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Benjamin Moore White Dove Color Overview

Published on:

6/23/21

written by:

Carrie Barker

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Are you in the midst of figuring out what white paint color you want in your home? Are you looking for a soft white that isn’t too off-white and isn’t too stark white? Maybe you’ve heard about (the very popular) Benjamin Moore White Dove and you wonder if this color could work in your home? If you answered yes to these questions, then you’ll find this white dove color overview very helpful.

In this blog post, I’ll answer all of your questions about White Dove so that by the end of this post you’ll have all the info you need to feel ready to make a decision on whether or not White Dove might be the perfect color for your home. I’ll also be sharing lots of photos of my own home which happens to have a TON of White Dove :).

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WHAT COLOR IS BENJAMIN MOORE WHITE DOVE?

As you might imagine, Benjamin Moore White Dove is on the ‘white’ spectrum of colors. It is a very soft, slightly off-white shade that has been popular among designers and homeowners for years. 

I chose White Dove for my interior doors, trim work, ceilings, and kitchen cabinets when I built my home 8 years ago and it is still as popular today as it was back in the dark ages (a.k.a. 2013) when I designed my custom home. However, I do think other brighter whites such as Benjamin Moore Simply White have surpassed White Dove in popularity in recent years.

guide to cabinet hardware placement caroline on design kitchen

WHITE DOVE KITCHEN CABINETS IN MY HOME

IS BENJAMIN MOORE WHITE DOVE A WARM OR COOL WHITE?

White Dove is most definitely a warm white, meaning that it is closer to the off-white spectrum rather than the stark (bright) white spectrum. It is very soft and can look different in various lighting, but it never looks cool or stark white.

WHAT IS THE LRV OF WHITE DOVE?

Benjamin Moore White Dove has an LRV of 85.38, which indicates that it is technically in the ‘white’ range. However, it’s not a bright white like some of the other popular white paint colors with higher LRVs.

WHAT UNDERTONES DOES WHITE DOVE HAVE?

The most prominent undertone in White Dove is yellow. And this takes us to our next question …

DOES BENJAMIN MOORE WHITE DOVE LOOK YELLOW?

Yes and no / kinda. How’s that for an answer?! Ok, I’ll get more specific now. Benjamin Moore White Dove certainly takes on a yellowish hue when artificial light is bouncing off of the paint.

Like I mentioned above, I have White Dove all over my home and it looks very soft, yet true white in natural lighting. In artificial lighting (i.e. when lights are turned on in my home), it still looks soft but has a slight yellow glow. I’m referring to my cabinets mostly that have a bit of a glow because they have a satin finish/sheen.

Bottom line … White Dove will look true white in natural lighting and have a slightly noticeable yellow undertone in artificial lighting.

interior trim and molding tray ceiling white kitchen

WHITE DOVE IN MY KITCHEN UNDER ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING

IS WHITE DOVE A GOOD COLOR FOR KITCHEN CABINETS?

Yes! I absolutely love my White Dove kitchen cabinets! I also have White Dove on my home office cabinets, laundry room cabinets, built-in cabinets in my Great Room, and my daughters’ bathroom cabinets. This color is a gorgeous and soft cabinet color.

IS WHITE DOVE A GOOD COLOR FOR TRIM?

Absolutely! All of my trim work (and I have a TON of trim work) is Benjamin Moore White Dove. It looks great with my Sherwin Williams Accessible Beige walls. 

Just like on cabinets and anywhere you use White Dove, this color looks soft on trim work and varies between looking ‘true’ white and slightly off-white depending on the lighting in the room (i.e. natural vs. artificial).

PRO TIP: If you choose to paint your cabinets White Dove, I highly recommend that you paint your trim, ceilings, and interior doors White Dove as well (if you choose to paint these items white; if you are painting them a completely different color, then disregard this tip). I like to keep all the white paint in the home the SAME color.

WHAT IF MY PAINTER ONLY USES SHERWIN WILLIAMS PAINT? 

That is A-OK! If your builder or painter only uses Sherwin Williams paint, you can have a Sherwin Williams rep mix up paint to create the Benjamin Moore White Dove color formula. You can do this with just about any color and most paint brands.

HOW WILL I KNOW IF WHITE DOVE LOOKS GOOD IN MY HOME?

The best way to determine if White Dove (or any paint color) will look good in YOUR home is to sample it IN your home! My absolute favorite way to sample paint colors is with Samplize mess-free, peel-and-stick paint samples

These color samples are inexpensive and the cleanest (!) way to sample paint colors. I did my own color accuracy test and the sample colors are spot on! You can see an example of this in the photo below.

Peel and stick paint samples benjamin moore white dove

BENJAMIN MOORE WHITE DOVE ‘SAMPLIZE’ SAMPLE IN THE LEFT MIDDLE SQUARE

All right, friend … I hope you feel like you have enough information now to make a decision on whether or not White Dove might be the perfect white color in YOUR home.

If you’re feeling pretty good about it, then the next step is to go ahead and order a few samples of White Dove so that you can make sure it’s the perfect white color for your home! If you have other questions that weren’t answered above, ask away in the comments :).

  1. Robin says:

    Your kitchen looks timeless. Can I ask what countertop you used. I am using Silestone Pietra and it looks very similar to yours.

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I designed my own custom home from the ground up, inside and out. A home that is cozy, comfy, laid out perfectly for the way my family lives, and makes us happy every single day. Oh, and did I mention I did this all without blowing the budget?! 

Yep, it’s true. I’ve been there, done that, and actually lived through it … and you will too. Pinkie promise!

a.k.a. Caroline on Design

I’m Carrie Barker.

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