The Top Light Depth, Warm Colors That Aren’t Cream!
When choosing the best warm neutral paint color for your home, whether creamy white, beige, taupe, or greige, your choices are defined by their main undertone. One of these undertones that people LOVE to hate is yellow.
When a warm color has too much yellow, it can be harder to coordinate with when choosing surfaces like countertops, tiles, and carpets. Yellow is also well known for overreacting in rooms with southern or western sunshine and low, warmer Kelvin bulbs. To counteract this, while still offering ‘creamy,’ I wrote a blog post on the best creamy white and off-white paint colors: shades that are cream-inspired with minimal commitment to their yellow undertone.
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But don’t worry—you won’t find that kind of color here.
This blog post is about my favorite warm neutrals, which generally avoid yellow and center themselves on other, more popular undertones. If you’re unsure what undertones are, I have a blog post on the topic, but here’s a summary.
Undertones are the sneaky colors that can rise on a large scale in your favorite neutral shades. Neutrals are ‘neutral,’ (eg. beige/gray) and their undertones are their underlying colors, such as blue, violet, green, etc.
White Dove is a warm white with a yellow undertone. Network Gray is a gray with a blue undertone.
A lot of people have a hard time seeing undertones. If this includes you…
a) Learn about colors from me, and I’ll let you know what’s shakin’.
b) Compare colors to other colors that have a similar depth but are a ‘bit’ different in their look. Doing this can help showcase the difference between them, and that difference is OFTEN the undertone!
c) talk to your paint store and ask them what you might expect.
For this blog post, these are the warm color families we’ll be exploring together…
LIGHT BEIGE PAINT COLORS
These have an orange undertone but can lean orange-yellow or orange-pink (with the odd wink o’ green)…
LIGHT TAUPE PAINT COLORS
Taupes focus on violet-pink undertones wrapped up in a glooorious neutral base.
WARM GRAY PAINT COLORS
Shades of warm gray can have green or violet undertones. While they aren’t what I consider ‘traditionally warm’ – at least not like beige, tan, cream, and taupe, they’re warm compared to cool colors!
Warm grays can look their warmest in south-facing rooms, rooms with western afternoon sun, or those with light bulbs that have lower, warmer Kelvins. Where they won’t read as warm is in rooms with northern light – sample carefully to make sure you get the degree of warmth you’re looking for!
There’s one other group of warm neutrals; however, we’re not hitting them today. Why? Because while they’re hugely popular in the darker range, they aren’t at all hot in the light range…
LIGHT GREIGE PAINT COLORS
Greiges center themselves on a green undertone. While there is yellow, which makes them warm and greige, rather than cool and gray, the yellow is usually lost in the overall mix. Plus, when they do show up, these aren’t the types of yellow (creamy ones) that tend to scare the pants of people.
Again, not a big hit with the average homeowner.
ONE LAST THING BEFORE WE EXPLORE COLORS…
Depending on the exposure of your room, surrounding finishes, and interior lighting, some colors can pick up a wink of yellow.
Why?
Because some of these colors have a bit of yellow tucked inside them (humor me). Trust that I’ve picked these colors because of their VERY VAGUE, if not invisible, commitment to this particular hue. Sometimes, a touch of yellow in a color’s background stops it from going too pink, green, or otherwise. Humor the wee Ginger.
So, without further ado, let’s find a hue for you!
1. SHERWIN WILLIAMS EGRET WHITE
Egret White hit my radar about a year ago, and I’ve been madly in love since. This neutral is a warm gray-taupe (depending on your perception and the room it’s in), and being a taupe, it has a gentle violet-pink undertone. The best thing about Egret White is that of ‘this type of color’ it has the LEAST amount of undertone and not a WINK of yellow in sight!
FULL Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Egret White
2. BENJAMIN MOORE MARITIME WHITE
With its passive beige base (meaning it has an orange undertone), Maritime White is one of my favorite warm neutrals. However, it’s in the yellow family, as many warm neutrals are, but here’s why (stay with me while I nerd out for a minute)…
In the science-based color world, there is no ‘ORANGE’ color family. Instead, you have the YELLOW family and the RED family. When mixed, you get ORANGE (even though it doesn’t get its own classification). So, while Maritime White sits in the yellow family, thanks to a reasonably strong dose of red mixed with it, it’s actually an orange paint color!
Anyway. Here’s Maritime White in my client’s dining room…
In this next image, Maritime White is on the walls, with Benjamin Moore White Dove cabinets and a medium-toned shade of green on the lower cabinets…
FULL Paint Color Review of Benjamin Moore Maritime White
3. BENJAMIN MOORE MUSLIN OC-12
Muslin has been kickin’ it for a long time for a good reason – it’s amazeballs (the technical term for awesome). Whereas Maritime White is closer to the off-white world, Muslin is a light-depth paint color, thanks to its LRV of 66.54 (learn all about LRV HERE).
