Cream paint colors can be a little tricky to sort through. Some can be light and bright while others have a bit more depth of color. Today we are going to explore the 21 best and go into the hows and whys so you can choose the right one for you!
I get asked a lot about paint colors, what looks good with this…what looks good with that. Many people say that they want a gorgeous cream color but they don’t like yellow.
I hate to tell you but you can’t eat eggs without cracking the yolk. You can’t have cream without yellow. The main undertone in a creamy paint color is yellow!
Now there are ways to tone it down and that’s by having a neutral base or adding a different color in the undertone. There are darker creams and really light creams.
Don’t worry, I have gathered all the best here today.
*This post contains affiliate links. For more details see my full disclosure.
The Best Cream Paint Colors
Is cream paint considered a neutral?
You bet it is! Cream is a great neutral paint color with the perfect amount of warmth to keep your home feeling cozy. It’s perfect for anyone not wanting their home feeling cold but still wanting the airy feel.
Why should you choose a cream paint color?
Cream is a great color to paint your walls for many reasons. First, it brings warmth to your home and a coziness like wrapping you in a great big hug.
It’s light and bright without feeling cold and sterile. You won’t feel like you are in an institution here.
It’s also the perfect neutral backdrop to all your home decor. You can easily change out decorations for different seasons and holidays and never have to worry about something clashing with your wall color.
Cream is a great color for creating a home that is filled with love which is what we all want for our families. It’s a warm color that will bring everyone together.
What colors look good with cream?
That is the beauty of using a neutral paint color like cream, any color looks good with it! That is the whole point of a color being a neutral.
You can pair other neutrals with it to give your home a monochromatic feel. A room decorated monochromatically has a great calm feel.
You can pair cream with darker grays, beiges, and greiges. It also looks great with blues and pinks!
Really you can’t go wrong with what color to pair with cream.
What trim color looks good with cream paint?
One option on the trim is to use whatever color you are using on the walls, just increase the sheen. For example, if you are using Natural Cream on the walls in satin use it also on the trim in a semi-gloss.
If you want a contrasting color I would go with a color that is a bit more true white such as Highly Reflective White. It will give you a good separation of trim to the wall.
How to know if a paint color is right for you?
The best way to judge if a color is good for you you will want to put a swatch on the wall and look at it over a few days. Look at it in different lights and decide if you really like it.
You can do this by getting a sample from the paint store and using a brush to put it up on the walls, but then you are left with a can that you can’t do anything with. Those samples are used with poor-quality paint and aren’t meant for use on your walls permanently.
I recommend going with Samplize. They are a company that will send you a peel-and-stick swatch of a paint color that you can stick to the wall. When you are done just peel it off and throw it away.
It’s easy and much less messy!
The Best Cream Paint Colors from Benjamin Moore
Natural Cream
Natural Cream is actually on the border of cream and greige. Greige being the mixture of gray and beige.
It has yellow undertones but also gray which keeps the yellow muted. It’s LRV is 64.78 which makes it more on the light side rather than off-white.
Get a swatch of Natural Cream from Samplize!
Simply White
Simply White is the opposite of Decorators White, it pairs nicely with warm tones and looks beautiful in any room. It has slight undertones of yellow.
With an LRV of 91 this is by far one of the brightest paint colors you can find.
Get a swatch of Simply White from Samplize!
Soft Chamois
Soft Chamois is a gorgeous soothing off-white with just the right amount of yellow, not too much and not too little. It has an LRV of 77.4 which makes it a really bright color.
This color has the amazing ability to make a room feel much larger than it really is!
Get a swatch of Soft Chamois from Samplize!
Timid White
As you can see here Timid White isn’t really hiding those yellow undertones! Believe it or not there is a touch of green in there too but you won’t see that most of the time.
Get a swatch of Timid White from Samplize!
Gentle Cream
This color was really popular before grays took the world by storm. It’s a gorgeous off-white, almost more of just a light color sitting at 72 on the LRV scale.
It has a little less yellow in it compared to some of the others. It’s still very creamy it just isn’t as yellow.
Get a swatch of Gentle Cream from Samplize!
Indian White
Indian White is similar to Gentle Cream but a bit lighter with an LRV of 75.44. It has less weight but is similar in that it has a touch less yellow than some of the others.
Get a swatch of Indian White from Samplize!
Swiss Coffee
I love Swiss Coffee. It definitely falls into my favorite go-to paint colors.
Swiss Coffee is a complicated off-white paint color. It has undertones of yellow, green, and a touch of gray. The gray keeps the yellow and green from being too dominant. What you see instead is a beautiful creamy paint color that goes really well with most other paint colors.
Swiss Coffee is a warm-toned paint color.
