By Michelle Marceny, Certified Color Expert and founder of The Color Concierge
Sherwin-Williams White Duck (SW 7010) is a gorgeous, creamy, warm, light, almost-greige paint color perfect for interior walls, cabinets, and even exterior applications.
While it’s often considered an off-white paint color, it’s a cross between a very light beige and a greige. It is muted ,while still creamy, and perfectly balanced. It’s slightly darker than a cream and doesn’t shift to yellow, as cream colors do.
It is too muted to be a cream color, and too dark to be an off-white, but I would consider it a darker white.
Maria Killam (my color teacher) calls it a complex cream, and I would 100% agree with that!
If you’re moving away from the cool (and somewhat stark) white and gray paint color trends and want to add more warmth to your home, White Duck could be a great starting point!
Keep reading to learn more about Sherwin-Williams White Duck and how to use this lovely paint color in your home.
*This post contains affiliate links for products I use and love. If you click on some links and purchase, I will get a small commission at no cost. This helps cover the costs of the blog so I can keep offering great content to our readers.
What Color is SW White Duck?
Sherwin-Williams White Duck is fairly light. It’s warm and muted and one of our favorite Sherwin-Williams light neutrals. It is muted, but not gray, and we consider it a complex cream.
White Duck is the color I pick if I’m looking for a creamy color that won’t shift to yellow.
What is the LRV of White Duck?
The LRV of White Duck is 74, which makes it a pretty light paint color. LRV (Light Reflectance Value) is a measurement used to identify how light or dark a color is. The scale goes from 1 (pure black) to 100 (pure white) and indicates how dark or light a color is.
Is White Duck warm or cool?
White Duck is definitely a warm paint color. It looks lovely and creamy on the wall, even in rooms with low light or cool light.
What are the undertones in White Duck?
White Duck gets its warmth from soft, barely-there green undertones. These undertones are a big part of what makes White Duck so special. It is creamy and warm without looking yellow.
Will White Duck look yellow?
White Duck doesn’t look yellow in place. Unlike many cream and off-white paint colors, It gets its warmth from subtle green undertones, not yellow ones. So while it may look very creamy in rooms with lots of warm light, it should not look overtly yellow.
The muted tones within this color also keep the hue more muted than a traditional cream paint color. It is a very pleasant and warm, homey color.
Sample White Duck
You can research a paint color until you know everything about it, but it’s still always a good idea to test your paint colors in person. Lighting can completely change a color, both indoors and outdoors. You can test with peel-and-stick samples in the space where you plan to paint and save yourself a mess. Learn to test paint colors like a pro in our blog post.
I use these large peel-and stick samples in my color consulting practice for exact results. Link below to get a large sample of White Duck paint.
When Should I Use Sherwin-Williams White Duck?
SW White Duck is a really versatile paint color that can work in many different spaces inside – and even outside – a home.
Can I use White Duck interior trim?
I don’t recommend using SW White Duck as an interior trim color. It’s a bit too dark and creamy to provide enough contrast with most paint colors.
The only time I would consider using White Duck trim would be if I were drenching the entire room in one color and using White Duck for the walls and trim. This kind of warm, monochromatic look can look really nice. However, I would paint the ceiling white to balance the very warm tones.
Later in this post, we will show you a bedroom where that is exactly what we did.
Should I try a White Duck kitchen?
I love a SW White Duck kitchen! White Duck was the first color I painted my own kitchen after we moved into our newly built home several years ago. The ceiling and trim are SW Extra White, and the stock cabinets match perfectly with SW Pure White.
The original color was Sherwin-Williams Agreeable Gray, and it looked so dingy in that space. This is an east-facing room with a wall of windows, but we still don’t get much light because we have a covered porch outside. White Duck is a great color for a shady room because of its warmth.
Here is a photo of the dining nook to the right of the kitchen.
Although I eventually painted my kitchen BM Simply White (because I wanted to test it out in that space), I loved how creamy White Duck looked with my white-and-gray tuxedo cabinets.
Are White Duck cabinets a good idea?
I love the idea of using SW White Duck for kitchen cabinets or a bathroom vanity. White Duck is a great option if you want white kitchen cabinets but don’t want to risk the space looking too cold or sterile. I talk about this at length in the blog post The Best White Paint for Kitchen Cabinets.
SW White Duck cabinets will help a space look bright but also bring a lot of warmth to the space.
Does a White Duck dining room look good?
We used SW White Duck walls for our client’s dining room as part of a whole-house color palette, and the result was beautiful.
White Duck is a warm neutral that feels light and bright but also provides a lovely contrast with the natural wood floors, white trim, and white dining room rug.
Is a White Duck bedroom a good idea?
If you want a serene, calming bedroom, then Sherwin-Williams White Duck is a great option!
The White Duck bedroom pictured below belongs to our SEO specialist, Danielle Gagnon (check out Danielle’s website here to learn more about what she does). Danielle is part of our blog team here at The Color Concierge and has learned a lot about choosing paint colors during her work with us.
She recently painted her bedroom SW White Duck, and we love how it turned out! The ceiling is painted with SW Extra White. The walls were all painted with White Duck, including the accent headboard wall.
