If this is Behr paint you're talking about, I know exactly what you mean! I was going to paint several pieces of furniture white, and just wanted a crisp, clear white. I finished the first piece, and wow...if white could be fluorescent, this is it.

Our walls and trim are painted Behr Calla Lily, which is just a hint creamy. No gray, blue, or pink undertones, and seems to look true in most all lighting. It's an older color, so you may not be able to find a chip of it, but they can make you one of those sample pots for a few bucks. I'll see if I can find a good pic to post.

For the rest of the painted furniture, I picked a color called Nude. Again, it's white, but has a bit of creaminess to it, so it's not so stark and blinding. I should get the next piece painted this week, so I can't say how it looks en masse, but I'll post back when I'm working on it.

Here's a pic of my in-progress dining room, so you can see that wall color. The ceiling is white-white, and the old painted buffet is also a true white. I think this pic makes it look just a tad on the beige side, but you can see how it would contrast compared to a pure white.

Here's a closer pic of the wall taken in natural light(from last Thanksgiving.) I think this is the truest pic I have of that color:

And a pic of the offending Ultra Bright White dresser next to the wall:

It doesn't look so bad in that pic, but it's !!!WHITE!!!

I would suggest BM White Dove.

It's very popular because it reads white but is softer. We have it in our home and I love it.

Dawn

We have used BM Lily of the Valley (#905 or 906, think)throughout our house. We do our crown and trim in semi-gloss and the ceiling in the flat version (although I may put some color on the bedroom ceilings one of these days). Love it.

I have a standard go to color from ralph Lauren I use on all " white" ceilings. It's called starched apron. The little sample packs make it look like a tan, but on trim and walls is it a gorgeous soft white. I always have to convince people because of that, but vie used it in six homes now and several friends have as well and in any light it's white...gorgeous soft white.

I also love their parchment and writers parchment (can't remember which is the lighter...so check a chip). I used quite a bit of it in our town house on ceilings and again loved it.

i found i really liked bm's ballet white...looks quite bright white, but is creamier without having that yellow undertone which seems quite prevalent in the off whites...

Thanks for the responses... franksmom--is that calla lily even on the trim in your first pic? Even on the trim in the foreground? If so, that is a nice warm, but still white, white.

I can't believe I am making this so hard. I just want to get it right, because I don't want to do it again.

Using the Ballard Designs catalog as inspiration. Love that stuff!

Yes. They painted the whole place in that color, except ceilings and kitchen walls. My kitchen cabinets are that color, too. The kitchen and laundry room have overhead fluorescent lights, and it looks a little more bright white in those rooms, but not so stark as the Ultra Bright.

I'm not a decorator, but I do know that how any color will look depends entirely on your lighting and climate. I would suggest comparing the Ultra Bright White chip to a handful of other color chips, to quickly rule out most of them, and get the choices narrowed down.

Once you have a small set of possible colors (I'm easily overwhelmed by these kinds of things, so I would make it 5 or less) buy the sample pots, and paint some swatches on posterboard or scrap wood, and try them out for a few days in all of the rooms you're planning to use the color. Look at the colors in all types of light that each room gets, and then pick the one that you like best.

You can also do a google search for "white paint" and there's a whole slew of articles that pop up.

Do not make paint choices based on an internet picture, or a swatch in the poorly lit paint store, or gawd forbid the paint aisle at Home Depot.

Thanks again for the help. I went to HD yesterday to grab a bunch of paint chips. I didn't see the ones mentioned above, but did see a SLEW of others. (This is so overwhelming.)

I think I may have settled on two possibilities: Behr Powdered Snow or Behr Moon Rise. I'm leaning toward the former, as it seems a bit more creamy--just a bit.

I think I'll have to grab some sample pots and paint them on next. Hoping I'm heading in the right direction...

Just went thru this recently when looking to use 2 different whites- one for walls, and another for trim and mouldings. There are some beautiful whites out there. Just keep trying and you will find what works for you. I did sample white dove as dawnp suggested, and it is beautiful.

I love Creamy by SW.

My current favorite white is Ben Moore's Mascarpone.

In Canada, designers recommend BM Cloud White as a warm white. I have used it throughout my house (trim and doors) and love it. No grey, pink or yellow undertones - just a nice creamy white.

When we remodeled our house and put in all new trim, our GC recommended Swiss Coffee (which from what I can tell is made by many different paint companies). Ours is by Behr and we are very happy with this white. It's a nice warm white, but still reads as white. When I was painting some furniture recently and wanted a creamy white, I considered both BM White Dove and Cloud White, though ultimately choose BM Bavarian Cream. It may be more creamy than you are looking for though.