It looks peachy tan on my SW Whites and Lights brochure. Did you pick one of those up? You want a cooler white.

Yes, I have one of those brochures and I think it has made it harder to pick a color, because it looks like a brochure of colors to me (green, pink, blue, yellow), not a group of whites.

Are the true whites too bright?

I think SW Alabaster, SW Westhighland White or SW Snowbound are good neutral whites, not sure about SW Divine, I thought it had to much yellowy undertones. SW Dover is also a nice creamy white, maybe too yellow for you though. I used Dover and Alabaster in my house, and I like them both.

The true whites are definitely too bright. I think I actually want a light tan/beige more than a white. What do you see when you look at Maison Blanche and Neutral Ground on the White/Light Brochure?

I actually have SW Maison Blanche on the main living area walls in my house, I considered Neutral Ground but it came off slightly more grayish tones in my living room, if I'm remembering correctly. My SW salesperson told me that Maison Blanche would be too light for my walls and that it was typically a trim color, but I love it. I think it's a great neutral. I can load of pic if you'd like.

If you'd like something a little lighter than Maison Blanche, Aesthetic White might be one to consider as well.

Thank you Funcolors! I was hoping you would chime in!
So, the chart above shows me the overtone of the colors I'm looking at. Is there any way to determine how dark a color will be when all I'm looking at is a small sample. I was looking at lighter colors at first, but when I looked at some picture online, they looked white. Of course, we know picture online can be deceiving. That's when I started looking at darker colors, but I'm so afraid of picking something to dark. Do you have any favorite light tans for exterior trim? I also spotted Canvas Tan last night, which I'm guessing has a green overtone.

Sweet-tea - I would love to see your Maison Blanche.
Here's my brick if it helps anyone.

Sorry, I'm having problems with photobucket. I'll post pictures as soon as it starts working.

This post was edited by msrose on Sat, Sep 27, 14 at 10:15

Wow, Funcolors! Thanks for sharing that, I find that very interesting. I agonized over colors for weeks. I never really understood the science of color, your explanation was very enlightening. Maybe there is a method to my madness! :)

Msrose- Looking at your brick, the Maison Blanche might be a good candidate. You might want to narrow it down to a couple choices and then buy a sample pots and try them out on poster board. I went through several sample pots!

I'll attach a pic of the Maison Blanche, it's really a poor pic, but it's the best one I have right now showing the true color. For color reference, the SW mb wall is next to a built in drop zone that has primer on it, ( and a paint sample.)
:)

sweet-tea - That does look like a good neutral. Thanks for posting. I actually got three samples mixed for my door color at SW yesterday. When he suggested Divine White for the trim, I told him to give me a sample of it also, so I'm 4 samples in :)

Here's one more.

Funcolors - Just reread your post and I see now the chroma indicates the level of color. Does that also equal the darkness of the color?

Just reread your post and I see now the chroma indicates the level of color. Does that also equal the darkness of the color?

Nope. You are correct that chroma is about the amount of colorfulness. How close is the color to its fully saturated hue parent. Or, can flip it around and ask how close is it to a true neutral gray of the same value. This chart illustrates value and chroma axes.

Is there any way to determine how dark a color will be when all I'm looking at is a small sample.

Yep. That would be light relfectance value, LRV. It is not the same as the lightness value in the chart above. LRV is a separate part of color. LRV is about a quantity of luminosity. Lightness value is about comparing a color to whiteness, grayness and blackness - the gray scale.

Lower LRV numbers indicate a darker color. Higher means lighter.

The LRV scale and the gray scale look like they are the same, but they aren't. The gray squares differ.

Maybe there is a method to my madness! :)

Yep. Hue / value / chroma LRV are very intuitive. That's why color systems based on H/V/C have been used across industries, including paint, for more than 100 years.

Msrose- Looking at your brick, the Maison Blanche might be a good candidate.

I agree. If Divine is too peachy, that's the one I'd choose to do a sample.

I also spotted Canvas Tan last night, which I'm guessing has a green overtone.

Meh, not really as you can see by where it falls on the chart. However, all whites, off-whites, yellows from the yellow hue family have the potential to show an edge of greeness. Usually, it's because of an amount of black colorant used in the formula.

Whether that edge of greeness shows up or not is dependent upon the light. Which is why you will often see people say stuff like XYZ color is completely "neutral with no undertones". While others will counter with a different experience and report that XYZ color looks very green in/on their house.

So, this is a really good example of why relying solely on a visual assessment that typically goes something like this "it looks like it has a green undertone" is a bad idea.

It's also a good example of why you can not color by the numbers alone. "Always remember that nobody accepts or rejects color because of numbers - it is the way it looks that counts." (Billmeyer 1970 and 1979)

The light is boss. Approaching color from a tactical, hue family point of view in addition to using a keen eye for color is the best way to increase the odds of choosing the right colors.

Funcolors - Thank you for adding Canvas Tan in and for your great explanation! A couple of days ago I was totally overwhelmed and now I feel like I'm back on track.

Funcolors - Are you familiar with Kelly Moore colors? I'm down to two choices and I'm wondering the difference in the two. They are SW Canvas Tan and Kelly Moore Bone 27. The Bone sample is so small it's hard to tell much about it. Sometimes I think they're the same and sometimes Bone looks lighter than Canvas Tan.

Bone, LRV 69, is just slightly lighter than Canvas Tan, LRV 64.

And they are darn close when it comes to hue / value / chroma too.

SW Canvas Tan - 2.63 Y / 8.4 / 1.32 LRV 64

KellyM 27 Bone - 2.16 Y / 8.6 / 1.22 LRV 69

Thank you so much!

Welcome. FYI the notations were not done here at The Land of Color. Rather, they came directly from SW and KM so compare them "loosely".

Can I have white appliances with SW Alabaster? Will it blend nicely or look wrong. Also can certain glazing techniques keep a kitchen warm without looking too yellow (with true white appliances). I don't need the whites to match, however I don't want them to stand out in a bad way.

I am painting a house that has a orange tile roof. I am looking for the best white for the main body and I would like to use Seal Skin SW7675 for the trim. This home has Concrete Columns so I was thinking the sealskin would pair well. I am stumped on the white to use.