And like all beiges, Muslin has an orange undertone, which is very similar to Maritime White in its overall profile. However, along with increased depth, Muslin also has a touch more color than Maritime White, offering a bit more warmth without a whack of color.
This next image (with Samplize Peel & Stick samples) shows Muslin compared to Sherwin Williams Kilim Beige…
Kilim Beige is reasonably popular as well, but it has more depth and more color (chroma). While it’s BEAUTIFUL, it’s a bit too heavy to make the cut for this blog post. If you’re curious about it, here’s its review.
FULL Paint Color Review of Benjamin Moore Muslin
4. SHERWIN WILLIAMS AESTHETIC WHITE
Those of you who’ve been drinkin’ my Ginger-flavored Koolaid for a while likely aren’t surprised by this one. I…love…Aesthetic…White.
Aesthetic White is one of the best off-white, beige paint colors. There are other beauties, but it’s Aesthetic White’s easy, muted undertones and super organic look that had me at hello. Aesthetic White has an LRV of 73. This number stands for Light Reflectance Value and tells us that Aesthetic White is an off-white paint color, right on the edge of the light range (it’s got a bit more meat on its bones compared to some other off-whites.
Its LRV also means that regardless of its name, Aesthetic White is definitely NOT a white paint color (never judge a color by its name).
Again, just like some of the previous shades, Aesthetic White is in the yellow family. However, I’ve yet to see a single space where this beautiful color looks even remotely yellow. I have this color in my own home in two different rooms (south-facing and east-facing), and there isn’t a nugget of yellow in sight. This is because while it’s in the yellow family, it’s mixed with red (= orange).
One main difference between Aesthetic White and Maritime White (both off-white beiges), is that Aesthetic White doesn’t have as much red. So, while it’s less likely to lean pink, the odd time it picks up a touch of green, depending on the room’s exposure/conditions.
FULL Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Aesthetic White
5. BENJAMIN MOORE PALE OAK
If the beiges aren’t striking your fancy, let’s check out another taupe—Benjamin Moore Pale Oak. Pale Oak (also known as Athena 858) is a very typical taupe thanks to its blend of gray and beige with undertones of violet and pink.
Many people don’t want pink as an undertone, but when it’s mixed up the right way, it adds balance to many of the most popular warm neutrals. In this next image, Pale Oak is on the right, Classic Gray (coming up shortly) is on the left, and they’re both sitting on Benjamin Moore Collingwood…
FULL Paint Color Review of Benjamin Moore Pale Oak
6. SHERWIN WILLIAMS AGREEABLE GRAY SW 7029
Agreeable Gray is an interesting one as its degree of color/undertone (chroma) is reasonably low, and its commitment to these undertones is even lower. I’ve seen this color look a tiny bit green, but I’ve also seen it go a bit violet. But no matter what it does, it’s SUBTLE, which makes Agreeable Gray super flexible.
The only real challenge with Agreeable Gray comes when a finish NEEDS a committed violet or green undertone. In this case, Agreeable Gray sometimes doesn’t have the chops to satisfy either.
This is as violet as I’ve EVER seen Agreeable Gray look.
FULL Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray
7. SHERWIN WILLIAMS KESTREL WHITE SW 7516
While Kestrel White is often overlooked in favor of the more popular Moderate White and Divine White, it’sdefinitely worth checking out (like me, wearing high heels and tight jeans – wink wink). But truth be told, I think Kestrel White is even better, and I can’t WAIT for one of my Online Color Consulting clients to use it!
Get your Samplize PEEL & STICK SAMPLE of Kestrel White
This gorgeous warm neutral is one of my favorite hybrids – hovering between the worlds of taupe and beige. For many homes built in the early 2000s, colors like these are invaluable for their ability to bridge the gap between decades while updating a space.
8. BENJAMIN MOORE CLASSIC GRAY OC-23
Classic Gray is undoubtedly one of the most popular warm off-white paint colors. Sitting pretty between warm gray and taupe (taupe being warmer than warm gray), Classic Gray has gentle violet-pink undertones and an LRV of 73.67.
Classic Gray is a popular color with almost every generation, thanks to its subtle warmth and undertones. You’ll see this shade pop up in new homes, old homes, and everything in between! And not just on walls; Classic Gray is popular on cabinets and exteriors, too…
FULL Paint Color Review of Benjamin Moore Classic Gray
So there you have it! If you’ve finished this blog post and found that these colors aren’t warm enough for you, you might want to read this blog post after all!
READ MORE
The 11 Best Warm Neutrals That AREN’T BEIGE!
Benjamin Moore Dove Wing: Paint Color Review
The 10 Best WHOLE HOME Warm Neutral Paint Colors
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