Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
bmh4796

White dove turned out obvious YELLOW in my house :(

bridget helm
9 years ago

I walked into the house today after all the contractors had gone to find that the crown, casings, and ceiling beams had been painted. I chose white dove thinking it was a safe choice. I tested a little area out and it looked white. I wanted white but with a tiny touch of warmth rather than a bright bright white. But it looks YELLOW- there's nothing white about it! At least not in my den and dining room. It really clashed with the yellowish white on the walls in the dining room.

Has anyone else had this problem?

Any recommendations for repainting the crown, beams, casings, and ceilings? Of course I'm wondering how much thus will cost. It's 206 linear feet of crown plus 50 linear feet of beams :(. Plus the ceiling in the 25x25 den. I don't know how much casing. The painters will not be happy with me:(

I can't believe I messed this up. I guess ill use Sherwin wills pure white. It's what we had in our last house. I liked it, but wanted something just a LITTLE bit warmer. Maybe Sherwin will snowbound?

I'm so disappointed.

Comments (81)

  • HU-639847642
    3 years ago

    I agree,

    we Painted our home exterior today & White dove had a very yellow tint.


  • Kay Bittner
    3 years ago

    Dove White samples look yellow in my house too. I was so disappointed as I love the color. I am using Chantilly Lace instead.

  • Jan Gordon
    3 years ago

    I also just painted a small square (maybe 12x12”). It is next to a SW Pure White sample and next to it the White Dive looks yellow which is why I am reading this thread. :)

  • mustard123
    3 years ago

    Dove white in my north facing very dark kitchen looks pale yellow, too. I thought DW had more of a cream /

    taupe color, similar to the photo below?

  • K B
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    We just had the same catastrophe happen! We have white dove on our home cabinets and looks amazing. So, we decided to paint our entire lakehouse interior and cabinets with it. We get here and walls are YELLOW! The ceilings look fine as they are a different wood than the beadboard walls. Beadboard makes white dove turn YELLOW! We are so upset and now trying to figure out how to fix it. I guess repaint? But if we repaint don't even know that the paint color will be right again when it gets over entire walls! What color white do we pick to go over that could work?

  • Kay Bittner
    3 years ago

    We did Chantilly Lace. It’s very white but that’s the look we wanted. Good luck.

  • Nicole Russo
    3 years ago

    Just wanted to add we just sampled White Dove on the exterior of our home because it‘s so popular for being not too cool not too creamy...perfect white. It is straight up yellow!! Glad we tested it (tested in multiple places)

    I’m glad I found this thread to see I’m not the only one!

  • meamewil
    3 years ago

    Nicole Russo I just had the same issue with the white dove exterior. Looks very yellow - what did you end up choosing?

  • Kay Bittner
    3 years ago

    Chantilly Lace

  • PRO
    Mark Bischak, Architect
    3 years ago

    Does any paint company offer "white"?

  • Laurie Fontenot
    3 years ago

    White dove also looked like a yellow nightmare in my house. I had originally chosen white Dove for base, trim, and crown, and had chosen dove wing for my kitchen cabinets. dove wing is warmer and my granite had a lot of pearly tan tones in it, so I thought it would all blend knicely together. SO WRONG. Initially, I though the painter had mixed some dove wing and white dove together when he sprayed the trim, etc. and that was why it looked so awfully yellow in certain places. now I know better. Poor guy, that wasn’t a good day for him 🤦🏼‍♀️

  • dmilk
    3 years ago

    I’m so glad I came across this!! We currently have a 1995 own that the previous owners painted the trim 10 years ago and off white. The trim looks so yellow in places. And needs re painted. Will be a large job!
    Was looking at white dove but so worried it will turn yellow or pure white! Does pure white look cheap like a builders grade white or classic? We will also do new kitchen cabinets in the same trim color

  • bridget helm
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    @dmilk

    I love SW snowbound for trim. It’s not too cold and not yellow at all. I have used it many projects and it’s lovely. SW Pure white is pretty. I did it in a hole back in 2004 and i liked it but it was very white. Not much depth. snowbound has a little more depth. A lot of people like alabaster. I haven’t used it. But i‘ve heard great things about it. I was in a house The other day that had the same trim wall and ceiling color and it was SW creamy. Very very pretty, but i would not recommend creamy as JUST trim. It would read yellow. But with the walls trim and ceiling all together the same it created such a lovely feeling and glow. Just mentioning that in case anyone is going for that look

  • bridget helm
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    @dmilk we did all the trim cabs and doors in this house SW snowbound. The client wanted the walls in the main living areas in her words in “just plain white” . (The bathrooms & bedrooms WALLS are other whites but the wood is all SW snowbound in the baths) I thought the main area white should have been a little warmer than “just plain white” but she insisted no yellow no noticeable color. I was tinkering with BM moonlight white, but was afraid she’d notice the undertones, so I went with SW Snowbound. I still think due to the the style of the home and furnishings that it should have been a slightly warmer white, but you can see that SW snowbound is not stark, but you really don’t see undertones either. If you look at the formula, there are colors. It’s not a thoughtless white. It’s very pretty actually.

