Tips for Testing White Paint Colors
It’s best to test a new color before you paint a whole room (or house!) with it. No amount of expert recommendations can guarantee that a specific white paint color will look good in YOUR space based on YOUR lighting and YOUR tastes. Here’s how we recommend you test any paint:
Collect LOTS of swatches from the paint store. Gather more swatches than just the 12 colors listed here. Bring home alternatives that are darker, lighter, grayer, yellower, etc. than you think you want. This will give you more tones to compare against and ultimately choose your favorite.
Order removable sticker samples. Once you’ve narrowed your options, use a site like Samplize to order large pre-painted swatches. The cost is comparable to getting sample-sized paints mixed, but the removable stickers save you from making a mess. We’ve linked each color on this list below. You can also get most of them (plus some extras) by ordering the Warm White or Cool White bundles.
View samples on various walls, in various lighting scenarios. Take your time with your samples. Look at them during the morning, afternoon, evening, and in artificial light to evaluate brightness and undertone. Try them on different walls in a room too. They can also be stuck to cabinets, trim, or other surfaces you might want to paint.
If this isn’t enough to pick a final color, you can paint a large swatch directly on your wall, but we guess you won’t need this step.