White Heron

OC-57 · Benjamin Moore

Benjamin Moore

White Heron

OC-57

Hex code

#F0F1EA

Light reflectance value (LRV)

86.7Bright white, bounces the most light

0 black100 white

Undertone

Faint yellow-leaning green, a true neutral

Color family: White
Sold for: Interior and exterior

Try it on your walls Get a sample

Benjamin Moore White Heron OC-57 is a soft bright white, warmer than a plain white and cleaner than a cream, with the warmth spread evenly rather than pulling one way. An LRV of 87 keeps it near the top of the scale, so it reflects well and still looks gentle across a large wall. It sits between the brand's crispest whites and its off-whites, which is why the same color turns up on walls, trim and cabinets.

Is White Heron warm or cool? Undertones by the numbers

too close to gray to lean

Undertone

Faint yellow-leaning green

graysaturated

Barely off gray.

White Heron balances a small amount of yellow against a smaller amount of green, and that balance is its character: enough yellow to look kind, not enough to look cream. On a wall it reads as a white that has been softened rather than a white that has been tinted. Beside White Dove OC-17 it looks brighter and less creamy; beside Chantilly Lace OC-65 it looks warmer and easier to live with. Because it has no single direction to drift in, it does not go sage the way a greener white does, nor buttery the way a yellow one does.

White Heron in north, south, east and west light

A north-facing room takes about a point of brightness off White Heron and cools it slightly, and because its warmth is small and steady it does not sour into gray-green there the way a more yellow white can. That makes it a reasonable pick for a north bedroom. South light shows it at its softest and brightest. East and west rooms swing it a little warmer and cooler across the day without ever making it a different color. Warm 2700K bulbs bring out its kindness, while 4000K flattens it into an ordinary white.

Watch for

Reads ordinary rather than soft under cool white bulbs
Shows its warmth against a whiter ceiling, so paint both the same
Can look plain in a room with no wood or texture in it

Best rooms and surfaces for White Heron

White Heron is a wall white that does not need a warmer white on the trim, because it is already soft enough to live with itself in two sheens. It suits bedrooms and living rooms where walls should read white but not hard, and it is easy across a whole floor of an open plan. On cabinets it gives a white kitchen a little give without moving into cream, which works next to wood and gray stone alike. In a bathroom it stays white against tile instead of going yellow. It falls short only where a room is meant to look sharp and modern, since it takes the edge off everything.

White Heron on an exterior

Benjamin Moore sells White Heron for exterior use, and outside its small warmth reads as a plain white with the glare taken off. It suits a fully white house better than a harder white does, because the shaded elevations stay white rather than going gray. On trim over a mid-tone body, gray, green or blue, it draws a soft line instead of a sharp one. Beside a very dark body color it can look slightly dull, and a brighter white will hold that contrast better.

Try White Heron on your own walls

Upload a photo of your room, or the outside of your house, and TryMyHome renders White Heron 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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White Heron vs White Dove, Chantilly Lace, Alabaster and Shoji White

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

White Heron vs White Dove OC-17

White Heron is noticeably lighter; undertone faint yellow-leaning green vs subtle yellow-leaning green.

White Dove OC-17 is four points lower at 83 and its warmth comes with more green in it, which is what makes White Dove read soft and White Heron read light. In a dim room White Dove has more character, and in a bright one White Heron keeps the walls cleaner. The two are near enough that a house should settle on one and stay with it.

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

White Heron vs Chantilly Lace OC-65

White Heron is noticeably darker; both have a faint yellow-leaning green undertone.

Chantilly Lace OC-65 is three points brighter at 90 with no warmth worth naming, so beside it White Heron looks gentle and faintly cream. Chantilly Lace is the choice when trim or cabinets must look crisp, and White Heron the choice when the same surfaces should look lived in. On a ceiling, Chantilly Lace lifts a room while White Heron settles it.

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

White Heron vs Alabaster SW 7008

White Heron is noticeably lighter; undertone faint yellow-leaning green vs subtle yellow-beige.

Alabaster SW 7008 is five points darker at 82 and leans clearly beige, so it reads as a warm off-white where White Heron reads as a soft bright white. Sherwin-Williams shoppers who like this color usually end up at Alabaster, which is warmer and heavier than what they set out to find. Pick Alabaster for a cozy room and White Heron for a light one.

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Shoji White SW 7042, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

White Heron vs Shoji White SW 7042

White Heron is much lighter; undertone faint yellow-leaning green vs subtle yellow-beige.

Shoji White SW 7042 sits thirteen points down at 74, far enough that it is a greige and not a white at all. Against white trim Shoji White is visibly a color and White Heron is not. The comparison comes up when someone wants warmth without cream: Shoji White supplies that with depth, and White Heron supplies it while keeping the walls light.

Questions about White Heron

Does White Heron look green?

Rarely, and less than most soft whites do. It carries a little yellow and a little green, and because the yellow is ahead the green never gets a chance to show on its own. In a north room with a lawn outside the window it can pick up a green cast, but that arrives through the glass rather than out of the can.

Is White Heron good on kitchen cabinets?

Yes. It reads white against wood floors and gray counters alike, and it forgives the everyday marks a crisper white shows. It is soft enough that a strictly modern kitchen may want something sharper. Against a cream backsplash it can look cool, so check it at the tile before painting a whole run.

What colors go with White Heron?

Benjamin Moore pairs it with Chantilly Lace OC-65, Horizon OC-53 and Wickham Gray HC-171, all pale and cool, then Sage Tint 458 as the soft green accent. It works especially well under muted greens and blues, and beside warm wood. Deep saturated colors hold up against it too, though a brighter white would sharpen that line further.

What is one shade darker than White Heron?

Harwood Putty CW-5 is the nearest step down, about three points darker and still clearly a white. Horizon OC-53 is a bigger move, into pale gray, and it is one of Benjamin Moore's own pairings for this color. Going the other way, Chantilly Lace OC-65 is the brighter neighbor.

Is White Heron the same as Oxford White?

Yes. Oxford White 869 is the same paint sold under an older number, so the two match exactly rather than merely closely. Painters and older fan decks tend to say Oxford White, while the off-white deck calls it White Heron OC-57. Ask for either at the counter and the can that comes back is the same.

Is White Heron a good trim color?

Yes, on walls darker or more colorful than it is. It gives a softer edge than a bright white, which suits older houses and rooms with a lot of wood. Against a cream or beige wall it can look cool rather than crisp, and against a wall in a brighter white it disappears entirely.

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