    Mary’s House · More Info


    Mary’s House · More Info


    Mary’s House · More Info


    Mary’s House · More Info


    Mary’s House · More Info


    Mary’s House · More Info


    Mary’s House · More Info

    You can see more pics in my houzz photos

  • Amanda Amato
    2 years ago

    I am an interior designer and have used white dove in countless projects over the previous 10 years. I just painted my whole 5500 sq ft house in white dove and it is literally yellow. It's horrible. I also just had a new set of custom cabinets put into a bathroom renovation in another house and they are YELLOW compared to the white dove walls they're sitting against. I'm not sure if something happened in the last year or two with this formula, but I AM SO confused.

  • Amanda Amato
    2 years ago

    I am an interior designer and have used white dove countless times in the past 10 years. I just had my new construction house painted white dove and it is literally yellow. I also had custom cabinets painted white dove last week and they are the same yellow! Something happened in the last year or so with this formula? I am so confused.

  • millmacc
    2 years ago

    Did you check the formula to see if it’s correct? If it is chalk it up to to lighting! I can find the formula if need be. It’s very simple with only two ingredients (I think). And relates to vanilla milkshake and icicle— with white dove in the middle.

  • Donna Tavani
    2 years ago

    Hi,


    I meant to post this question here, because:


    Hi,

    I'm in a "White Dove looking yellow" panic!!


    I'm hoping someone can lend some good advice.

    We are doing a complete renovation on our basement.. My builder just painted BM White Dove on my walls before the lighting went in. (A major misunderstanding, both our faults, to be fair.) I am sick because upstairs, White Dove looks so much brighter on my kitchen cabinets. Downstairs on the walls it looks REALLY yellow against the bright white ceilings (also probably a mistake for that color). I am just sick about it. I'm hoping once my LED lights go in tomorrow, which are true to color, that it won't look so yellow. So I have two questions:

    1) If Dove White still looks yellowish under the true to color LED lighting, and I'm lucky enough that it's just his first coat, could the second coat in Chantilly Lace cover (it's Behr color matched, which has primer built in)? I'm really panicked - at this point, at night with the construction lights, it looks very dingy.... Just for context, I'll be putting in vinyl plank pine floors, which was why I went that way - Dove White seemed much more cohesive with the flooring than Chantilly Lace, my usual bright white go-to. All the trim on my first floor is Chantilly Lace, and I love it!.


    2) Is there anything I could do with the trim to make the Dove White read more gray and less yellow? I really can't afford to pay the contractor to repaint two coats on all the walls (about 1400 sq ft) if it's not his first coat. I saw on this blog (the living room photo if you scroll down), that Simply White kind of brings out the gray of the Dove White. Simply White has more yellow, which might look nice against the pine floors??


    https://www.diydecormom.com/benjamin-moore-white-dove/


    Forgot to mention, my original plan was to do Dove White on both the walls and the trim. The walls are matte, the trim was either going to be Satin or Semi-gloss.


    Thanks for any advice you can give me - I will have to make a decision once I see all of this in the proper lighting, tomorrow:(:(!

    Donna

  • jmaz25
    2 years ago

    Hi Donna- I'm encountering the same issue and had the same panic after one coat of White Dove was painted in our front room, which gets a lot of North and West light and also is getting indirect candescent light that will change although I havent bought the light fixture yet. I was looking at Classic Gray but it's a big peachy in that same room. Did you end up picking a different color?

  • J Sk
    2 years ago

    Maybe You could look at Bm Cloud cover

  • Donna Tavani
    2 years ago

    I ended up painting our basement Classic Gray Benjamin Moore with the trim in White Dove Semi-Gloss that had a "smidge" less yellow, in a custom mix. This was mixed in ProClassics Sherwin Williams Trim paint. The result is lovely! The gray is light enough for the basement, but softened by the White Dove (modified color) trim. I couldn't be happier. I will never attempt to put White Dove on the walls, again, ever!

