July 30, 2019 Get the Look

3 of the best white paint colors to use on trim and baseboards in 2020

Excited to tackle a very popular question about the best white paint colors to use on your trim and baseboards today…

 
The best white paint colors for trim and baseboardswhite trim in Benjamin Moore’s White Dove Satin Impergo OC 17

 

The 3 best white paint colors to use for trim and baseboards:

 

What are the best white paint colors for trim and baseboards?

This is one of the most popular questions I get asked around here!
 
So today I’m sharing my top three favorite white paint colors to use on your trim and baseboards.
 
In other words, these are the best white paint colors for trim that we’ve used again and again.
 
Tried, true and tested!
 
 

 

White Paint Trim Color Number 1. Benjamin Moore’s White Dove OC 17

white trim in Benjamin Moore’s White Dove Satin Impergo OC 17

 
 
 
This is my go to personal preference for white trim paint.
 
I love using Benjamin Moore’s White Dove in the semi gloss finish. – This finish adds just a hint of sheen.
 
Adding the semi gloss gives the trim a bit of a subtle pop.
 
The gloss finish also makes dusting and cleaning/wiping up in general a whole lot easier.
 
Speaking of cleaning, when it comes to trim, baseboards and even our walls – I swear by these magic erasers to get out smudges and marks and random spots.
 
But I’m getting off topic here…back to White Dove-
 
I love how it looks every time we use it, and we’ve used it a lot!
 
This shade of white has some warmth to it, I think it’s one of the reasons why I love it so much.
 
You can see how this looks above in our foyer and again here in our living room.
 
It works great with both all white walls and with walls with colors too.
 
For more info on our living room wall color, see this post on gray paint colors.
 
 
* Update! After a lot of emails and questions, I now have an entire post dedicated to Benjamin Moore White Dove paint!
 
 
 

Paint Trim Color Number 2. Benjamin Moore’s Decorator’s White OC 149

 

 

Benjamin Moore’s Decorator’s White OC 149

 

 

Here we used Benjamin Moore’s Decorator’s White on both the walls (in an eggshell finish) and on the trim (in the satin impergo finish.)

Considered a cooler white, this color has a bluish undertone, and creates a very bright, white modern look.

 

Color Number 3. Benjamin Moore’s White OC-151

 

The best white paint colors for trim and baseboardsBenjamin Moore White Dove compared with Benjamin Moore White OC – 151

 

 

When we first moved to our house here in Connecticut, I was pretty sure I was going to use Benjamin Moore White Dove on our kitchen cabinets and also on all the trim work in our kitchen.

However, once I saw it up on the cabinets (as seen above) it didn’t look white enough for the space.

That’s when I learned about Benjamin Moore White OC 151.

We chose this vibrant white, also simply known as Benjamin Moore OC-151. I love how it looks in our kitchen.

Our third floor finished attic also got the OC-151 treatment!

In fact, we love it so much we just used it on almost every wall in our beach house renovation, including the trim!

Using the same color with a different sheen or finish on the trim is a great way to make a space look pulled together and modern.

White with white is my go to combo lately. You’ll never regret this chic choice.

If you need more color in the room, you can always bring it in with carpet, art, accessories and so forth!

 

Benjamin Moore White OC – 151

 

 

So, these are the three best white colors for trim and baseboards.

For more ideas on a my favorite type of trim: wainscoting, don’t miss this informative piece!

I hope you found these examples helpful!

If you have any other questions, please shoot me an email or leave it in the comments below.

Also, don’t miss this post on the perfect shade of white paint colors for your walls.

Thanks!

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Leave a Comment

14 Comments

  1. Karen O'Connor wrote:

    I’m so happy to hear that someone other than me used OC-151! I have it on my kitchen cabinets and trim throughout my condo and I love it!! Seems all I ever hear about is white dove and simply white. OC-151 is so clean and doesn’t have yellow undertones.

    Published on 9.18.19 · Reply
    • Sue De Chiara wrote:

      YES! 🙂

      Published on 9.19.19 · Reply
  2. Amy wrote:

    Hi there! Wondering if you could give advice on which white to choose for trim in a bedroom with a van deusen blue ceiling and classic gray walls. Picking a white is much harder than I thought it would be!

    Published on 11.7.19 · Reply
    • Sue De Chiara wrote:

      Hmmm, maybe try mixing a little of the same gray wall color into dove white by Benjamin Moore!

      Published on 11.8.19 · Reply
  3. Lynn wrote:

    I loved BM White OC-151 and then read where it’s not white but gray white. Do you agree? It looks much whiter to me than White Dover or some of the other white that have a yellow undertone. Your thoughts?

    Published on 1.16.20 · Reply
    • Sue De Chiara wrote:

      We used it in our beach house, I think it’s white white. Doesn’t read gray to me at all!

      Published on 1.16.20 · Reply
      • Lynn wrote:

        So glad to read your comments, Sue! I agree, but was starting to doubt my own eyes (like the “Emperor Wearing No Clothes”)! I just today read that one of the most popular Benjamin Moore whites doesn’t cover as well as OC-151 because that “popular” white lacks any color in it and it won’t cover as well as OC-151 which has the added color of black. (It might have been Super White, but not sure.) Frankly, I think one of the reasons why Decorator’s White and Super White became popular was because of their names! So interesting (and frustrating) to read about white paint colors as you’re trying to make a decision. What I loved about OC-151 when I first compared it to White Dove, Decorator’s White and some of the others is the lack of cream or yellow in it. Thank you for your reply. I must learn to trust my own eyes!

        Published on 1.16.20 · Reply
  4. Sonya King wrote:

    Love all your white paint choices and recommendations! Have you ever done a post on your beautiful blue bar area and the color and finish you used in that space? I’m hoping you can send so I can find and if you have not posted about that beautiful space, what are you waiting for??!!

    Published on 2.7.20 · Reply
  5. Sonya King wrote:

    Sue,
    Your living room above with the 2 white sofas… what color did you use on the walls to go along with BM white dove trim?

    Published on 2.7.20 · Reply
    • Sue De Chiara wrote:

      we used Benjamin Moore Cape Hatteras Gray, more info if you search for gray paints on the blog!:)

      Published on 2.8.20 · Reply
  6. Catherine Pfrommer wrote:

    Good morning… This article is great, appreciate your opinion on whites. My personal dilemma…I just received my gorgeous custom inset cabinetry, painted in Decorator’s White (low sheen)…and I need to choose a white trim paint for all new windows and door frames. Is it best to paint all the trim in my home Decorator’s White as well? Or choose a different white (such as White OC-151)? Satin or ?? To note…I have great natural light in my home. Many thanks!

    Published on 2.28.20 · Reply
    • Sue De Chiara wrote:

      Hi! Honestly you can’t go wrong with sticking to the same white. I would change up the finish to add a little sheen to the trim!
      Good Luck, sound so pretty!

      Published on 2.28.20 · Reply
  7. Lucia Donahower wrote:

    Would love to get your Design Cheat Sheet.
    Thank you,
    Lucy

    Published on 3.27.20 · Reply