Sherwin Williams Dover White
Well, hello Dover White. I almost completely forgot about you.
(Not to confuse you with Dove White by your friend Benjamin Moore)
You are your own warm neutral and you like to create a soft and inviting look wherever you go. You play well with most colors but especially soft browns and muted blues.
But sometimes you get overlooked. That’s why I decided to give you your own post.
My mom loves you. She talks about you alot. I actually stole a can of you from her to paint my board and batten wall in my hallway.
(PS…my hallway gets plenty of natural light so Dover White looks whiter in my space)
You are a very pretty creamy white and I think we might be seeing more of you lately now that the trend is leaning towards warmer paint colors.
I’m glad to hear that…
Let’s take a look at you in homes first and then we will talk more about you.
Where to use Dover White (SW 6385)
You are are very versatile
You look great on walls (obviously)
And on cabinets…
On trim and bookshelves….
See, I told you that you play well with others.
Coordinating colors with Dover White
(Ok, I’m done talking to Dover White now…it was fun while it lasted)
Dover White is such a warm white that it goes so well with so many colors. It pairs well with yellows, greens, reds, blues, and even shades of plum and purple.
There is a hint of yellow undertones with Dover White so keep that in mind. Especially if you are using it on your trim. It is a very warm white and pairing wall colors with a warmer white trim can sometimes be more difficult.
If your home gets alot of natural light, Dover White will look more white. And you guessed it, with less natural light, Dover White will look more creamy.
I wouldn’t necessarily go with a very cool gray wall paint color with Dover White as the trim color.
A gray with some warm tones would look pretty with Dover White though. Never be afraid to pair gray colors with warm creamy whites.
I love this color combination below. I think Sea Salt is such a pretty and relaxing color for your walls. Dover White would look great as the trim color and you can add in some gray accent colors in either your decor or furniture. Or use it as a wall color in another room in your home.
I grabbed a few other colors that coordinate well with Dover White. All of these would look great as the wall color with Dover White as the trim color. Or use Dover White as your kitchen/bathroom cabinet color and pick one of these as your wall color. You can also use all or some of these colors (including Dover White) on the walls throughout your house with a crisp white trim.
And yes, you can always use Dover White as your wall color and use a crisp white as your trim color
As seen here:
White Dove vs Dover White
I feel like this needs to be talked about because I used to get these two paint colors confused all.of.the.time. First off, White Dove is a Benjamin Moore paint color so don’t go looking for White Dove at Sherwin Williams.
White Dove is also a very popular color. So much so that you can find a ton of inspiration pictures online or on Pinterest. It is a very pretty white with just slightest bit of a gray undertone while Dover White (as I already told you) has more of a yellow undertone.
This isn’t the best representation since the online color swatches aren’t the best but here is comparison of the two.
You can see how much creamier Dover White looks compared to White Dove.
Dover White really is such a pretty paint color and I really think it can look beautiful in any room in your home.
How to choose the right paint color
(This post contains affiliate links, you can see my disclosure policy here)
Start with inspiration:
I talked a little bit about this in this post but I’ll touch on it again. Picking your paint color for your walls should be one of the later things you do when designing a room. Find a large focal piece (rug, art, window treatments) and look for colors in those pieces that catch your attention. Get on Pinterest and look at magazines. Get some ideas of what you like. It is your house.
Decide on the mood of the room:
Do you want your room to be light and bright or dark and moody? If you home doesn’t get a whole lot of natural light, stark white walls might look dingy. I would consider a paint with some color to it.
Grab your swatches and bring home samples
Bring home some swatches and ideally some sample paints if you feel extra ambitious. Use large foam boards from the dollar store and paint sample boards. Test them in every room. Remember each room gets different natural light. See how they look in the morning and at night.
I just recently heard of SAMPLIZE and I think it is genius. Samplize offers peel and stick paint samples that are more affordable and easier than traditional paint pots. Samples arrive ON YOUR DOORSTEP in 1-3 business days, depending on location and costs under $6 for a sample.
Consider everything in your home…your trim, your floors etc. My floors are Brazilian cherry (aka very red) and I knew I wanted a color just a tad cooler to play off the warm red tones of the floor.
Is your trim bright white, or creamy white? Very cool gray colors might not play well with very warm white trim.
Get what I am saying?
If you want to see the undertone of color, look at the darkest color on the paint color strip. If you love a paint color but fear it can be too dark, ask them to cut it with 25% or 50% white.
You can buy all your paint at Home Depot
Like I said before, I am a huuuge fan on Behr’s paint. I usually use their Ultra line and I can’t say enough good things about it. We had professional painters come in to paint our 2 story entry way and even the professional painter said you can’t go wrong with Behr paint.
If you want to save a little money on your paint, Home Depot will color match any color for you from either Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore. I know some designers might cringe and tell you that Home Depot won’t be able to match the formula 100%. I haven’t had a problem yet.
Get free large swatches
If you want to see your paint swatches in a larger scale, I have been known to grab a bunch of the same color swatches and then taping them to a piece of paper. Those 2×2 swatches are for the birds. You can also order large free swatches from Benjamin Moore here
Keep a list of your home paint colors
It’s always a good idea to keep a list of the paint colors you have used in your home. I can’t tell you know much it has helped me.
DIY Painting Supplies
Paint brushes: I love all of Wooster’s paint brushes but this one is hands down my favorite one to use. It makes cutting in so much easier.
Painter’s tape: I hate taping and I really try to avoid it but when I can’t I make sure I use a good tape
Drop Cloths: Yes, you need them and you need many. I have used trash bags and old shower liners before too.
Cleaning Cloths: These are amazing every day cloths for cleaning but work great for baseboards and walls before painting.
Paint Cup: This paint cup is brilliant and has a magnetic strip so your paint brush stays safe from falling in your paint.
Multi Position Paint Brush tool: The best tool you will ever use if you have tall ceilings or just in general. I used something similar to this to paint my 15 foot ceilings in my family room and it was a life saver.
Paint Edger: This might get a bad rap but if you do it right, it has been a nice helper for me. Especially when trimming around windows and along baseboards.
Touch up cup: Nothing is worse than having to pull out the whole can of paint for a little touch up.
Sherwin Williams Dover White
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