  • telesaps
    2 years ago

    I have a similar disaster with White Dove. Just painted a 3500 square foot house White Dove and in the areas without much light (master bedroom, bath and large, long hallway) it looks GREEN! Even in the large, fairly light family room it has a greenish cast. I spent thousands and am so sad. The family room faces east and the other green looking rooms are just dark.

    Weirdly, in another home I have white dove cabinets, which turned out lovely, not too yellow and no green at all, and white dove on the ceiling. The two don't match at all, but they both look nice and bright.

    Just as an FYI, in the home with White Dove cabinets, I used SW Neutral Ground in all rooms and each room looks great. I am extremely happy with that choice and would recommend this color if you want a slight beige tone.

  • dmilk
    2 years ago

    We are almsot done painting all of our old yellowish trim. i chose SW pure white for all the trim and kirchen cabinets. its such a beautiful white and would recommend! No hint of yellow at all!!

  • Amy Potts
    2 years ago

    Did anyone find a fix for this? Our white dove cabinets look so yellow next to white dove walls!

  • Donna Tavani
    2 years ago

    I've always had the opposite problem. The sheen of a cabinet finish seems to take care of the yellowish tendency. It's the wall color that looked yellow to me. I think it really seems to depend on lighting, I'm guessing?

  • ohwhatabeautifulmorning
    last year

    Has anyone else encountered this problem with white dove? And did anyone find out the reason? Would love to know before I choose white dove. Thanks

  • Kay Bittner
    last year

    It was yellow for me. Always best to test the samples on different walls first. Good luck.

  • ohwhatabeautifulmorning
    last year

    Thanks Kay. Someone on another site mentioned that B.Moore has recently changed lrv's on their website. Perhaps they went through a formula change with their base paints.

    ugh


  • millmacc
    last year

    Ohwhatabeautifulmorning- i think it just depends on the light in your particular environment. Unfortunately, no magic paint colors when it comes to whites! Or yellows, for that matter. I chose a lovely, pale yellow once called buttercream that became legal pad yellow on the walls. 😂

  • ohwhatabeautifulmorning
    last year

    i bought a can of white dove 6 months ago then purchased new sample yesterday. Two different whites. Similar but one is definately more yellow. Quality control?

  • ohwhatabeautifulmorning
    last year

    both tested on wall.

  • Donna Tavani
    last year

    I’m now choosing a cream wall color to go with the background of my bedroom wallpaper. Any experience, anyone, with the BM color, Marscapone? How yellow does it read? I know every cream has a certain amount of yellow. Just curious what anyone’s experience has been?

  • marylonn27
    last year

    I'm so glad this feed has continued over the years. Picking out a white to have my cabinets repainted has been difficult. I was considering BM White Dove but after reading the comments I'll pass on it. The info here about the lighting is helpful. I had my picks down to two after much research and plan to go with SW Pure White. I know my combo cabinets/backsplash/granite will not be perfect cause the granite is the 2004 Giallo and would benefit from creamy but all my research says creamy can show up yellow depending on the surrounding factors. I updated my backsplah last year and it has cooler tones in it. Pulling the light colors out of the granite. I did work with a designer on that and her pick was great. Thought that would be enought of an update but Nope now I want these cherry stained cabinets painted asap I'm thinking of just using black or bronze cabinet hardware to bring some of the countertop colors up to the cabinets. I have a brushed nickel faucet and stainlesss appliances. Would having the cabinet hardware black or dark bronze be ok? The cabinet hinges are not exposed.

  • chispa
    last year

    I built a house this past year and wasn't happy with the BM Winds Breath I used in most of the public rooms. Ended up a bit too dark and yellow toned. I chose it because it looked great in my parent's house!

    I sampled lots of off-whites and ended up with BM White Dove. It does have a slight yellow tint in my house, which you only notice because my trim and ceilings are BM Chantilly Lace. I have a lot of warm colors in my furniture/art and my wood floors are a warm medium brown, so other whiter whites just looked too stark on the walls compared to the BM White Dove.

    BM White Dove on right and BM Winds Breath on left. Trim BM Chantilly Lace.


  • Ali C
    last year

    Same problem with white dove looking yellow! i had ny paint store mix it at 50% and that seems to have taken out the yellow

    to the poster who mentioned BM changing formulas, i used classic grey in my dining room 3 years ago and its a nice off white i just sampled fron a fresh can in family room and it looks like a purple-grey!

  • J Sk
    last year
    last modified: last year

    @Ali C, it could be that the lighting in family room is different and the Classic Gray goes purple/gray. They are some old houzz discussions of Houzzers who had the same problems years ago with Classic Gray going purple.

