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Need help for white exterior paint, please!

7 years ago

Hi there, My house is part brick, part shingle and I have just had the whole thing painted BM White Dove, which is a wonderful color that I've painted all my moldings, trim, kitchen cabinets. Sadly, White dove reads very yellow and creamy on my house and is not at all what I thought it would be. I am now going to have my painters re-paint my house at great expense (at least to me) and am trying to come up with the perfect white. Easy, right? I am going to sample: white heron, brilliant white, simply white. Does anyone have recommendations that might work? I'd like to stick with Benjamin Moore, if possible. Our house gets lots of sun which may influence the way colors look. I am also concerned about not choosing a stark and cold white, which I fear may be the case with decorator white. Thank you so much for any advice. Picking the right white is harder than picking just about any color!

Featured Answer

graywings123

7 years ago

A couple questions: What color was the exterior of your house before you applied the White Dove? Is it possible that the previous color is somehow showing through?

Are you certain the color that was applied was actually White Dove. Did you compare the paint with a known White Dove paint chip?

It's hard to imagine that White Dove would appear yellow in bright sunlight. Sunlight should wash away color not add it in. That said, you probably should make a test board of whatever color you try next. I use Simply White on the trim inside my house, but have no idea how it would appear outside.

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Comments (7)

jellytoast
7 years ago
I have Simply White on all the trim on the exterior of my house and it does not appear yellow in sunlight. What color is the body of your house? Is it reflecting on the white?
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Hi Beverly, Here are some more pics I took of the house. The way it is situated on the lot, mostly you see the tall garage from the street. I took another angle so you could see the entryway too. The front door is new, so I haven't stained it yet. I plan to do so after the painting is done. Patricia, thanks for your advice! I am new to the PNW, so it never occurred to me that a white house could look dirty and mildewy, but that does make sense. I like the look of limewashed brick, so did not think it could potentially devalue my property. These points are definitely some things I will need to think about. Thanks for your pic too, the house color of your pic is nicer than my current house color. But I have never been a fan of green houses. Are there other colors that work with reddish brick? My current house color feels very dark and heavy given the constant cloudy days. I would love to achieve a light and airy coastal feeling, if possible. I would love suggestions. My painter got delayed because of rain here, so I have a few more days to decide on colors. thank you!
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florava
Original Author
7 years ago
the house was a light brown/tan. i think it's a matter of lighting because the back of the house actually looks great and the front looks yellow. my painter has suggested painting the trim brilliant white i guess to offset any yellow in the white dove. i've now tried five samples on top of the already painted white dove: simply white, brilliant white, oxford white, white heron and cloud white. will let you know what we go with! i also painted some trim brilliant to see if it does make it look whiter. another issue is that we have bright white vinyl windows which i think we will need to paint. Thanks for your help!
jellytoast
7 years ago
Simply White looks good next to white vinyl windows. That is one of the reasons I used it ... I did not want the white paint to look dingy, yellow, or gray next to the white vinyl.
florava thanked jellytoast
florava
Original Author
7 years ago
I did the samples and they honestly all look the same on the white dove background except for super white which looks super white. If I used super white for trim would that make the white dove look yellower or whiter? Still trying to figure out this color theory -- put a blue white next to a yellow white and the yellow reads more or less yellow? I also sampled brilliant white, super white and simply white for trim. Will see it tomorrow. What color trim did you use for your simply white house? Which finish for trim and body? My house is a mix of shingle, brick and wood (yes, seriously), so I am going flat for body, semi gloss trim.
nancykinla
5 years ago
What color white did you end up with? I am in a similar predicament! I realize this is a very old conversation but hopefully you ended up with something you liked. I believe the shade is affected by the color of the roof as well! I am thinking of white heron.
florava
Original Author
5 years ago
I hate to tell you this, but after all that we ended up sticking with the white dove. I couldn't justify the expense of repainting my entire house for a pretty good, not great, outcome. When it comes time to repaint I think I will choose grey to avoid this predicament again! Also, was re-reading comments above and greywings123 was correct -- the house looks most yellow against white snow, not in sunlight!

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