Benjamin Moore White Dove is one of our favorite whites, and we will explain why in this color review (OC-17, I-O6, PM-19). White Dove is an iconic Benjamin Moore off-white paint color that is versatile, warm, and lovely. It has soft invisible yellow undertones, but grayed out so you can hardly see it. Use White Dove for walls, ceilings, trim, molding, or cabinets.
White Dove looks fantastic in bright rooms or rooms with lower light. It has enough pigment that it won’t gray out in the shadows.
We used White Dove as a ceiling, wall, and trim color in this beautiful bedroom.
What is the LRV of White Dove?
White Dove has an LRV of 85.4 which makes it a soft white. This warm off-white paint color is muted with gray and has some yellow. LRV is short for Light Reflectance Value, which is a measurement of how light (LRV=100) or dark (LRV=0) a color is.
When should I use White Dove?
You can use White Dove as a wall color in rooms with warm or earthy finishes, darker rooms, or sun-filled rooms.
White Dove is a great tool to modernize dated bathrooms, where you can cool off earthy Tuscan tile. Use an eggshell sheen for walls and ceilings in bathrooms, and warm up the room with textured bamboo shades.
It looks great as a white to update a dated Tuscan home, and also with a modern white kitchen. Since it is an off-white, it’s a great all-around white and pairs well with clean whites and creamy whites. It provides contrast without a harsh look.
White Dove, as with many white paint colors is a great tool to enhance architectural details. You don’t need to shift colors to highlight the details; a shift in sheens is enough.
It can be paired with most white quartz countertops, clean white subway backsplashes, and soft warm Calacatta tile. White Dove painted cabinets transformed this kitchen.
This was the before:
White Dove is a great backdrop for colorful art. This room has soft filtered light with east-facing windows.
It looks great in an entry. We specify this color frequently, but it was already in place when we visited this house.
White Dove also looks great in basements. This photo from a large basement looks great with a small sliding glass door for light.
What are the best trim and ceiling colors to pair with White Dove?
My favorite placement for White Dove is to paint the ceiling, walls and trim the same color, but with shifting sheens for a subtle movement of color. The ceiling is flat, the trim is satin or semi-gloss and the walls are eggshell or matte. To save labor costs, you can paint White Dove walls and ceilings with a matte sheen.
If you want more contrast, pick a clean white for the trim and ceiling such as BM Chantilly Lace or BM Oxford White. I like to use matching trim and ceiling whites in a room, lighter than the wall color.
When should I avoid White Dove?
We don’t recommend as a trim or cabinet color with Carrara Marble. If you use Chantilly lace for trim and cabinets with Carrara marble, then White Dove can pair well as a wall color, as long as it’s not adjacent with the cool Carrara marble.
For trim and ceilings, don’t use blue-white colors such as BM White Diamond or BM Decorator’s White because they will look discordant with White Dove.
Darker whites such as BM Swiss Coffee will look dingy as trim and ceilings when paired with White Dove walls.
Can I use White Dove for exteriors?
We don’t recommend White Dove for exterior trim unless you pair it with a very light paint color with low contrast. White Dove may look very stark with darker colors because paint colors are 5-10 times brighter outside in the sunshine.
Since Benjamin Moore White Dove is a low pigment paint color (that’s what makes it beautiful inside), you would need more coats to get enough coverage.
If you want a bright white for your exterior, consider SW Greek Villa instead – it has more pigment and will look similar to White Dove outside.
How does it look in darker spaces?
We love to use White Dove in basements because it looks great in low light, and fantastic in artificial light.
Can my painter match Benjamin Moore White Dove to Sherwin Williams?
The answer is NO. Not unless you want your house painted light green. That’s what seems to happen when they try to match; instead, consider SW Greek Villa or Alabaster.
Learn more about matching paint colors here.
The Verdict
White Dove is an iconic and versatile off-white paint color! You can use it with earthy finishes, soft modern finishes in any kind of light. It is a beautiful trim, cabinet, and ceiling color. Don’t use White Dove as a trim or cabinet color with Carrara marble
No matter what, don’t forget to 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.
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.
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If you still need help with paint colors, check out our Online Color Consulting packages or an In-Person Color Consultation in the Denver Metro area.
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Benjamin Moore Simply White Color Review
Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace Color Review
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, please consider purchasing a color consultation. Thank you for your understanding.
11 Responses
Thank you for a super informative post as well as a great read. Appreciate the information so much.
I’m really glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your feedback.
Great post! Do you think White Dove looks as bright in Satin as Semi-gloss for trim?
With Benjamin Moore, I prefer Satin because Semi-Gloss can be pretty shiny. Its personal preference though.
I would like a white for my laundry room which has dated maple cabinet doors, and a warm toned counter top. I do not wish to paint the cabinets, but just walls and ceiling. There are old white tiles around a shower that form a small backsplash as well. Toning down the peachy maple is key. Does Dove white work?
How will White Dove work on cabinets with Toffee Granite countertops? If I want to do my island cabinets a different color, would a greige work?
Thanks!
Would pairing white dove for walls, balboa mist for cabinets and chantilly lace for trim work in a living room with mostly east facing light?
In the afternoon the room gets quite dark and with my space being so small I felt white dove would work better as a wall color to keep the space looking bigger vs my original plan of doing walls in balboa mist.
Hi Monika,
That could be nice, but please test, test, test, and don’t match the Benjamin Moore colors to another company. Also, make sure you test the colors and look at them both in the room as well as all your decor and hard finishes.
Thank you,
Michelle
I have painted my guest room White Dove eggshell and I really hated it. Because it has a tint of yellow. I prefer a grayish white, and clean and contrast colors. I prefer Chantilly Lace which will show most contrast if I want to have a Cadet Navy couch. Do you think I need to repaint my guest room? My preferred hues are Chantilly Lace, or 50% gray owl. What really bothers me is the yellow or green hue in White Dove.
We painted a lot of our house with White Dove and we are quite happy with it. The house was built in 1928. In the living room that faces north, the ceiling went a really warm color, but the walls were perfect. The ceilings in the house are eight feet high. The living room windows are pushed out about 1 foot, 21” with an arch going across the wall in front, but above the windows. I think that was the culprit as it must block some of the sunlight going onto the ceiling. All the other ceilings in the house were good and the same color as the walls. We just kept painting the ceiling in the living room with extra coats of basic white ceiling paint until we got it to a shade we liked. The next time we paint the living room I would still like to use White Dove again. What would you advise for the ceiling? Perhaps White Dove 60 and another paint 40 and mix them together? I would really appreciate your expertise on this, Michelle.
Hi Teddie,
I’m really not a fan of mixing paint colors like that because they are so hard to get right, but that’s really cool that it worked for you! I personally like flat White Dove on the ceiling with eggshell White Dove on the walls. The change in sheens really adds dimension. Another option would be to try Oxford White as a trim and ceiling color. Oxford and White Dove are a fabulous combination.
Michelle