  • millmacc
    last year
    last modified: last year

    my two formulas were different so I had them remake manually by copying my original can’s formula

  • ohwhatabeautifulmorning
    last year
    last modified: last year

    I had my trim painted white dove semi-gloss it looks creamy white/warm, my ceilings were painted white dove flat and they look cool gray. Walls are shoji white and they look exacty the same color as ceilings. I give up.

  • Ashley R
    last year

    I am not a professional designer or painter but I will say that I’ve made myself a professional on BM White Dove paint. What I have come to accept is that it’s the actual paint itself! As in, the formula (or base) of BM paint. Especially the so called “hybrid” paints that are supposed to act like oil paint but aren’t actually oil based. Bottom line, they ALL YELLOW over time. And not a lot of time either. I’m talking like 5-6 months down the road your clean soft white is gonna look yellow. Walls, cabinets, trim, whatever you paint with these new water based alkaloid “hybrid” paints is going to yellow over time. All colors, not just whites. Whites are far more noticeable, obviously, but this is true issue with these kinds of paints and it’s only getting worse as the formulas are changing to cut cost. Like everything else, corporations are out for profit and will cut corners any way they can. It’s not just BM, all paints have been gradually going down hill over the last 3-5 years. Even $100/gallon BM Aura line was a disappointment. My advice, use straight LATEX paint and leave the “hybrids” behind.

  • HU-287810179
    last year

    Sure they didn’t use a SW color match? This is bm white dove vs the sw color match my contractor tried to use

  • PRO
    Virgil Carter Fine Art
    last year
    last modified: last year

    This "what color is my paint" thread turns up frequently, even when the finished paint is the same manufacturer as the sample used in selection. And more so when the paint manufacturers differ.

    There are several common causes:

    1. No two paint mixtures are exactly the same, even from the same manufacturer and color. There are always small variations. Those who have tried small spot touch-up painting know what I am talking about.

    2. And then there's the lighting that may be used to select a paint color versus the lighting used to illuminate the final painted area. Natural light varies each day, depending on the angle of the sun, the quantity of direct and indirect light in the painted space (or not) and reflections. Artificial light varies depending on the type and temperature of the lamps (bulbs) used.

    3. A simple reason for finished paint to not closely match the sample: Most painted surfaces are vertical. Often paint samples are viewed, and decisions made, with the sample placed horizontally. The difference between the appearance of a vertical surface compared with a horizontal surface can be surprisingly great. Always view samples in the same plane and in the same light as the final painted surface.

    Combined, these lighting effects help explain why painted surfaces may appear different at different times of day, and why the appearance of painted surfaces in the daytime may appear to be different than the same surfaces during evening hours.

    It's a simple question with some less than simple ingredients.

  • HU-326745809
    last year

    Had the same problem with white dove looking a little yellow in a couple rooms so switched to 1/2 formula and 75% formula and love it

  • Shirley C
    10 months ago
    last modified: 10 months ago

    HU-326745809

    To clarify, did you use White Dove 1/2 formula for the walls and 75% formula for the trim?

  • Debra Willingham
    7 months ago

    I spoke to my BM store. The colors vary based on the product you use. The samples, Ben and Regal all look very different. They suggested always buying a gallon and applying it to your wall first.

  • Mia Smyth
    3 months ago

    White Dove was the perfect color for my guest house. It does have a slight yellow casting on some days. It looks beautiful cool and crisp. I love it!


  • Mia Smyth
    3 months ago
    last modified: 3 months ago

    White Dove is supposed to be a hint of yellow like Creamy and some of the other warmer whites. If you are looking for a white with no yellow in it have you tried Chantilly Lace?

  • cgpickering1
    last month

    Please don’t let Sherwin Williams color match White Dove! We just made this mistake when painting our exterior. The house looks like a stick of butter.

  • chispa
    last month

    True that it is better not to color match across brands, but even the real BM White Dove can look like a stick of butter! I am looking at it right now on one of my walls that is getting bright light from the south and "stick of butter" is a perfect description!

    BM White Dove, with the current formula and paint bases, has quite a bit of yellow in it. Some people who used BM White Dove many years ago say that it wasn't as yellow back then. It is what it is, so test carefully.

  • chloe00s
    last month

    Yes, BM White Dove has a subtle yellow undertone. A purer white is BM Chantilly Lace. Here is a link to a good article “Our 7 Favorite Benjamin Moore Whites” from thecolorconcierge.com

    https://pin.it/5ONmjUCSL