I am a big fan of BM Cotton Balls, but I think it is poorly named. To me it is an old white, with a hint of cream. I used it on my kitchen walls. I used Halo on my cabinets, which has a hint of grey, to me. My whole house is shades of white, mostly from FnB, such as Lime White, Pointing and Slipper Satin.

mtnrdredux-thank you for sharing what you have used. I thought the same thing when I saw the name "cotton ball", the paint chip is creamy, not white. A friend used BM White Dove on her cabinets, but it looks too white for me in the pictures. Is the "halo" color a BM color? I like the idea of "shades of white" for the whole house! The paint store girl told me that P&L Arrowroot is the "new Lambswool" in terms of popularity with all the designers in my area...it is a cream with a grey feel to it??? I love Lambswool, but it has been used to death and yet I still see it in magazines and I still love it...Hmmm...lots of choices.

We just painted ours BM elephant tusk. I love it! It's a clean color with no yellow or pink. It is creamy, but warm.

We just painted our walls BM acadia white. Its not yellow at all. Look to see if that might work.

We used BM soft chamois. soft white, leaning more towards a hint of gray not yellow

Here is a link that might be useful:

We used BM Aura Paper Mache and like it a lot - it's not yellow at all, but also far enough away from white to not look "white white" (see sink for comparison).

Linking to another post where I had a bunch more photos of the cabinets.

mtnrdredux, do you have photos of your interiors where you used the FnB colors? I'm really curious to see how they look! Might help Capegirl05 too...

Here is a link that might be useful: Gardenweb post

I am using BM cloud white. Its creamy white with no yellow in it. I know that is a fairly common white used on cabinets. Not stark white but not yellow or gray.

I just used SW Creamy on my cabs. It's definitely creamier than the bright white Thermofoil I had before, but not yellow by any means. The color does depend pretty dramatically on the lighting situation. In the following photos, you can see that it looks very white in direct sun, but looks more creamy in the distance. I was concerned that it might look yellow next to my marble (creamy, not gray white), but it's a good fit.

The glass cabs on top have unpainted birch interiors, so that's not yellow from paint.

The paint on the walls at this point (only around the window, in the foreground, and near, but not up to, the ovens) is BM Bone White and the chair rail is a brighter white and you can see that the cabs don't look yellow in comparison. The bone white is soon going tan to get more contrast.

Forgot I had a daylight onlylighting photo that might be more representative.

SW Latte sample on the wall near the ovens.

VickieHallmark, thank you for the picture of cabinets in SW Creamy! I like that color a lot! I am cosidering painting the walls just about everywhere P&L Bone White. You know how it goes, the builder bid the interior paint labor based on 2 colors...so, my very faithful lady at the paint store said, "just pick something very neutral that you can live with and then paint a room here and there after you have lived there awhile"...hmmm, after this building project, I think I will want to put my feet up for awhile! :o) Do you like how the bone white has turned out? We have a vaulted ceiling in the living room and I just can't see painting the great room and its ceiling all the same if we choose a "color" vs a neutral white. Thanks again!

Capegirl, the Bone White is too close to the Creamy in my opinion, but grayer.

I was surprised when the contractor wanted to paint before the cabinets went in, so I chose the color based on what we have elsewhere in the adjacent room, figuring I would correct it later. Since the contractors didn't texture enough of the walls in two places (one along the ovens), they will be doing a lot of touch up work, so I've opted to change the color to BM Sherwood Tan for a slight upcharge, which is on the wall next to the oven in the last photo.

I do like the bone white with bright white trim elsewhere, and it works with the tan.

Paulineinmn...well, my jaw dropped and hit my laptop when I saw your kitchen! Wow! I do love the PaperMache color. Is the Aura line much more $$$...I am using very good paint on my kitchen cabinets, and I don't care what my GC says :o)...but I do have a budget...So, what color is the trim in your kitchen...and in the adjoining rooms? Do you paint your crown moulding the same color as your cabinetry or do you choose a brighter white? Thank you for posting your pics!

VickieHallmark-I love the tan color you chose! What kind of texture did you do? I agree about the bone white being too close to the creamy color, but I may use it in the rest of the house as a base color...either that or a chamois-type color. I just cannot decide. I have read that Whites are on the rise in interior paint trends...I have about a month to decide, so I am looking at lots of pictures...
Thanks again...everyone here is so helpful!

My two favorite creamy, non-yellow whites are BM Mayonnaise and SW Roman Column. If you've ever noticed some appliances that come in biscuit (NOT almond), the color blends nicely with that. Just slightly creamy and warm, but definitely not yellow. Good luck!

Thanks for your nice comments! We actually used BM Advance paint (just had the store use the formula for the BM Aura color Paper Mache) on the cabinets because we wanted the look and durability of an oil paint but without the yellowing and the smell! The smell would go away in a few days of course, so it was the yellowing that was more of a concern (especially with a whitish color - I would not be happy if the color I spent so long picking out changed to a yellowish color!). We had the cupboards painted with a sprayer, and the painters said it went on really well, and we're happy with the finish - nice and smooth and with a really pretty sheen (not too shiny, not too flat). It was more pricey - but not Farrow and Ball pricey, and we figured for the small extra amount it was worth the investment.

The trim will be stained to match the cabinets. The crown molding is the same as the cabinets. The backsplash is still up in the air - but the bottom part (the 4" or so wood piece) will most likely be painted the same as the cabinets, and the beadboard will be slightly darker (maybe same as the walls, maybe a little lighter).

Best of luck!! I think it's great that you're painting boards...I would do the biggest boards you can - that seemed to make a difference for us (it's hard to tell on a little piece of wood).

Hi Capegirl,

Yes, Halo is a BM color.

I am very happy with our "shades of white" house. There are probably 10 different whites in the house, and in each case the trim is a darker shade of white/cream, instead of the more common use of bright white on trim. Apparently using "color" (and I use that word loosely here) on trim only is a colonial thing, which makes sense.

I also used American Clay in our entry hall and bedroom, their most subtle finish and a custom "white", to give the new construction a feel of age. We were really happy with that look.

As far as popularity, i would not let that dissuade you from a paint choice, when we are talking about shades of white. Given how lighting and surfaces and surrounding objects change paint color, I doubt anyone would walk in and say "oh, here's Lambswool again". FWIW, locally they tell me FnB Pointing is their number one color.

When we used BM paint, we did use Aura. How pleasant not to have the odors!

Pauline, I will try to take some photos of the colors in our home ... just waiting to be done!

We have BM Cloud White and while it is a clean bright (yet creamy) white, as soon as I turn on the lights, it all turns yellow.

So does it really matter that much? Just a thought.

I was aiming for this look anyway. I really liked KatieOB's kitchen and between all of her pics it was the same thing... Clean white w no lights on but warm and creamy w them. I *think* she used Dove white though not certain. The 2 whites are so close anyway. The subtle nuances only matter when u have white close together. And then it matters like crazy.

Paint up some cardboards and hold them in the room with your natural light as well as planned lighting -if u can I suppose.