Also just curious if anyone has an opinion on Behr vs B.Moore... Originally we wanted to go with Behr Ostrich, but the painter uses B Moore and wanted to go with that instead of Behr, so we are scrambling to focus on that linke... BUT My friend swears Behr is way thicker and better and more cost effective...

With gray trim, navy sofa and wood floors, I’d stay as light as possible with walls if you’re up north.

Picking a color last minute is the worst idea! You need to test samples I’m your space. If you’ve already tested Behr ostrich, BM can probably match it (I’m not familiar with it so no opinion). Benjamin Moore paints are very good. Your painter probably has an account there and that’s why he uses them. Also why are you choosing different trim for the widow molding than the other trim? If you held a gun to my head and asked me to choose, I would say white dove everywhere. It’s a warm white and would probably work well in your space. But testing a few of your favorites is the best idea. Paint samples on a large board so you can move them around. Samplize is the easiest way, and they usually overnight the samples.

@Susie . - i know its not ideal to be rushed, but basically the painter has a window and we have a timeline so we are suddenly rushed... :( .I did overnight a bunch of samples (posted above) so should have them tomorrow to try in the space from samplize...

ok - i was mistaken - we are just doing one trim. so if white dove is on the walls - do you like the revere pewter for the trims and would you also do white dove on the ceiling or something like chantilly lace on the ceiling to give a touch of contrast?

thank you for weighing in!

@Kat M thank you - although we are not keeping the gray trim. we are looking for a different color. leaning towards Revere Pewter...

BM Swiss Coffee is similar to BEHR Ostrich

BEHR Ostrich

BM Swiss Coffee

looks great with White Dove

and Cloud White

But Susie is right: pick in haste, repent at leisure...

Never make a pro painter use BEHR.

You either like working with it or you don't. There is no in between. It's the most polarizing brand there is and it's not worth the argument. Because everything and anything that goes wrong with the paint project, the painter will blame it on the fact he had to use BEHR.

Secondly, Revere Pewter is not a neutral color for trim/doors. It brings a specific aesthetic that isn't flexible - only way out of the RP vibe at some future date is to repaint. Repainting trim/doors is time, labor and money intensive.

Glad you’re doing one trim color. My opinion: lighter white is better than a beige or gray. It gives you more flexibility going forward. Chantilly lace is a popular trim color because it’s very neutral looking and works with many wall colors. It’s the lightest color BM has. White Dove trim will give you more warmth. I wouldn’t recommend going much “darker” than white dove for trim and it will probably work well with the options you have. Hopefully the samples will clarify things for you. Snap some photos in your space if you want us to weigh in.

If you like Behr Ostrich and want to use BM I would get White Down. It is the closest match to Behr Ostrich. (Behr Website lists the RGB for Ostrich as 233/227/213 - Virtually identical to BM White Down.

My friend swears Behr is way thicker and better and more cost effective...

You simply cannot make that type of blanket statement. First, I have no idea what paint line your friend used or which paint line your painter is planning on using.

Every paint manufacturer has different lines that are different quality.

Two, thickness is only one of many measures of paint quality.

If I am paying the labor costs to have someone paint my home I want them using a high quality paint. I want one coat of primer, 2 coats of paint and I want the paint job to last a long time.

I personally like painting with Benjamin Moore Regal Select better than Behr Marquee. I have never tired Dynasty. I tried Aura, but preferred Regal Select.

Painting trim and doors is a lot more work than painting walls. I tend to choose a paint color for trim and doors that I won't need to change ever. I can change my wall color without having to repaint all the trim and doors.

Paying someone to paint trim and doors is way more expensive than just painting walls.

I personally used a color similar in depth to the Ostrich/White Down, but used a color for trim that was closer to Simply White. (LRV of Ostrich is 77, Simply White is 89. White Dove is 83. I find it is a bit too dark to feel like a clean white and a bit to light to feel like an off white. It simply feels like a dirty white to me. Many people love White Dove - it is one of the most popular whites, it just isn't my favorite.

trim/crown/ceiling: BM Chantilly Lace

walls: BM Winds Breath (darker) and BM White Dove (lighter).

BenM doesn't have a good dupe for BEHR's Ostrich W-F-410.

The good news, they do have colors that are close.

When we see this happen, it means that the odds are in your favor that your BenM store can color match Ostrich in a BenM product.

In other words, you'd likely be happier with the custom color match vs. settling for another color with similar yet noticeably different color appearance.

And White Dove and Ostrich work beautifully together because they have a lovely pitch of contrast in chroma. So maybe consider Ostrich walls, White Dove Trim.

I pulled the Ostrich chip and kind of obsessed with it.