Get a swatch of Swiss Coffee from Samplize!
Linen White
Benjamin Moore Linen White is a gorgeous creamy white that honestly is more creamy than it is white. It is warm-toned.
This color gives your home a fresh feel just like fresh new linens feel on your bed or your upholstered furniture. And with an LRV of 82.45 it will definitely lighten and brighten your space.
Get a swatch of Linen White from Samplize!
Cloud White
Cloud White is a warm white paint color with slight yellow undertones. What’s great about this color is that even though it has yellow undertones it has a neutral base which keeps it from being as warm as some of it’s counterparts.
The LRV of Cloud White is 87 which makes it very bright. While it is bright it also has this touch of softness that makes is like sitting on a cloud.
Get a swatch of Cloud White from Samplize!
Ballet White
Ballet White is considered a cream paint color but what is really unique about it is that it also has a touch of gray in it.
If you have been around the blog then you know that any time a paint color has gray in it then the other undertones become more subdued. This is a great cream without being very yellow.
Get a swatch of Ballet White from Samplize!
Navajo White
Both Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams have a paint color by this name. This BM version is a wonderful cream paint color but the neutral base is very stong which keeps the yellow subdued.
If you want a cream paint color but don’t want too much yellow this one might be right for you!
Get a swatch of Navajo White from Samplize!
Featherbed
With an LRV of 85.51 you would think this color is almost a white. You would be wrong!
This color has so much yellow in the undertones that they really show through. This one is a great color but you need to pair it with other things in the room, like trim color and floor color, to determine if it has too much yellow for you.
Get a swatch of Featherbed from Samplize!
The Best Cream Paint Colors from Sherwin Williams
Alabaster
Alabaster was actually Sherwin William’s Color of the Year in 2016! It pairs nicely with dark colors, such as Urban Bronze and Gray Area. Sherwin Williams says the color sets the tone for healing, calm and restfulness so would be great in a bedroom.
Alabaster has decidedly yellow undertones which makes it a warm white paint color. It also has an LRV of 82.
Get a swatch of Alabaster from Samplize!
Natural Linen
This color is more of a light color with an LRV of 66. It is a warm neutral with greige undertones which really tones down the yellow.
This color looks amazing with light wood tones. Here is an example of Natural Linen in my small wine cellar in my own home.
Get a swatch of Natural Linen from Samplize!
Zurich White
Zurich White is on the border of warm and cool. It is very neutral with very little yellow in it. This would be a good color if you are looking for one that isn’t too yellow.
Get a swatch of Zurich White from Samplize!
Creamy
Creamy is a great paint color with an LRV of 81. This means it is really bright, almost a white. In a room with lots of natural light you will see it becoming more washed out while in a room with not a lot of light you will get more of the color that you are seeing here.
Get a swatch of Creamy from Samplize!
Everyday White
Everyday White is a soft creamy white color that makes a great backdrop for all your home decor. It has an LRV of 72 which makes it a pretty bright paint color but there are others who are brighter.
Get a swatch of Everyday White from Samplize!
Casa Blanca
Casa Blanca has an LRV of 76 which means it sits right in the off-white range. It has a great depth of color that will contrast nicely with a white trim.
This is one of those colors that has just enough yellow in it but it’s not so muted that it doesn’t show up. This one is a beautiful color.
Get a swatch of Casa Blanca from Samplize!
Navajo White
The Sherwin Williams Navajo White is a bit on the darker side of the off-whites with an LRV of 72. It’s got a gorgeous neutral base with a touch of yellow.
Get a swatch of Navajo White from Samplize!
Dover White
Dover White is another very popular color for trim. It tends to pull a little more orange than yellow but as far as neutrals go, this is the perfect warm white color. Dover White has an LRV of 82.
Get a swatch of Dover White from Samplize!
Antique White
Antique White is one of Sherwin Williams’s most popular light paint colors. It has an LRV of 72 so it’s a little dark to be considered an off-white but only barely.
This color has a gorgeous neutral base with a hint of yellow. It’s a stunning color if you don’t want to go too yellow.
Get a swatch of Antique White from Samplize!
Other paint posts you might like:
- The Best Hunter Green Paint Colors
- The Best Forest Green Paint Colors
- The Best Sage Green Paint Colors
- The Best Black Paint Colors
- The Best Greige Paint Colors
- The Best Blue Gray Paint Colors
The Best Cream Paint Colors
As a licensed Real Estate Agent and an avid home decorator, I strive to give my clients the very best I can when it comes to staging, selling, and decorating their homes. I have lots of experience with paint color choices and love to DIY my home so I can have everything just the way I want it. I share my ideas and projects with the world in the hopes that I can help others have their homes just the way they want as well.