Benjamin Moore White Dove Review
What I love about White Dove
Benjamin Moore White Dove is like a well-tailored white blouse. It’s timeless, classic, and elegant, and it brims with unerring taste and style. All of these qualities make White Dove one of Benjamin Moore’s best white paints, and one of the most sought after hues in the company’s catalogue.
Aside from Benjamin Moore Simply White, White Dove is one of the white paint colors I’ve used most often myself, specifically in our cottage in Michigan. I wanted something that felt bright and beachy, but not cold, and White Dove was the perfect solution. I painted the exterior and most of the interior White Dove.
Considering painting your home the hue? Let’s take a closer look at this winning paint color.
What color is Benjamin Moore White Dove?
Benjamin Moore describes the shade as ‘a clean and classic white,’ and considers it an off-white paint color.
While the color looks almost beige on the color card or a computer screen (see left), White Dove can almost read as a true white with a touch of depth in bright rooms, and like a creamy ivory in darker ones.
It’s urbane, classy, and certainly shies away from creaminess or yellow tones. It’s not really cool or warm. Instead, it’s a color that meanders into the beige-meets-white lane and sets itself apart by being really easy on the eyes.
The crispness of this white translates really well into lots of spaces. It’s neither too bold, nor too bright – instead, it’s a rather soft approach to the color white that will make you feel like the walls of your rooms are a canvas that you can customize with no limit.
Comfort aside, White Dove has subtle warm-hued undertones that don’t really pair well with colors that have even a hint of pink in them.
Strictly speaking, this particular shade of white by Benjamin Moore has a bit of warmth in it, but most of it is rather muted. Unless you’re really, really sensitive to yellow, you won’t really feel it, and the color will look like a soft, neutral white.
What is the LRV of White Dove?
White Dove has an LRV (Light Reflective Value) of 83.16 out of 100, which solidifies its position as a softer shade of white (the starker shades begin to start around the 90s). When you look at it, your eye won’t be overwhelmed with an abundance of immediate light reflection.
If you’ve never heard of LRV, I’ll explain. It’s worth knowing because it makes paint colors so much easier to evaluate, especially if you’re choosing between two similar shades.
LRV measures the light reflectiveness of a color. It’s measured on a scale of 0-100, with 0 being the blackest of black paints, and 100 being a true white. Generally, paint colors range between a two or three LRV, and a 93 LRV, since there isn’t a true white or true black paint color.
When comparing White Dove vs Simply White, a slightly brighter shade, for example, Simply White has an LRV of 89.52.
Is White Dove Warm or Cool?
Benjamin Moore’s White Dove is considered a warm white, because it consists of very muted green undertones. However, to the naked eye, these undertones may be non-existent, but they will appear stronger based on the other colors and lighting in a room. I consider White Dove to be a neutral, soft white, because it doesn’t really look too warm or cool.
How you choose to use this color in your spaces will also influence whether the color reads warm or cool. For example, if you’re painting a room with lots of south-facing, super-bright sunlight, then it’s going to come off as cheery and warm. On the other hand, using White Dove in a room with north-facing light will likely bring out it’s greige undertones.
Your furnishings will also impact how the color looks: It’ll look warmer if you accessorize or furnish with cooler undertones like grey. It can also look yellow-ish when paired with starker whites as well.
Where to use Benjamin Moore White Dove
White Dove by Benjamin Moore is a very versatile color that works for walls, trims, cabinets, exteriors, and more.
White Dove Great Rooms
White Dove is the perfect “whole home” color for an open-concept space, or great rooms with a kitchen and hallways attached. I also love it for hallways and stairways in general.
White Dove Kitchen Cabinets
I haven’t verified this in any way, but if I had to guess, I’d say that White Dove must be one of the most popular Benjamin Moore colors for kitchen cabinets. It’s the kind of white you’d want to look at everyday.
White Dove Bathrooms
White Dove makes an elegant backdrop for an all-white primary bathroom. The image above, shows how pairing the hue with bright white tile brings out its warm undertones.
White Dove Exterior
Finally, White Dove makes a beautiful white paint choice for home exteriors.
As far as home style goes, White Dove is just as flexible. It works equally well with understated earth tones or boho-chic spaces as it does with coastal, contemporary, or transitional style decor.
I especially love it with a soft black front door, like Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron.
What Colors go with Benjamin Moore’s White Dove
You can carry out a lot of unique combinations with White Dove, and here’re just a few that can show off its visual versatility:
- Balboa Mist: If you’re looking to create a light, understated interior design that would look breezy in bright light, then Benjamin Moore’s Balboa Mist and White Dove would make an excellent combination. The beige of Balboa Mist will transition softly from the undertones of White Dove, and together, they’ll help create a genteel, sophisticated interior design that dons the best of the neutral get-up.
- Kendall Charcoal: Bold and dramatic, Benjamin Moore’s Kendall Charcoal will pair extraordinarily well with the urbane light-heartedness of White Dove. It can be applied on a main accent wall while the rest of the ambiance is brightened up with the expert use of White Dove. This will create a nice contrast that sets up the mantle for an affable, neutral-themed interior design.
- Revere Pewter: Soft and warm like an embrace, Revere Pewter is another shade of grey-beige (greige) that would get on splendidly with Dove White. It’s best that you use these two colors together in a well-lit room, as the light will make the overall ambiance feel brighter and breezier than ever.
- Country Redwood: If you want to create a true striking contrast within your spaces, then you can also complement your White Dove with Benjamin Moore’s Country Redwood. It’s a bold, impact-worthy shade of red-maroon that will create an instant visual chemistry with the high LRV of White Dove. Whether it’s in the form of accent furniture or a statement wall, this shade of red can truly make the yellow-ish undertones in White Dove come alive.
What paint is similar to Benjamin Moore White Dove?
Benjamin Moore’s Oxford White is perhaps one of the closest shades to White Dove. It has an LRV of 86 as compared to White Dove’s 83.16, so it’s a little bit cleaner and crisper.
In fact, the company describes it as a “classic bright white with a cool cast” so if set against White Dove, it can highlight its muted, creamy undertones.
Other Benjamin Moore colors that are similar to White Dove include Steam, Swiss Coffee, and Vanilla Milkshake.
What is the color code for White Dove?
The color code for Benjamin Moore White Dove is OC-17, but it is also known as PM-19.