I also think Ostrich is gorgeous.

yes i LOVE Ostrich... We have Ostrich with (i think) Ultra White trim in our upstairs living room and bedrooms at our home in California and the combo is really beautiful. But also we get LOTS of Sun.... I love the combo, but need to make sure that A. it's going to work in a very different house with long winters etc and B. if it works in all the rooms

Here are some photos of the rooms we did Ostrich walls with ultra pure white on the ceiling (and on trim in bedrooms) in our cali house. these are three very different size rooms with different lighting scenarios.. i think it feels pretty great in all of them..

Got our Samplizer in - only I didn't get Ostrich So - now i will run to HD to try and get a sample and will see about B. Moore matching it... although i want to get Swiss Coffee and White Down also to compare....

In the meantime I got a ton of photos to try to narrow down the trims. Taking @Susie .suggestion to keep the trim white in case of future paint changes for flexibility... thx!

Trim Sample Order in photos for feedback is:

Cloud White / Dove White / Chantilly Lace

These three whites we have samples of def look diff in all the rooms.. chantilly lace to us feels too stark in the space - and with the vaulted ceilings it'll be harder to keep looking perfectly clean. white dove looks great in places and dirty in others... It feels like Cloud white is the best compromise... brighter than white dove and less stark then chantilly.

FYI - I am using Classic Grey for now as a reference for Ostrich bc its the only sample kind of close to the LRV...

I am leaning towards Ostrich on walls in main room and bedrooms plus cloud white for trims/doors and ceiling.

In the kitchen/dining area that opens into the main room I think the Ostrich looks too dark and we need the walls to be white. Do we use cloud white everywhere or Ostrich on the trims and cloud white on ceiling / walls?

Don’t put ostrich on trim. I would keep trim consistent throughout. It’s ok to have trim and wall the same white (just use different sheens), in fact it’s a look I really like when you want white walls.

@Jennifer Hogan thanks for your clarity on the trims and white dove. i experienced that moving it in diff places... Whats your take on cloud white? btw my three options (above) in samples that one seemed to be most consistent in the different lighting scenarious... going to try to get a sample of simply white at home depot to compare if they have it.

Thanks @Lori A. Sawaya!! hoping the Ostrich color match will work! white dove was looking a little bleak in the space, so leaning cloud white and looking at home depot now for some other possibilties that are not as bright as chantilly lace and not as off as white dove... something soft, but with a lift - cloud white winning so far. will post pic updates when i get ostrich samples

@Susie .Ah! ok great. so maybe satin on the wall and eggshell on the trim?

I would flip that. Satin or semigloss on the trim and matte or eggshell on the walls. If it’s a room where you really need to scrub the walls, then satin may be ok. I prefer less gloss than most people, maybe.
Here is the Benjamin Moore sheen guide. Not sure if all the sheens are available with all their paint lines (I use Sherwin Williams most of the time and they do not have all sheens available in all paint lines). https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/interior-exterior-paints-stains/how-to-advice/painting-101/choosing-paint-finish
In my own home, I have matte or flat in bedrooms, stairwell, living room and even my kitchen. I don’t like to see a shiny surface. I have eggshell in the bathrooms and satin on the millwork.

@susie - thank you. Yes I’m not a giant fan of shiny or glossy either. I tend to prefer Matte finish. So I think I’ll follow your guidelines here. 🙏thx

I am torn. Of your choices I would pick Simply White hands down, but looking through your idea books I think Cloud White will provide more warmth, a more comfortable, welcoming feeling.

I like bright and clean, stronger contrast, more energy, but you seem to be seeking Hygge and Cloud White will fit your aesthetic better than Simply White.

I like eggshell walls, satin trim and flat ceilings and would paint all with Cloud White. I like the look of matte walls, but eggshell is still not shiny but is a bit more durable. I see your kitty and may want to be able to wipe off the walls where she rubs and gets her oils on the corners of the walls. Matte is less forgiving.

I don’t understand why baseboards and window trim are painted a different color than the walls. Unless the desired result is to call attention to them by drawing a line around your floor and windows, use the same color as the walls in a semi gloss.

I like the look of an all white room painted the same color (wall & trim), or sometimes even if it's a color. However If you have different wall colors in different rooms it gets tedious painting (and repainting to match) millwork. White also calls attention to nice trim, which in many cases people want to call attention to (think about pretty crown molding). Contrast is an element of interior design and trim/wall paint are one example of using contrast.

