Benjamin Moore Cloud White
Soft and creamy with a buttery warm undertone, Cloud White is part of the off white paint color family. In fact, you’ll find this off-white at the top of many designers’ lists of the most liked white paint colors.
But if you’ve followed my paint advice for a while, you know I don’t subscribe to the idea of ‘go-to’ paint colors, as I’m a firm believer that what works in someone else’s home, might not work in yours.
Will this warm white work for you? Let’s find out with my full color review on Benjamin Moore Cloud White.
What is the undertone of Cloud White?
Cloud white has a yellow undertone.
Is cloud white too yellow?
This depends on the overall decor in your home. For those with stark white finishes(like a marble countertop) then yes, Cloud White is too yellow. But for those that have an off-white or more creamy finishes like a warm quartz, Cloud White will likely work well.
You do need to test out all whites, though. Cloud White is a very yellowy white, moreso than others in its category like White Dove and Simply White and you may find you need an off-white with just a little less yellow.
Is Cloud White creamy?
Yes, Cloud White a creamy white. Now, let’s unpack this, because as I said before, whites are complicated and you want to make sure you’re getting the right one.
There are several variations of white:
You have the purest form of white, which techincally has a blue undertone, then you have true white (totally free of undertones), next you have off-white or what a lot of people call creamy white, and finally you have creams.
Cloud White sits firmly in the off-white category and I’d say it’s one of the yellowist/creamiest whites in this category. Get a feel for how some of my favorite off-whites look compared to each other:
Will Cloud White Work in my home?
Here are my three best tips for deciding if any paint color will work in a space (white paint choices, included!)
Observe your fixed elements
Cloud White is an off-white. and while some off-whites can work in homes that have a cleaner color palette, sometimes Cloud White does not play well with others. This is where you really need large samples of potential whites (this is why I really like those peel and stick samples) and you’ll need to hold them right up to your furnishings and fixed elements.
Thinking of Cloud White in your kitchen? Hold a paint sample right up to your countertop. Does it work well? Is it too creamy? Is it too white? (perhaps you have a browner palette in your kitchen). Compare it with your flooring. If you have true white tile Cloud White might be a reach. If you have carpet with pink undertones, Cloud White is absolutely out, because the pink will just make the white look dirty.
Observe your lighting
Whites don’t look too wonderful in low lit rooms. You actually need a good bit of natural and artificial light to really pull off white on the walls. Now, the creaminess in Cloud White is a plus in the fact that it’s not so clinical that it will look awful unless it’s painted on wall with floor to ceiling windows, regardless, make sure to observe how it looks on your walls with the lighting you have.
Test it out…correctly
I recommend testing out all paint colors the same way, but you especially can’t skip this step when dealing with white paint colors. Below, I have a white from every color family (blue white, true white, off-white and cream) and I’ve placed them in front of a poster board so the current wall color won’t cloud my vision.
If you have no idea which type of white you need, you might start with one from each, and then move on to testing out different whites within the category you select, as white paint colors can vary considerably, even within the same color family.
What’s the difference between white dove and cloud white?
Pair these two hues together and you can easily see that while they’re both technically considered off-whites, there are big differences. Cloud White is on the more creamy side of things, and while White Dove is fairly creamy, it’s got a hint of a gray undertone in it to even it out a bit.
What color should I paint my ceiling if I paint my walls Cloud White?
Now that you know Cloud White sits squarely in the off-white category of white paint colors, you must select a white that’s in the ‘true white’ category when searching for a white ceiling color to pair it with.
Colors in this category that could work include Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace or Sherwin Williams High Reflective White.
Will Cloud White work as a trim color?
The answer to this question depends on two very important items. One, the finishes in your home and two, the paint color on your walls.
If your home is very clean in terms of colors, you might find that Cloud White is simply too yellow to use on your trim, and you’ll need to look at a true white or blue white in this case.
You might also find that Cloud White just doesn’t go with your wall color. A lot of pale greige, gray and beige colors don’t play nicely with a super soft white like Cloud White.
I recently just reviewed Benjamin Moore Classic Gray and it really needs a true white like Chantilly Lace to make it shine.
When I paired Classic Gray with Cloud White just to see if it would even work, let me tell you, it wasn’t pretty. Make sure to test your trim color side by side with your wall color!
Not convinced Cloud White is your perfect shade of white? Here you can find more off white paint colors and don’t forget to bookmark this important page on choosing the best white paint for walls, here.
