Navajo White

OC-95 · Benjamin Moore

Benjamin Moore

Navajo White

OC-95

Hex code

#EEE7D5

Light reflectance value (LRV)

78.3Off-white, light and airy

0 black100 white

Undertone

Noticeable yellow-beige, a warm color

Color family: White
Sold for: Interior and exterior

Try it on your walls Get a sample

Benjamin Moore Navajo White OC-95 is a deep cream, the warmest white in the Off White Collection that most people meet by name. Its LRV of 78 is bright enough to keep a room open, though the yellow in it is strong enough that nobody mistakes the walls for white. It became a standard on tract-house walls and ceilings because it hides wear and softens hard light, and it still suits houses with wood trim and terracotta floors.

Is Navajo White warm or cool? Undertones by the numbers

leans yellow

Undertone

Noticeable yellow-beige

graysaturated

A visible lean you see in daylight.

There is more yellow in Navajo White than in any other well-known Benjamin Moore off-white, with nothing red and only a trace of green to steady it. That is why the color behaves like a very pale tan rather than a white: the yellow is doing all the talking. On a wall next to bare drywall or a fresh coat of ceiling white the difference is obvious and immediate. It flatters yellow-toned oak, pine and saltillo tile, because it shares their temperature. It fights gray-washed floors, cool marble and blue-gray tile, where the same yellow reads as age rather than warmth.

Navajo White in north, south, east and west light

North light is the only exposure that keeps Navajo White in check, cooling the yellow into something closer to a warm off-white and making it usable in a room most creams would spoil. South rooms take it the other way, and by mid-afternoon the walls can look plainly yellow. An east room gets its strongest cream in the morning and loses some of it after noon. West sun at the end of the day adds gold on top of what is already there. Warm bulbs push the same direction, so a 3000K lamp is the practical ceiling rather than 2700K.

Watch for

Under 2700K bulbs at night it can go past cream toward butter
It reads much yellower once the ceiling is painted a cool white
Against a cool gray floor the yellow looks like an old coat of paint

Best rooms and surfaces for Navajo White

Navajo White suits rooms that already lean warm: a den with wood paneling, a hallway with oak doors, a bedroom with a rug and heavy curtains. It is a forgiving hall and stairwell color because the yellow keeps scuffed walls from looking gray. On ceilings it is common in older houses and it softens hard light nicely, as long as the walls are warm too. Cabinets in it read cream rather than white, which suits a country kitchen and looks wrong beside white quartz. Bathrooms with cool tile or chrome fittings are where it fails outright, and a cold north bathroom is the one place it looks dirty rather than warm.

Navajo White on an exterior

Benjamin Moore sells Navajo White for exterior use, where it has a long history on stucco and adobe as well as siding. Full sun flattens the yellow into a warm pale body color, so the walls read cream rather than gold, and the shaded elevations hold the color the chip shows. It belongs with terracotta roof tile, wood beams and dark bronze windows. Against a bright white trim it looks noticeably yellow, so a warm trim white or a natural wood trim gives the more settled result.

Try Navajo White on your own walls

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

Trusted by 19,897+ happy homeowners

Navajo White vs Swiss Coffee, Linen White, White Dove, Alabaster and Antique White

Living room walls rendered in Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee OC-45, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Navajo White vs Swiss Coffee OC-45

Navajo White is noticeably darker; undertone noticeable yellow-beige vs subtle yellow-beige.

Swiss Coffee OC-45 measures about three and a half points brighter and carries far less yellow, so it reads as a white with a warm edge while Navajo White reads as a cream. In a room with white trim, Swiss Coffee blends and Navajo White stands apart from it. Swiss Coffee is the choice for a house that should look bright and current; Navajo White is the choice when the walls should feel older and softer than the woodwork.

Living room walls rendered in Benjamin Moore Linen White OC-146, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Navajo White vs Linen White OC-146

Navajo White is a touch darker; both have a noticeable yellow-beige undertone.

Only about two and a half points of brightness separate these two, and Linen White OC-146 is the lighter, slightly less yellow one. Both are creams and both come from the same tradition of warm trim whites. The practical rule: Linen White still passes as a white in a bright room, and Navajo White will be called cream in any room it goes in. On woodwork the two are almost interchangeable.

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

Navajo White vs White Dove OC-17

Navajo White is noticeably darker; undertone noticeable yellow-beige vs subtle yellow-leaning green.

There are about five points of brightness between them and a much bigger gap in warmth, since White Dove OC-17 holds less than half the yellow. White Dove is the modern default white for walls, trim and cabinets alike, and Navajo White is a color that happens to be very light. They pair well, White Dove on trim and ceilings over Navajo White walls, which is how most older houses that use it are painted.

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Alabaster SW 7008, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Navajo White vs Alabaster SW 7008

Navajo White is noticeably darker; undertone noticeable yellow-beige vs subtle yellow-beige.

Alabaster SW 7008 is about four points brighter and holds roughly half as much yellow, so its warmth stays under the surface where Navajo White's is out in the open. People cross-shopping the two are usually deciding how much cream they can live with. Alabaster works next to gray floors and quartz; Navajo White needs wood, stone or tile with warmth of its own to look right.

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Antique White SW 6119, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Navajo White vs Antique White SW 6119

Navajo White is noticeably lighter; both have a noticeable yellow-beige undertone.

Antique White SW 6119 goes the other way: about six points darker than Navajo White and considerably more yellow, close to a light tan. Put them together and Navajo White looks like a white, which it rarely does otherwise. Pick Antique White when the wall should clearly be a warm color; pick Navajo White when it should still read as an off-white while keeping the same temperature.

Questions about Navajo White

Is Sherwin-Williams Navajo White the same color as Benjamin Moore's?

No. Both brands sell a Navajo White, and they are different paints. Navajo White SW 6126 measures about six points darker than the Benjamin Moore version and holds noticeably more yellow, so it reads as a light golden tan rather than a deep cream. If you have matched an older Benjamin Moore wall, ask for OC-95 by number, because the name alone will get you the wrong can at the wrong counter.

Does Navajo White look too yellow?

It looks yellow, and whether that is too much depends on the room. There is no red or blue in the measurement to complicate it, so the color has one direction and holds it. Cool light and cool finishes make the yellow look like age; wood, brass and warm stone make the same yellow look deliberate. A north room is where it behaves best.

What colors go with Navajo White?

Benjamin Moore's own palette for it pairs Simply White OC-117 and Chantilly Lace OC-65 as the clean whites, then Thicket AF-405 and Bennington Gray HC-82 for depth. The muted green in that group is the one worth noting, since a green with yellow in it will sit with these walls instead of fighting them. Terracotta, oiled wood and dark bronze also work.

What is one shade lighter than Navajo White?

There is no printed strip, so look to the closest colors. Linen White OC-146 is the nearest step up, a couple of points brighter and a little less yellow. Opaline OC-33 sits almost level with it, and Lime White CW-95 is the closest step down, about three points darker while keeping the same cream.

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 Navajo White, checked in morning and evening light, is the last step before a gallon.