semi-gloss for trim and matte for walls & ceiling.

  • 3 years ago

    G Indecisive, would it be possible for you to identify the four colors you sampled on that piece of drywall? Would love to know which is which. Thanks!

  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Hi! yes, they are:

    white dove (top left)

    Super White (top right)

    Simply White (bottom left)

    Chantilly Lace (bottom right)


  • 3 years ago

    Thank you!

  • 3 years ago

    J Sk I love your kitchen! Please tell me where I can find the cabinet pulls. TIA

  • 3 years ago

    @Dawne, thank You! Pulls are from Restoration Hardware, in polished nickel finish:


  • 3 years ago

    Thank you so much! The pulls are beautuful. i appreciate you getting back to me quickly. Ty!

  • 3 years ago

    sorry to bother you again are they 4”?

  • 3 years ago

    @Dawne, you don't bother me. Ask as many questions as You need. Most are 6" ( upper cabinets and some smaller drawers ) and 8" on longer drawers.

  • 3 years ago

    Thanks again! Thats the size i will get. Appreciate you So much to consider on a reno.

  • 2 years ago

    G Indecisive what did you pick? Can you share pictures? I think I’m doing SW pure white

  • 2 years ago

    G indecisive please let us know final outcome and share photos of finished kitchen!!!

  • last year

    J Sk, your kitchen is gorgeous! What countertop is that?


  • last year

    @ Nancy Bamberger, thank you! Taj Mahal :-)

  • last year

    That’s what i was guessing, it’s my favorite! If we thought we’d keep up with sealing over the years that’s what I’d do!