How do you know which white to choose for your internal walls?
Here’s some tips to help you work this out!
If you didn’t receive my newsletter – here’s a quick recap, of what I covered, then we’ll go into more detail.
The white that is right for you will depend on many factors.
Firstly, what style is your home and how do you want it to feel?
What are the other colours in your home and what style of furniture do you have? This includes, window trims, flooring, furniture, cabinetry and also don’t forget lighting as this plays a huge part in how a colour looks (consider both natural and artificial lighting).
Colours are considered to be either warm or cool colours and whites are no exception. The way to tell if a white or any colour is warm or cool is to look at the undertone in the colour. A warm white will have yellow, peach or pink undertones and a cool white will have blue, purple or green undertones.
Often clients say all white look the same, until I show them how to see the difference.
The easiest way to see if a white is warm or cool is to hold a white sample against a contrasting colour and hold it against a pure white object. It is best to test under natural light.
Generally speaking, warm whites add a cosy inviting feel to a home while cool whites add a crisp, energetic ambience. There are many ways, however, to play with colour, furnishings and lighting to get different effects.
If you have furniture and flooring with warm undertones, it’s best to go with a warm white but not too warm, and if you have cooler toned furnishings, your home will benefit from a cooler white. I also like to ‘warm up’ a crisper white in bedrooms and living spaces using lighting and warmer furnishings for a more relaxed atmosphere.
Especially if renovating an older home the big consideration to factor into your wall colour decision is the window trims as some of the older homes in my area have either Classic Cream and even Teal window trims. This is not easy to work with if you are not willing to replace them especially if you like the coastal look or clean whites. NB: I do not recommend painting window trims as windows are a moving object, therefore the colour does not last.
A note to be aware that some white paints don’t have the same coverage and require more coats, which can add to the in particular the lighter whites in quarter strength.
When picking a wall colour for a new home, I always start by looking at the flooring, then cabinetry, stone and splashback colours as the flooring choice is an important one and also there are plenty of wall colour choices and limited selections for the others, depending on your budget.
I have a few favourite whites I know work so well – one is Taubmans Tahira White which is my absolute favourite as it tends to go with both the cooler tones and the warmer tones. This colour is considered a warm colour. White on White is a cooler white which can throw quite a strong blue, I have paired Tahira White with White on White trims on a number of occassions and they work so well together. I also love Snowy Mountain Half.
Here are the current top whites as listed by each brand:
Haymes top 5 whites 2025:
Modesty White – all-time fave - warm
Marble Mist – all-time fave - warm
Greyology 1 - all-time fave - cool
Gradient 1 – warm
Liveable White – designer fave - warm
Taubmans top whites:
Whisper White - warm
Aria Ivory – warm
Crisp White – cool
Tahira White - warm
Gazebo White - warm
Dulux top whites:
Vivid white – neither warm or cool (no noticeable undertones)
Lexicon - cool
Natural White - warm
Terrace White - cool
And a fun little quiz for you:
Do you know which of these popular whites are warm and which are cool?
- Dulux Lexicon
- Taubmans Crisp White
- Dulux Natural White
- Haymes Chalky White
- Taubmans Tahira White
- Dulux White on White
- Haymes Nearly White
- Taubmans Whisper White
If you want to join in the fun, have a guess and type your answers here, then scroll down to see how well you did.
If you missed my newsletter, here’s some designer tips for you also:
Designer Tip
$10 you can save you thousands!
Don’t just go by a tiny paint brush-out, get a sample pot for around $10, paint a large brush-out on a white board or order a larger brush-out online, which you can move to different rooms at different times of the day to really see what your paint will look like in all lighting and all rooms.
Designer Tip
A paint colour will usually look darker than the brush-out looks when applied to an entire room.
But there are many other elements that come into play and affect the final look of the wall colour including room size, lighting and light reflection and paint sheen. Is your paint Matt, Low Sheen, Satin or Semi Gloss?
Designer Tip
Artificial lighting can make whites appear cooler.
A lot of down lights can switch between cool, warm and daylight, known as a CCT (Correlated Colour Temperature) or Tri-Colour LED. It is best however, to stick to the same colour temp throughout the home or at least in open plan areas.
Answers to the quiz:
- Dulux Lexicon - cool
- Taubmans Crisp White - cool
- Dulux Natural White – warm
- Haymes Chalky White - cool
- Taubmans Tahira White – warm
- Dulux White on White - cool
- Haymes Nearly White – warm
- Taubmans Whisper White - cool
How did you do?
If you have any questions on paint colours, send me a message on my contact page and I will help you out.
Happy painting
Jen