This space is a wonderful example of how one color can be used for a whole room. For a headboard accent wall, she added texture instead of a different color.
Sherwin-Williams White Duck looks warm, creamy, and muted in this space, which has West-facing windows. Its subtle green undertones pair well with the green curtains and natural greenery in the room.
Is White Duck good for dark rooms?
Yes, White Duck is one of our favorite white paint colors for rooms with low light! As a light, complex cream, it has more pigment than many traditional white and off-white paint colors, so it won’t look dingy in the shadows.
Is White Duck good for North-facing rooms?
Yes! This is an excellent option for north-facing rooms because of the warmth of the paint color. A room with White Duck would rarely look dingy or cold.
Is SW White Duck a good whole house color?
White Duck is a fabulous whole-house foundation color. It can be used throughout the main living area and also in bedrooms, offices, and even basements.
If you want to create your own whole-house color scheme, learn more about how to do that here or get our help with an online paint color consult.
Can I use Sherwin-Williams White Duck for Exteriors?
White Duck exterior projects are some of our favorites! The client’s home pictured below is in the Pacific Northwest.
The photos were taken in a cloudy winter with very low light, yet White Duck still looks creamy. If we painted this color in Colorado, Florida, or California, it would look much more white than creamy.
This house had the simplest of white exterior palettes. The whole house was painted White Duck, including the body, roofline, pillars, window trim, and garage door. The front door was painted Tricorn Black, a classic black color. White hues can look very different depending on where you live. Learn more about the best White Exterior Paint Schemes in our blog post.
White Duck looks warm and beautiful paired with the client’s brick exterior. It is a great “white” option to pair with earthy brick.
What are the Best Trim and Ceiling Colors For SW White Duck?
Pair White Duck with crisper whites for a great contrast with the trim and ceilings. I recommend using Sherwin-Williams Pure White or Sherwin-Williams Extra White (which happens to be one of the most common trim colors in the U.S.).
I wouldn’t pair it with warmer white trims such as SW Alabaster or even SW Greek Villa because there won’t be a good contrast.
The Best Sherwin-Williams White Duck Coordinating Colors
Does White Duck go with green?
We love to pair White Duck with green hues and decor. Because of its subtle green undertones, White Duck complements warm green accents well.
Try pairing White Duck walls with a green couch, green curtains, or natural greenery and plants like my SEO specialist Danielle did in her master bedroom.
Does White Duck go with gray?
White Duck can work well with gray and greige paint colors since it is similarly muted. I especially like to use it alongside gray paint colors with green undertones. In my kitchen, for example, SW White Duck walls look lovely with my BM Chelsea Gray kitchen cabinets.
Does White Duck go with black?
Using White Duck with black accents is a great spin on a classic black-and-white color palette. White Duck looks especially good with soft, muted blacks, such as SW Iron Ore.
The Best SW White Duck Alternatives
White Duck and SW Shoji White
Sherwin-Williams White Duck and Sherwin-Williams Shoji White are similar colors but still look fairly different in place. They both have an LRV of 74, but Shoji White has warmer taupe undertones than White Duck and is less muted.
White Duck vs SW Alabaster
Sherwin-Williams Alabaster is one of the most popular creamy white paint colors on the market. While it can be used in similar spaces as White Duck, it’s actually very different. With an LRV of 82, Alabaster is much lighter than White Duck. It also has slight yellow undertones, so it looks creamier on the wall.
White Duck vs SW Oyster White
Sherwin-Williams Oyster White has an LRV of 72, so it’s a bit darker than White Duck. It has similar invisible green undertones, but is less muted than White Duck.
White Duck vs SW Natural Choice
Sherwin-Williams Natural Choice has an LRV of 72, so it’s darker and cooler than White Duck. It also has green undertones. In comparison, White Duck has much warmer undertones and, in my opinion, is more pleasing.
White Duck vs BM Ballet White
Benjamin Moore Ballet White is a cream color with warm pink undertones. It has an LRV of 71.97, so it’s a bit darker than White Duck. It also looks a bit warmer and crisper on the wall.
White Duck vs SW Pearly White
SW Pearly White is a creamy warm paint color with green undertones. It has an LRV of 77, so it’s much lighter than White Duck. If you love White Duck but it’s not light enough, Pearly White is a lighter version.
What is the Best Sherwin-Williams White Duck Benjamin Moore Equivalent?
There is no exact equivalent to White Duck in the Benjamin Moore collection of colors. However, Ballet White is the best Benjamin Moore alternative to Sherwin-Williams White Duck. The two colors have the same undertones, but be sure to test carefully as they aren’t identical.
We never recommend paint color matches from one brand to another – results are rarely good. If you need to use a specific paint company, find their version of the color that you want. Paint companies invest a lot of time and money to create proprietary paint color formulas. Some of them are complex, and hard to copy. In this liked post we discuss generally poor paint color matching accuracy.
