I don't think "white" is the same as "simply white"...I have simply white on my kitchen cabinets and trim work and the sample can I used was called "simply white". I love how it works with both warm tones and cool tones.

If White is White 01, it's a white-white, though it does have a fair am't of grey in it (good for coverage). We recently repainted, and had our kitchen/DR/LR/foyer/bedroom hallway painted in BM's Super White, mixed up in Aura paint with a Matte finish. It's a very clean, bright white, but it actually looks warmer in our home than the 01 (which we'd used previously in regular BM in the Eggshell finish), which had started to look brittle and cold to us. We are very happy with the Super White.

I have Acadia White on all my trim downstairs. It's a creamy white. Upstairs in the bedrooms I did Simply white because of the colors I used in the bedrooms. I wanted a more crisp white. I also have samples of Marscapone and Vapor from the AAffinity collection. Those are my favorites and don't know why I didn't use them.

The timing of this post is uncanny. I've been stewing over whites forever. Today I had a color consultation during which we went over all kinds of whites and what would be best in my kitchen and on the trim throughout the house.

Here's what I can tell you, but first let me assure you I am no expert at color, so I'm just repeating what I've been told by people who are more experienced than I or that I've noticed myself.

White, I believe is basically white base. Zero color added in. Simply white is different. I found it to be a tad "warmer."

White Dove, which I think is what is currently on my kitchen cabinets (they came with the house but that's my best guess on a color match) definitely has a gray undertone in it. To me, at least.

Cloud White to me is again on the grayer side (vs. white). At the bottom is a link to a post about Cloud White (and other whites).

Prior to this color consult, I picked Cotton Balls. To me it looked creamy and not gray (which I didn't want). Then I painted some stuff with it and it started looking pretty stark.

Here's a picture where you can see the difference. Cotton Balls is on the right, the original color (probably White Dove) is on the left).

So it was suggested to me that I might want to look at Acadia White. But when I look at that color I see cream and really I'm looking for warm white if there is such a thing. I want it to read white when you look at it, but not EEK! WHITE! if you know what I mean.

So then I saw Mascarpone and there happened to be a premixed sample available. To me, Mascarpone looks a.) warm and b.) sort of the mid-point between a Cloud White type color and Acadia White. I've done some samples in the kitchen tonight and I quite like it, but I'll have to wait until daylight to see what it really looks like, but I'm very hopeful.

Good luck! I'm finding whites to be the most frustrating and difficult colors to pick out.

Here is a link that might be useful: Trim colors ... not always Cloud White

I have Marscapone on all the trim in my house and also on several walls. I love it. I have it paired with BM Saybrook Sage in one room, and with BM Rockport Grey in another. I also paired it with Tobacco Road in the basement. I even painted some kitchen cabinets Marscapone. It is a beautiful white..soft white...yet still crisp. I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow.

I struggle with Whites also and must have at least 25+ testers...

I've used Cloud White on trim in last house and also have it on furniture. I find it to be a creamy white-but not stark. I tried it on walls and found it dingey though...
go figure.

No surprise, but so much has to do with the lighting in your own home.

We currently have Snowfall on the trim and I'm happy with it. (On the same strip as Simply White)
I know Decorators White is also very popular if you're lookig for a crisp, modern white. I've used this one on trim also.

I hear many people love their Mascarpone (Affinity) or Mayonnaise paint. For those that have these, do you find them on the yellow side, or just a soft, creamy white?

Oxford White might be another good one to look at for trim...it's a more 'neutral' white along with Chantilly Lace.

Not a BM colour, but I looked at Farrow & Ball Wimbourne White last weekend and really liked it.

Good luck...and sorry that I've likely caused more confusion, lol.

I also went through 'pick the perfect white' after having new windows installed last summer. All the trim would be factory finished with whatever color I picked at no extra charge. I sampled many whites from BM and SW and ended up with Behr Polar Bear.

Argh! For some reason I assumed that when I ordered White at the hardware store, I was simply getting white. Apparently not so simple after all! Thanks for the heads up on that.

So I suppose another trip to the store is in order. I would really prefer a crisp white to a gray overly creamy white so I have a feeling Simply White will be the best choice for me. That being said, I feel like I need to try all the whites to be sure!

I have chosen to do white dove throughout our 60's rambling ranch in desperate update need and find white dove to be a white with the 'bite' taken out of it. I am liking it everywhere I am GOING with it. The color swatch it is in is sort of a putty/beige swatch. I have it in my kitchen against stone harbor. I really don't' see the gray in it at all. I like it. What I decided when I was looking at white was I just needed to settle on one because it wasn't worth the stress. there are just soooo many whites. It is obvious to me that white dove is used a lot because it is not even a custom mix anymore.

Hey, kmcg...I will be anxious to hear from you in a year. I loved using Behr but found with the whites, they acted like oil paint in that they yellowed quickly, NO OFFENSE. I hope they have improved in that way as I do love to use behr.

I'm almost ready to repaint all my trim and I keep thinking I will resist the pressure to search fruitlessly for the right white. However, it's almost unbelievably hard. Right now, I'm leaning toward White Dove too.

Red

I am in the process of repainting all the trim in my house. The previous owner painted all the trim in BM Super White which is a really bright crisp white. I have always liked that white but now am switching everything to BM Linen White. It is a yellowy white and appears creamy and cozy to me.

IÂm in the same boat and leaning toward White Dove because I have seen some awesome kitchens from folks a lot more color astute than I using it. Are you all familiar with Willow DecorÂs kitchen makeover for example? Or her new breakfast room?

