Benjamin Moore Dove Wing Color Review

Learn all about Benjamin Moore Dove Wing in this paint color review.

Benjamin Moore Dove Wing is a warm, light paint color that falls somewhere between a light beige and a complex cream. While it’s LRV would normally be considered too dark to be an off-white, Dove Wing looks surprisingly bright in place.

If you want a simple, timeless look that goes with almost any decor or hard finishes, then versatile Benjamin Moore Dove Wing could be right for you.

Keep reading to learn more about this gorgeous paint color and how it can be used different parts of the home.

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What Color is Benjamin Moore Dove Wing?

I would describe Dove Wing as a delicate, light beige/complex cream. It’s really, really lovely – a neutral hue that goes with most other colors and keeps a space feeling inviting.

What is the BM Dove Wing LRV?

Dove Wing has an LRV of 77.52. LRV stands for Light Reflectance Value. The scale goes from 1 (pure black) to 100 (pure white) and indicates how dark or light a color is.

Is Dove Wing warm or cool?

Dove Wing is definitely a warm color. Even though I normally would consider a white with an LRV of 77 more of a light beige or a dark white, I consider Dove Wing an off-white or a creamy off-white because of how clean it is.

What are the BM Dove Wing undertones?

Dove Wing’s undertones are green, which are warm and incredibly versatile. It’s basically a slightly darker version of Swiss Coffee (Article), and a lighter version of Ballet White. 

In the graphic below, you can see how Dove Wing fits in with other shades of the same color family.

These are some of my favorite neutral hues. This family of colors are all beiges with green undertones and they are incredibly flexible, pairing well with most beige paint colors and green-grays.

Sample BM Dove Wing

We always recommend that you test paint colors on your home because lighting can change a color completely, both with interiors as well as exteriors.  

In the old days, this meant we painted a large poster board with sample pots and a huge mess. 

Now we have a better way to test paint, with Samplize Peel-and-Stick samples!  

• Samples pre-painted with 2 coats of real paint from the manufacturer.
• Large 9” x 14” samples to see the color better in the lighting.
• Delivered overnight
• Colors are accurate
• Less expensive than painting a large poster board with sample pots
• No mess, and no toxic paint to dispose of

I use these in my color consulting practice for exact results.  Discover Samplize peel-and-stick paint samples:

Using Benjamin Moore Dove Wing Interior Paint

Dove Wing is a lovely, versatile paint color that can be used in just about any room of a home, as we’ll see in the photos of a client’s home shared below.

The photos are actually “before” photos of one of our projects, because the homeowner already had Dove Wing in most rooms of their home. They wanted a color with more depth, but Dove Wing still looked great in many of the rooms. The trim and ceiling color is Benjamin Moore White OC-151 (Sample), a slightly cool white.

My first impression when I walked into the home – through the space pictured below – was that it was very, very bright. It felt like more of an off-white than a very light beige.

Can I use Dove Wing interior trim?

Dove Wing would not be my first choice for an interior trim color. It’s simply too dark to provide enough contrast with many of the light neutrals we’re seeing homeowners use on their walls today. 

I would also not use Dove Wing in a color drench (Article) with Dove Wing as the trim, ceiling and wall color. The LRV is a bit too low and it may end up looking dingy.

Should I try Dove Wing cabinets?

Dove Wing cabinets would be gorgeous! This color would pair well with quartz countertops and even some granite countertops. Dove Wing also works as a kitchen wall paint color alongside brighter white cabinets (Article), as pictured in the image below. 

In this kitchen, the upper cabinets are painted Benjamin Moore White (PM-2) and the lower cabinets are Benjamin Moore Phillipsburg Blue (Sample). Dove Wing walls add warmth to the space and help tie the cabinets together with the warm wood floors.

Is a Dove Wing living room a good idea?

Dove Wing looks beautiful in a living room, especially if the room has natural wood floors or green-gray or violet-gray carpeting and other hard finishes.

In the living room below, Dove Wing looks light and bright.

What about a Dove Wing dining room?

Our client’s Benjamin Moore Dove Wing dining room is absolutely gorgeous! The neutral walls work perfectly with the natural wood flooring, wood table, and black lighting fixture.

Is Dove Wing a good basement paint color?

It absolutely can be! The basement (Article) was one of our favorite spaces in this home. Dove Wing looked beautiful with the red brick accents in this space. 

In another part of the basement, however, the color did not work as well, because it clashed with the taupe carpets.

Is Dove Wing a good whole-house color?

It depends. Dove Wing is a very versatile color thanks to its green undertones, so it can work alongside many different hard finishes. Just be sure to test Dove Wing in any space you hope to use it in and see how it looks with your furniture and decor.

Using Benjamin Moore Dove Wing Exterior Paint

We love using Dove Wing as an exterior “white” paint color. It’s also great as a whole-house color if you are looking for a warm, crisp white. As an exterior white trim color (Article), it’s also lovely and looks very similar to Pearly White. It’s crisp without looking stark.

When Should I Avoid Dove Wing?

Benjamin Moore Dove Wing is not my favorite with taupe paint colors (Article) because the green in these colors is opposite red on the color wheel. And since taupes have some pink/red, these colors with green undertones can make taupes look more pink. I would avoid this combination wherever possible.

In the image below, for example, the Dove Wing walls look a bit discordant with the stacked stone fireplace in our client’s living room, which has taupe hues, and enhances the stone’s pink undertones.

Best Coordinating Colors for BM Dove Wing

Beige and white paint colors with green undertones look fantastic with a variety of colors, including blues, greens and even burgundy hues. 

