Benjamin Moore White Dove OC-17 is a popular warm white paint color for walls, trim and cabinets. It is the favorite white of many homeowners and design professionals alike, but is the right paint color for your home?
Why Benjamin Moore’s White Dove Paint is a Designer-Favorite Neutral
Benjamin Moore’s White Dove is a very popular white paint color that has been favored by homeowners and designers alike year after year.
In fact, many people would say that White Dove is Benjamin Moore’s most versatile white paint color.
[Walls are BM White Dove and trim is SW Pure White. This bedroom has both north and west-facing exposure. It gets beautiful warm afternoon sun, but it’s dark and cold in the mornings. White Dove on the walls stops it from feeling too cold and gray]
What Color is White Dove?
White Dove is a soft, off-white beige color. It feels warm and creamy thanks to its slightly green undertone, but never comes across as yellow.
It never feels super warm but definitely leans into the warmer side more than cooler whites like Benjamin Moore’s Decorator’s White or Sherwin Williams Pure White which have a stronger gray undertones.
It does not look like a pure clean white as some white paint colors do, but instead has a warm softness to it.
What is The LRV of White Dove?
Light Reflectance Value (LRV) is an indicator of the amount of light that is reflected by a color when it is illuminated by a light source. A higher value (closer to 100) means that a color will reflect more light back at you and a lower value (closer to 0) means that a color will appear darker, or absorb more light.
White Dove has a Light Reflective Value of (LRV) of 85, which means its fairly bright light white. In case you don’t already know, LRV shows how bright a color is on a scale of 0 to 100, with 0 being black and 100 being pure white.
Is Bm White Dove a Warm or Cool Color?
Benjamin Moore’s White Dove OC-17 is a warm soft white with creamy greige paint with yellow undertones. With the yellow undertones, this is definitely off-white and not a true bright white paint.
What Are White Dove’s Undertones?
Every paint color has some sort of undertone, and these undertones greatly influence how a paint color will look on your walls.
White paint colors can be particularly tricky, especially when you pair them with other warm or cool finishes.
White Dove doesn’t have a strong undertone, but it does have a tiny touch of green as well as a drop of gray. The green warms it up but the gray cools it back down just a touch to help it come across with just the perfect amount of warmth for your walls.
Real Room Examples
White Dove is a very versatile color, that can look good in rooms with lots of natural light to darker rooms with artificial light. Use it on your living room and bathroom walls, on kitchen cabinets, even ceilings.
Kitchen
Using White Dove on your kitchen cabinets is a great idea. House of Jade Interiors did an amazing job in this space.
There is a lot of natural light in this kitchen, which ties in the cabinets, countertop, and tile beautifully.
You will want to make sure this color is the right white for your kitchen space. Flooring, countertop type, backsplash, and appliance color can all be a factor affecting your paint color choice.
Living Room
This is why I love to pair White Dove in darker rooms and as the perfect whole-house white if you’re planning on painting walls and trim. It’s also a great shade of white if you have a lot of warm woods like honey oak in your house.
Bathroom
White Dove paint looks amazing on ceilings, walls, or on cabinets in a bathroom. This is the perfect color to elevate your current outdated bathroom.
Look how gorgeous these shiplap walls are, what a good wall color.
Should You Use White Dove on The Exterior of a Home?
When it comes to painting the exterior of your home Benjamin Moore paint colors are a great option. This is a great off-white paint choice that will work on any style of home. It is also a great choice for windows, doors, and trims.
I would recommend using stick paint samples, it can be a fast way to see a color in your space and help you make a decision on what color to commit to.
If I have White Dove Walls, What White Trim Color Will Look Best?
Use White Dove in a higher sheen or a brighter white that also has warmth to it, like SW Pure White.
SW pure white is a safe bet. It’s a bright white with just a smidge of warmth so it never looks cold. It looks great with all wall colors, but it’s especially the correct choice if the color is warm.
What Colors Go With White Dove?
It pairs really well with warmer greige paint colors. White Dove pairs well with coordinating blues like BM Palladian Blue, BM Boothbay Gray and BM Britannia Blue. It also looks great alongside warm neutrals like BM Classic Gray, SW Accessible Beige and BM Chelsea Gray. If you’re looking for a brighter white for ceilings and trim, then BM Chantilly Lace is a good choice.
Benjamin Moore White Dove Coordinating Colors
When Should I Not Use White Dove?
If you want a bright “traditional” clean white, this may be too warm for you.
White Dove vs Simply White
- White Dove LRV: 83.16 / Simply White LRV: 91.7
- Simply White is a brighter white
- Simply White does not have the slight greige undertone that White Dove has, and can look quite yellow under artificial light.
For comparison sake, Benjamin Moore Simply White has an LRV 91.7 and Decorator’s White 84.6., while Sherwin Williams Extra White has an LRV of 86.
BM White Dove vs Sherwin Williams Extra White
- White Dove LRV: 83.16 / Simply White LRV: 86
- White Dove is a creamy white, while Extra White is a cool, bright white
- Extra White is brighter than White Dove
- While White Dove is good for north-facing rooms, Extra White is not. It’s best suited to south or west-facing rooms.
Benjamin Moore Dove White vs Sherwin Williams Alabaster
- White Dove LRV: 83.16 / Alabaster LRV: 83
- Warmer and creamier than White Dove.
- Almost the exact same brightness, with similar LRV’s
- Both are good choices for north-facing rooms.
White Dove vs. Chantilly Lace
- White Dove LRV: 83.16 / Chantilly Lace LRV: 93
- White Dove is a soft warm white, Chantilly Lace is a true neutral white
White Dove vs Swiss Coffee
- White Dove LRV: 83.16 / Swiss Coffee LRV: 81.91
- White Dove is slightly brighter
- Swiss Coffee is just the tiniest bit warmer than White Dove and also has a smidge of green undertone
- Both are popular colors for north-facing rooms.
- Swiss Coffee has been made popular by Studio McGee who like to use it lightened by 25% (making it brighter than White Dove).
BM White Dove vs Sherwin Williams Greek Villa
- White Dove LRV: 83.16 / Greek Villa LRV: 84
- Similar warm whites
- Greek Villa is slightly warmer than White Dove
- White Dove is more versatile, and more widely used
BM White Dove vs Sherwin Williams Snowbound
- White Dove LRV: 83.16 / Snowbound LRV: 83
- While White Dove is a soft warm white, SW Snowbound is a soft white with a gray/pink undertone.
- White Dove is a more versatile white paint color.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions about Benjamin Moore White Dove
Other Things to Consider
White Dove will look warmer in southern facing rooms, where the warm light will bring out the warmth in the paint. Conversely, in northern facing rooms the gray is more obvious.
It’s a lovely choice for cabinets, but if you have white quartz or marble, it can look dingy in comparison.
If you’re using it for trim, you’ll want all the trim to be the same shade as it won’t match with off-the-shelf white trim paint.
Final Thoughts
White Dove is a beautiful creamy shade of white that is my go-to for darker rooms and spaces with lots of warm elements or wood. If you have a lot of cool grays or bright whites, it may not be the right color for you.
Don’t Forget To Always Use Real Paint Samples!
Don’t forget – no matter what you’ve read or photos you’ve seen online, it’s really important to sample paint colors in your home before committing!
Samplize provides real paint samples that are easy to move around your home, and cheaper than buying a gazillion paint pots! It’s the only way I buy paint samples.
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