We had some rental properties that we rented to college students and we painted wall and trim all the same color in satin sheen so it was easy to clean and easy to repaint. The trim was nothing to write home about so I didn't really care about accenting it. However, when we listed them for sale the realtor really wanted us to repaint the trim white. He said it was important to buyers. I don't know if that's true or not (we didn't repaint them). I do like the trim painted white in my home, but it is something that I want accented.

We are officially going with simply white on the trims and doors and stair railing @Susie . and got Ostrich in the room and it looks amazing!! i know someone had mentioned swiss coffee instead - but that is way lighter. I think we will keep ostrich through the entire walls in Matte and then do satin or eggshell on the simply white trims? would love if you have an opinion on that! also wondering about on the ceiling and doors... same sheen as trim? Thanks so much for all the help!

AH! @Jennifer Hogan just seeing your rec on eggshell on the walls. important point re. durability.... eggshell walls, satin trim and flat ceilings. thank you!!! fyi... do you still think Flat even with our vaulted wood ceiling? what's there now has a sheen to it.

@jodyrah - i think its just b/c we did it in our home in Cali and we loved the Ostrich wall color, but want to follow the excellent advice to keep the trims white in case we want to change that wall color at some point.. and i like a little bit of contrast as well. I feel like Ostrich has this warmth to it and its not dark at all like Balboa Mist. It's a pretty light color that just brings a bit more to the space

I'm no good with color but I do love an Aussie! Mine was a great remodeling assistant. Yours looks ready for the challenge. Very cute.

@tiffnthor - I like your color choice and love that you know your own mind and what you like.

Good call on questioning the vaulted ceilings. I treat angled ceilings as walls, so I would use the same color and sheen on the vaulted ceilings as I would the walls.

I also want to caution you on one aspect of your choice. You stated that you loved this color in your California home, and I am assuming that Woodstock is Woodstock NY.

I loved the color in my last home (San Diego Inland) and moved in to my new home (PA Dutch Country) thinking I wanted the same color.

I thought the paint store screwed up when they gave me the sample and I tested it in my new home. With the overcast weather and wooded lot and smaller windows, it was not the same color as it was in my sunlit rooms in Southern California. It was actually the same color, but it didn't feel the same.

Your color is actually quite similar in light and chroma as I picked for my home in PA, so I am hopeful that it will be perfect in your new home, but sometimes our brains don't want to rethink things. We learn something, we stick with it. Please test large spaces and make sure this is really exactly right for your new home.

@ jodyrah

I didn't paint my trim white because I wanted to call attention to it. I am quite practical and know that changing color on trim and doors is expensive. I can change wall color on a whim and by selecting a white that works with my overall color palette I can change my mind on room color without worrying that I have re-paint the trim. I also paint the inside of my closets white for the same reason. I can leave everything in the closets, leave the closet doors on and paint the walls over a weekend and have a new look.

There are pros and cons to a higher sheen. Eggshell is easier to clean than flat or matte, but more difficult to touch up (usually need to paint the whole wall, versus a small area). Some of the higher end paint lines have a scrubbable matte. The higher the sheen, the more any imperfections in the wall will show. If you think you will need to do a lot of wiping or scrubbing, go with an eggshell (or even a satin). If you’re more concerned about texture/bumps showing on the walls, go with a matte. Definitely on a flat ceiling use a flat paint. On your wood ceiling you may want more sheen. If you like the current sheen, I would just replicate it. I grew up with parents who always used flat white (and touched everything up twice a year), so I am more conditioned to the flat sheen, which I’ve carried into my own life. The one bathroom where I have an eggshell that seems closer to satin really irritates me 😄. We also live in an area where the drywall has texture, which I don’t like either.

Thanks so much! All so many things to think about! What do we think about satin in the bathroom versus eggshell with regards to what you mentioned with the touchup scenario? I’m thinking to do simply white in the bathrooms with simply white trim with a bit of a sheen.

Eggshell, satin, semi-gloss -- all difficult to touch up -- but easier to clean (in general). Some more expensive paints are scrubbable as a flat finish (e.g., BM Aura for bath). Higher sheens are more resistant to moisture, also. Decide what is most important to you. I'm sure your painter has an opinion about what to use also.

I don't understand the fuss about touching up your paint. I have used eggshell paint on my walls for the last 40 years. If I have a small scratch or nick I can touch up the paint with no problem. If I have a small hole I can patch and repair without it being noticeable. A baseball size hole will require a larger patch you have to patch, sand, match the texture and seal before painting. The patch, if not sealed well will suck up the paint and it will be noticeably flatter than the rest of the wall, but that is true even if you paint the whole wall.

In 40 years I have only twice had large holes that needed patched and repaired. On the other hand, I am forever wiping down the walls around light switches and corners and behind my dogs bowl or near the door where my dog runs in and out.