Does Dove Wing go with black?

I love the way Dove Wing looks alongside black accents. This client’s home featured many black hard finishes, such as lighting, and Dove Wing is the perfect backdrop for these bold accents.

The home’s stairwell is the perfect example of this combination. The black stair railing and black lighting look beautiful amidst the Dove Wing walls.

Does Dove Wing go with blue?

Yes! Dove Wing looks lovely alongside blue paint colors. The client’s kitchen featured in this post is a great example. The lower cabinets are painted with Benjamin Moore Phillipsburg Blue and the uppers feature a white Benjamin Moore cabinet paint (PM-2 White). The Dove Wing walls help keep the space from looking too stark.

Does Dove Wing go with gray?

Yes, Dove Wing can work well with gray paint colors and finishes, especially green-grays and blue-grays (Article). It can work with violet-grays but it’s important to test carefully.

In the photo below, Dove Wing walls look lovely paired with gray pillows and an area rug with dark gray patterns.

What are the Best Trim and Ceiling Colors For Dove Wing? 

The best trim to pair with Dove Wing is a clean white paint color, such as BM Chantilly Lace, BM Oxford White, or very light off-whites such as BM Snowfall White, or BM Simply White (Articles). 

The darkest trim color I would use is White Dove (Article) (though it can get confusing to describe Dove Wing walls/White Dove trim to a painter, so I try to avoid that combination). Don’t use Benjamin Moore Cloud White (Article) as a trim color because it can lean into taupe, which would clash with the green undertones in Dove Wing.

No matter which color you choose, make sure you use a ceiling color with a higher LRV than Dove Wing. Swiss Coffee, for example, is too dark to use as a trim color with Dove Wing.  

In the client photos in this post, the trim is painted with Benjamin Moore White (PM-2). It looks fine, but would not have been my first choice because that white is so cool.  

Best BM Dove Wing Alternatives

Still not sure if BM Dove Wing is right for your next project? See how it compares to other popular off-white paint colors.

BM Dove Wing vs BM White Dove

Despite their similar names, BM Dove Wing and BM White Dove are quite different. White Dove is lighter and brighter, with invisible yellow undertones. Dove Wing is darker and creamier, with a lot more pigment than White Dove.

BM Dove Wing vs BM Swiss Coffee

BM Swiss Coffee is basically a lighter shade of Dove Wing. It has the same green undertones as Dove Wing but an LRV of 81.81. It appears lighter and a bit warmer because it’s less muted than Dove Wing.

BM Dove Wing vs BM Seapearl

Benjamin Moore Seapearl (Article) is a bit darker than Dove Wing, with an LRV of 76.43. It also appears a bit cooler in place, despite having similar green undertones.

BM Dove Wing vs SW Alabaster

Sherwin-Williams Alabaster (Article) is lighter than Benjamin Moore Dove Wing, and much warmer in place. Its strong yellow undertones make this hue look very different than Dove Wing, even though its LRV is not significantly higher.

BM Dove Wing vs SW Pearly White

Sherwin-Williams Pearly White (Article) is one of the closest Sherwin-Williams colors to BM Dove Wing. It has the same LRV, at 77, and green undertones. Pearly White isn’t quite as clean as Dove Wing, which is why Dove Wing always looks brighter. This is because the Dove Wing base is white and the Pearly White base is more gray.

What Is the Best Sherwin-Williams Dove Wing Alternative

Pearly White is the closest SW color to Dove Wing. When you see Dove Wing in person, it’s much brighter and lighter than you would expect, even though the LRVs are identical. 

I think the reason is that Dove Wing starts with a much cleaner base than Pearly White. Pearly White uses Sherwin-Williams Extra White (Article) as its base, which isn’t as bright as Benjamin Moore’s Super Bright White base.

In the photos below, you can see how Dove Wing looks much brighter in place than Pearly White.

Key Learning Points

Benjamin Moore Dove Wing is a complex cream paint color that’s a bit darker than most off-white hues and a bit lighter than most beige colors.

• Dove Wing’s green undertones make this color incredibly versatile. It looks lovely alongside other hues with green undertones, as well as colors with yellow undertones and those with blue undertones.
• Dove Wing can work well as a whole-house paint color, as long as your hard finishes, furniture and decor don’t include a lot of taupe. Dove Wing’s green undertones can make taupe’s pink undertones look a lot stronger.
• BM Dove Wing can work well as an exterior white paint color. It’s dark enough and warm enough that it won’t look stark even in bright sunlight.

Remember: NEVER, EVER use paint matches from a different brand than the one specified. Results are poor and there are no standards for the sheens.  Even though your painter may truly believe it can be done, don’t do it. See results from paint matching here.

No matter what, always test your paint colors. It’s a standard best practice.  Whenever I test my paint colors, they are perfect, and when I don’t test they turn out wrong. Learn how to test your paint colors here.

Online Color Consulting

Still need help picking the best paint colors?  Discover our Online Color Consulting Package.

Related Posts

• Sherwin-Williams Pearly White Color Review
• Benjamin Moore White Dove Color Review
• Benjamin Moore Seapearl Color Review
• Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee Color Review
• Best Benjamin Moore White Paint Colors

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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 for their home – whether it’s a whole-house paint color scheme or ideas for a single room. 

Since The Color Concierge was founded in 2017, we have completed over 3000 color consultations, both online and in-person.  I am a Certified Color Expert with 7 years of experience creating interior and exterior color palettes throughout North America.

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