Sherwin-Williams White Duck Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Can look very creamy in rooms with warm light, but won’t skew yellow
- Has more pigment than a traditional white or off-white, so it won’t look dingy in darker rooms
- Is a wonderful foundation for whole-house color palettes
Cons:
- Not the best choice for an interior trim color
- Doesn’t pair well with warmer trim colors, which don’t provide enough contrast
Key Learning Points
Sherwin-Williams White Duck is a creamy, light greige paint color perfect for inside and outside the house.
- SW White Duck has warm green undertones, making it creamy without skewing yellow.
- While it’s often considered an off-white paint color, it’s a cross between a very light beige and a greige. It is muted while still creamy and perfectly balanced.
- White Duck is a wonderful light complex cream paint color for North-facing, low-light, and darker rooms.
No matter what, always test your paint colors. It’s a standard best practice. Learn to test paint colors like a pro in our blog post.
Online Color Consulting
If you still need help with paint colors, check out our Online Color Consulting Packages.
Related Posts
- Classic Kitchen Design Elements
- Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray Color Review
- Sherwin-Williams Alabaster Color Review
- Sherwin-Williams Oyster White
- Best White Paint Colors for Dark Rooms
- Best Exterior White Trim Colors
- Best White Paints for Brick Houses
About the Author
Hi, I’m Michelle Marceny, founder, owner, and Principal Color Designer at The Color Concierge. I believe a fresh coat of paint can completely transform a space. The Color Concierge was born out of my drive to help clients fall back in love with their homes. My clients trust me to help them find the perfect paint color — whether that’s a whole-house color scheme or ideas for a single room.
Since founding The Color Concierge in 2017, my team and I have completed 1,000s of color consultations, online and in person. I’m a Certified Color Expert with nine years of experience creating interior and exterior color palettes throughout North America.
Every color review on this site comes from colors we’ve specified in real homes and photographed on location during our own consultations — not from a fan deck or a manufacturer’s website.
We love your comments! Please note that the blog is meant as general advice, and it is not possible to give out specific answers to your paint questions. If you want more specific advice, our Online Color Consultations will help you pick your paint colours. Thank you for your understanding.
15 Responses
I want a creamy clean warm comfortable wall whole house color. I thought I want White Duck until the last paragraph when you state very light beige (fantastic) Greige (I don’t want grey). Do I have to start all over? I loved EVERYTHING about this article…I was done looking, I made my decision. Love the Iron Ore and Pure White…I see the end result but then you said the dreaded word…greige. Help
White Duck is not gray. Sometimes we refer to these types of colors as greige because they are muted beiges. But not gray.
Hope that helps!
White Duck is a beautiful light beige/tan. I was about to select Natural Choice for my home, then ran across your article.
Thank you thank you thank you!! I have moved the White Duck Samplize all over my house and it is perfect!
Hi Maria,
I’m so glad you like it! I love White Duck. It is a light beige, but to me it looks like such a pretty cream without looking yellow.
Thank you,
Michelle
If I have white duck walls in my kitchen what color cabinets other than extra white would you suggest? Wanting to stay with the creamy beige/grieve for a timeless color choice.
Hi Misty,
It’s hard to make a recommendation without seeing your countertop and backsplash. Try testing Pure White and Greek Villa. We usually like to keep the white cabinet color similar or the same as the trim.
Michelle
I am so torn. We are doing a new build. Walnut in medium shade cabinet . On a lake. North and south windows open concept 1 windows on west . Trees on the south. Like pearly white and white duck but afraid of the green undertones. Using taja mahal quartzite. And second guessing that. Stress to the max!
Hi Brenda,
Sometimes I’ve seen Taj Majal have green undertones too, believe it ornot. It could look very nice, but make sure you test in natural light.
Michelle
I am using White Duck as my entire exterior trim. The base stucco color will be Retreat. I am hoping that the White Duck appears to be “white trim” looking without being too stark and not too beige.
It sounds as if it could work very well! Make sure you test.
What color trim is used with the pictures above when white duck is on the walls? Or what do you recommend? I was thinking about high reflective white for trim and
With White Duck, I like Pure White which is slightly warmer than High Reflective White. High Reflective White is really hard to use because it has such low pigment. Instead of High Reflective White, consider White Snow.
Please also keep in mind that if your finishes are very earthy, you should pick an earthier trim color, even Greek Villa. Please test all your paint colors together.
Michelle
Absolutely love this color! I was wondering what color your SEO specialist Danielle used on the door and trim in the bedroom (second picture)?
Thank you so much!!
Hi Michelle! I am painting my walls and trim greek villa, do you think white duck would be a good choice on the kitchen cabinets? Would love your help!
Hi Michelle,
I live in Central Florida, where a tremendous amount of “greenery” ( live oaks, banana trees, 15 foot Viburnum hedges) is reflected heavily into the living room from the south side of the property.
We enjoy the shade these offer in the summer heat, so would not remove them.
Also we have “ low light” interior home with high ceilings.
After reviewing your article on paint choices for low light interiors and sampling many of your recommendations, I settled on SW White Duck as a good possibility.
Would SW White Duck help with the green tint being cast onto the walls?
I would consider a consult with you at some point, but I am recovering from a severe illness at present and not up to the challenges for a few months.