Decorator's White

OC-149 · Benjamin Moore

Benjamin Moore

Decorator's White

OC-149

Hex code

#EBEDEA

Light reflectance value (LRV)

82.7Off-white, light and airy

0 black100 white

Undertone

Faint green, a true neutral

Color family: White
Sold for: Interior and exterior

Try it on your walls Get a sample

Benjamin Moore Decorator's White OC-149 is a clean, near-neutral white with the smallest trace of green in it. An LRV of 83 keeps it bright without pushing it into the glare band, so it reads as white rather than as light. It is a working trim and millwork white, the one specified when nothing on the wall should look warm. Most people type the name without its apostrophe, and Benjamin Moore also numbers it CC-20 and PM-3.

Is Decorator's White warm or cool? Undertones by the numbers

too close to gray to lean

Undertone

Faint green

graysaturated

Barely off gray.

What little pigment Decorator's White carries leans green rather than yellow, which is unusual among Benjamin Moore's off-whites and the reason it never turns creamy. On a wall that shows up as cleanness rather than as coolness, since there is not enough of anything in it to see as a color. Beside White Dove OC-17 or Cloud White OC-130 it looks noticeably cooler, almost blue by comparison. Beside Chantilly Lace OC-65 it is the quieter and slightly duller of the two. Warm bulbs will warm it, but they will not make it cream, and that is exactly why painters use it beside gray tile and stainless where a yellow-based white goes off.

Decorator's White in north, south, east and west light

North-facing rooms suit Decorator's White better than they suit most whites, because it has no yellow to lose: cool light makes it a shade darker and a shade cooler and stops there. It never drifts sage or gray-green the way a yellow-based white does when its warmth drains away. South light lifts it slightly and leaves it neutral. East and west rooms move it a little across the day without changing its character. Under 2700K bulbs it warms honestly, and at 4000K it goes hard and flat, which is worth knowing before painting a kitchen.

Watch for

Looks cold beside cream trim or an older, yellowed ceiling
Goes hard and flat under 4000K kitchen downlights
Reads almost blue next to a warm white in the same view

Best rooms and surfaces for Decorator's White

Decorator's White earns its name on trim, doors, casing and built-ins, where it holds a clean line against a colored wall without adding warmth of its own. It is a standard for laundry rooms, closets and garage interiors, where a plain bright white is the entire point. On kitchen cabinets it works when the counters are gray or white and the hardware is black or steel; against butcher block and warm brass it can look cold. As a wall color it needs decent light and something warm in the room, wood, textiles, a rug, or it starts to read like a rental. On a ceiling it is safe almost anywhere.

Decorator's White on an exterior

Benjamin Moore sells Decorator's White outside, and its usual work there is trim, columns and railings against a colored body. It stays white in shade instead of yellowing, which is what makes it hold up on a north elevation and under deep eaves. On full siding it is bright without being blinding, and it looks best on a house with real shadow: porches, brackets, deep window reveals. Against warm cream or tan siding it can read cold, so it pairs better with grays, greens and blues.

Try Decorator's White on your own walls

Upload a photo of your room, or the outside of your house, and TryMyHome renders Decorator's White onto the walls so you can judge it in your light, with your floors and furniture. Your first five renders are free.

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Decorator's White vs Chantilly Lace, White Dove, Simply White, Super White and Pure White

Living room walls rendered in Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace OC-65, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Decorator's White vs Chantilly Lace OC-65

Decorator's White is noticeably darker; undertone faint green vs faint yellow-leaning green.

Chantilly Lace OC-65 is seven points brighter at 90 and holds a slightly warmer trace of yellow, so the pair reads as bright white against clean white. Decorator's White is the more restrained of the two and shows less glare on a big sunny wall. Where a room already has plenty of light, Decorator's White is enough; where the light is thin and the walls must look white anyway, Chantilly Lace does more.

Living room walls rendered in Benjamin Moore White Dove OC-17, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Decorator's White vs White Dove OC-17

Decorator's White is a touch darker; undertone faint green vs subtle yellow-leaning green.

White Dove OC-17 sits at practically the same brightness, so nothing separates these two except temperature. White Dove is warm and soft, Decorator's White is clean and faintly cool, and on adjacent walls the difference is unmistakable. Choose White Dove for a whole house that should feel gentle, and Decorator's White for trim and cabinets that should look precise.

Living room walls rendered in Benjamin Moore Simply White OC-117, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Decorator's White vs Simply White OC-117

Decorator's White is noticeably darker; undertone faint green vs subtle yellow-leaning green.

Simply White OC-117 is both brighter and clearly warmer, a white with yellow in it against one with none. In a room with wood floors and warm light Simply White looks generous and Decorator's White looks plain, while in a room with gray tile and black frames the roles swap. Trim in one beside walls in the other is a mismatch rather than a contrast, so pick a temperature and stay with it.

Living room walls rendered in Benjamin Moore Super White OC-152, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Decorator's White vs Super White OC-152

Decorator's White is noticeably darker; undertone faint green vs faint yellow-leaning green.

Super White OC-152 is the closer of Benjamin Moore's two plain whites to this one, five points brighter at 87 and just as free of yellow. On a wall the difference is brightness and nothing else. Decorator's White is the pick when trim should not out-glare the wall, and Super White when a ceiling or a soffit should be the lightest thing in view.

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Pure White SW 7005, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Decorator's White vs Pure White SW 7005

Decorator's White is a touch darker; undertone faint green vs faint yellow-beige.

Pure White SW 7005 is a point brighter at 84 and leans faintly yellow-beige, making it the warmer of the two even though it reads clean on its own. Sherwin-Williams buyers reach for Pure White where Benjamin Moore buyers reach for Decorator's White, and the swap is not exact: Pure White looks a shade creamy on trim beside gray walls, which is the job Decorator's White is bought for.

Questions about Decorator's White

Does Decorator's White look blue or gray?

It can look faintly blue-gray, but only next to a warmer white. Its measurement holds a very small amount of green and no yellow, so the eye calls it cool whenever a cream white is in the same view. On its own in daylight it reads as plain white with no cast at all.

Is Decorator's White a good trim color?

Yes, and trim is what it is made for. With no yellow in it to fight a wall color, it draws a clean edge against greens, blues, charcoals and grays alike. On a wall painted a warm white it can look cold, so match it with cooler or fully saturated wall colors rather than cream ones.

Is Decorator's White good on kitchen cabinets?

It works when the rest of the kitchen is cool: gray or white counters, steel or black hardware, cool light. The result is a plain, crisp cabinet with no cream in it. Beside wood counters, brass and warm stone it can look stark, and a warmer white will sit better in that kitchen.

What colors go with Decorator's White?

Benjamin Moore pairs it with Gray Owl OC-52 and Stonington Gray HC-170, two cool light grays, then Boreal Forest AF-480, a deep green, and Charcoal Slate HC-178 for weight. It also serves as trim under almost any saturated color. What it does not want beside it is a cream or a beige, which makes its lack of yellow read as cold.

What is one shade darker than Decorator's White?

Misty Gray 2124-60 is the small step down, about two points darker and still a white. Baby's Breath OC-62 is nearer still and reads the same on a wall. For a step you can actually see, Gray Owl OC-52 is Benjamin Moore's own coordinating pick and clearly a light gray.

Get a sample before you paint

Use the visualizer to narrow your shortlist, then confirm the finalist on your actual wall. A peel-and-stick sample of Decorator's White, checked in morning and evening light, is the last step before a gallon.