By popular demand (*Drum roll please!*) I give you my favorite white paint colors for the exterior! Now white paint is tricky. The trickiest of all colors because I think it can change the most drastically depending on lighting and there are just so many shades, tones, undertones….I mean picking a white paint color can be VERY tricky! But these are my top five! But before I do here are some tips and tricks to picking the right white.
Tip #1: Just try some! I usually never know until I try. I would recommend painting some swatches on different parts of the house and looking at it throughout the day to see what you think. Even better is trying two white next to each other. You will really be able to see undertones better that way.
Tip #2: Pay attention to which direction your home faces. If your home faces North, that lighting will magnify cool tones, so I would pick a softer white.
Tip #3: Take your time. Really think of what style you are going for. Every white really tells a different story. Some are soft and give you more of a Martha’s Vineyard kind of vibe and others have cooler tones and would translate better to a little surf bungalow. I have rushed through the process before and really regretted it.
Hardie Arctic White
Now I don’t think this is my favorite but its what we use this most. If you are building a house chances are you are using Hardie Plank. And if you are there are stock colors. And if that’s the case for budget purposes I would choose Arctic White. It’s a very neutral white and I think really transcends different styles. You can also see it here on the Modern Farmhouse Project. So if you are trying to save somewhere, go Arctic White and do something really fun like this backyard!
Benjamin Moore- Simply White
This is probably my favorite white. You can see it used inside a home we built here. I think I have other favorites for an interior, but for an exterior this paint color is just perfection to me.
Benjamin Moore- White Dove
This white is the perfect creamy. It softens a house without making it yellow. We used this on the interior of the Barton Ave. home and LOVED it!
Benjamin Moore- China White
I think this is the perfect white if you are wanting to use browns, copper, or if you have a northerly facing home. It’s a very creamy warm white. I would say sometimes in the winter I think you can see more of a yellow undertone which I don’t like.
Sherwin Williams- Pure White
This one is probably my new favorite. It’s so pretty!
Thank you so much for showing off these colors and great examples of them being used on houses. The way these colors, especially the simply white example, give off a humble vibe really makes me think that picking them is a great option for my own house since it currently looks muddy and boring with the brown paint it currently has. Once I find an exterior painter in my area, I’ll make sure I show them these examples so we can use paints similar to them.
Thank you for putting together such a great presentation on whites. We have a home that is on the coast and west facing (back side facing water is east facing). Any recommendations for a true clean white that won’t turn yellow and is neutral toned for west/east facing homes?
We are looking to paint our exterior brick. Having trouble with the picking a white to go on the brick, also the rest of the home will be white with black trim, black front door, black garage door & black shutters. I would assume we use all the same white on the brick and siding… any thoughts?
Hi!
This is a great post! Thank you so much! I know you mentioned what white your recommend for a north facing house but what about a south facing? Ours is technically SE so we get morning sun on our front and side.
Thank you!
South facing will always show a lot of yellow. I would pick a white with cooler tones. Simply White by BM could be nice. I would just stay away from warm or brown toned whites.