Does anyone know what Sherwin Williams paint would be equivalent to White Dove? I think we will be going with ScherrÂs Cabinets and they use Sherwin Williams.

I'm glad this thread got a bunch. Just wanted to say that after agonizing over this decision for a couple weeks I finally decided on Mascarpone (other top contenders were BM Cloud White, a combination of Mascarpone and Cloud White and SW Dover White, which came in a close second ... I really like that color too). I painted the door and frame (pictured above) with it the other night and so far I'm very, very happy with it. Mostly I'm just relieved to be able to think about something OTHER than white.

I'll throw some other colors in the mix. We have BM White Heron on our paneling walls and then Chantilly Lace on the cabinets. White Heron would also make a nice cabinet color.

Oh yeah, and I had the chips on the cabinets for months after doing the paneling. Finally, after seeing another kitchen in the Kitchens forum (Redroze), I decided to go with the Chantilly Lace like she did and have been very happy. DH wanted all-white, so I had to find some that had a little contrast.

I remember going nuts with whites and then I said, forget it, just go with "White". I am thrilled with it. It's crisp, not cold and not warm...just White. To me it's a no brainer bc you can't really go wrong with it.

I have BM Linen White trim throughout my house and I love it! It has a drop of yellow in it. It is a soft creamy white that I never tire of. My ceilings are BM Simply White. Also a very nice color.
FW

Acadia, was our "perfect" trim white. To me (and I tested them all) it was the best in our home. It was enough to be creamy, but nor stark white. Definitely white and not a color that some would describe as off-white, etc. To me it had absolutley "NO" undertones that were obvious to my eye. So many I would look at and say no...i see blue, pink, yellow or gray. It was very important for me to not see other colors, just a softer, white. I have yet to find a color that it doesn't look perfect next to the acadia trim.

I am learning as I am painting our trim that white dove is very chameleon. In my kitchen and family room white dove looks fairly bright and I cant imagine any other white as they would look very start, HOWEVER as I paint the mantel in my living room with a gloss white dove, I am seeing it in a very different light. My living room has much less natural light and it DOES have a greyer/beige look. So depending on your lighting becareful. Sounds to me you tried it in a darker room?
I wont change it though as it does look really pretty against the pale oak walls.
Good luck on your 'white' QUEST.

Day_dreamer, what did you finally decide, and do you love your choice? I may have missed your post!

Day_dreamer, what did you finally decide, and do you love your choice? I may have missed your post!

All of my trim is White Dove and I also don't see any gray in it. It's a creamier white against most of my colors (HC101 being the exception).

Thank you everyone for your replies! I ended up getting samples of Cloud White, Simply White and Mascarpone. I finally decided on Cloud White. To my eye, and in my space, it was the 'crispest' of all the samples.

Mascarpone seemed too yellowish. Dove white and simply white too grayish. All the colors were still very pretty but I knew I wanted to use a crisper white. So happy to finally have that one checked off the list!

This is a most helpful thread!

Please, can anyone here tell me what the difference is between BM Simply White and BM Decorators White?

Thank you in advance,
FW

Fuzzywuzzer, I can't answer your question, but this link has a lot of good info on white paints.

Here is a link that might be useful: Great Whites

Caseyrose,
That is a fabulous link! Very very helpful, and beautiful photos.
Thank you very much!
FW

We have used Lily of the Valley (#905) for all our trim for years. It looks perfect with every color we have ever used from Palladian blue to Metropolitan (blue/grey) to Saybrook Sage to the sort of toffee color in the dining room and living room.

Eek. We are building a new home and I was just going to match the trim to the white on our window trim. Not as easy as that? I better go pick up some paint samples.

My house was built with Pella (not my choice) and their stock white most closely matches Ben Moore Paperwhite, which is very gray. I opted to have the windows shipped with primer only so I could paint them myself. There was no way I was going to let Pella's idea of white drive the trim color for the entire house. :-)

To the poster asking which SW White was closest to White Dove the answer is Alabaster, #7008.

We used Arcadia white and really like it. It is soft and seems to go well with all the colors we chose.

Here is a pic if it helps?
{{!gwi}}

Okay so I am in a bit of a white crisis. I have already painted all trim and doors in my home BM white 01 in semi-gloss finish. I like the crisp and clean look. However I have a lot of molding in my living room. Raised paneling on 3/4 of the room at chair rail height, and an full wall of raised paneling surrounding the fireplace with a built in bookcase on the left side of the wall. I already painted the chair rail paneling the white 01 since it was recommended to keep the trim and molding the same. I painted one coat of the white on the larger wall and it looks very bright. Am I just not used to this yet since I went from dark wood to bright white? OR did I choose the wrong white all together? I will post a picture if anyone would like to help me figure this out.

I have a room done entirely in Mayonnaise and I adore it. Walls and ceiling are mate, trim and doors are semi-gloss. It is a creamy, comforting off white with a little warmth, but nowhere near as yellow as, say, Linen White.

Melania - Could you post some photos of your room done in all (walls, ceiling, doors, trim) Mayonnaise?

Hi. Sorry for the delay. I've tried and tried to capture the real color of the room, but i keeps coming out too pink or too yellow. Attached, the best I could do. This really is a warm, creamy off white.

Thanks for sharing these photos of your BM mayonnaise ceiling, walls, doors & trim. Very nice!!

Are the walls & ceiling done in a flat paint? , trim & doors in semi gloss?

It looks like a warm, creamy off white as you described. In the first & last photos, there's a "bright white" cabinet or dresser in the lower right corner. That gives a perspective as to the creaminess of the mayonnaise color.

Pretty statue in the middle photo : )

Yes, the walls and ceiling are flat and the trim/door is semigloss.