Thousands of DIYers love Behr paint for its quality and affordability, just as I do. Here are my 12 favorite Behr white paint colors in three color families – neutral, warm, and cool whites.

I’ve also shared many of these colors painted on exteriors, if you’re considering a fresh white on your home. Click here for 12 white exterior Behr paint colors. I’ve included photos of real houses painted in these whites.

Read More: The Best White Ceiling Paint

Best Behr White Paint Colors for Interiors

As you’ll see, I chose Silky White for the walls in my house, with Ultra Pure White for trim and doors. Here is the best white ceiling paint, if you’re in for a full refresh.

I’m also suggesting a few other whites that work if you need a cooler or warmer color. You can grab 8 oz samples of the other colors in store at Home Depot – unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like they ship sample sizes, although you can order a quart.

Home Depot sells a few of these colors in easy peel-and-stick samples. I would order a bunch and try them in different rooms and different lighting situations.

Order $2 peel and stick samples here: Ultra Pure White | Polar Bear | Painter’s White (another good neutral white)

When I researched paint for our house, it took me a minute to pick Behr. Here’s how I found my favorite white paint colors.

Just Want the Good Stuff? Print This Now!

Here’s the quick and easy way to remember this blog post. Download my FREE printable PDF of the best Behr white paint colors!

Tip #1: Try Real Samples!

For my first round of research, I grabbed some popular Benjamin Moore samples of White Dove, Simply White, and Classic Gray. Based on my Pinterest research, I thought those might be my best white or whitish paint bets. I slapped them on the walls in a few spots

Then I realized that I should probably get those colors mixed in Behr paint, which I prefer to buy. I needed actual Behr white paint samples because the base paint differs from brand to brand and colors can appear slightly different.

Read More About Our DIY Home Updates

Best White Ceiling Paint
DIY Craftsman-Style Door Trim
Best Exterior BEHR White Paint Colors
The Best Flooring for Every Room
2022 Trends in Cabinet Hardware

Tip #2: Buy These Foam Brushes for Painting Swatches

Here’s a hot tip: buy these foam brushes. I always have a few sizes of these brushes on hand because they make life so much easier for painting swatches, touch-ups, and small paint jobs. Definitely buy the Jen Mfg brand on Amazon – they are slightly more expensive, but they are really well-made and will hold up better than knock-offs. This box of 1″ brushes (48 count) is about $17, or roughly 35 cents per disposable brush. Personally, the time saved on washing out paintbrushes when I’m just painting sample colors makes it worth it.

Tip #3: Use Color-Matching Resources

Did you know that the big hardware stores can color-match designer colors by just looking up the paint codes in their computers? They also have a color-scanning tool that can color-match based on a paint chip, or a small, flat slice of the color you want.

I usually start by showing up at my local Home Depot and asking the paint department if they can mix a sample of “__ color” by “__ paint line” in their Premium Plus Ultra paint. For most popular colors in common paint lines, they have formulas adjusted for Behr paint that are very close.

It’s not really possible to get an exact match, due to different paint formulations, but if it’s close enough to fool the eye, that’s fine with me.

I took these Behr versions of White Dove and Simply White and painted them next to my first round of swatches. They looked really similar, so I was fairly confident that I had a white wall color picked out. Want to guess what it was?

Neither. Surprise! Actually, I went back for Round 3 of samples and tried out a few Behr white paint colors.

I went back to the drawing board (or blue wall…) because I had discovered Silky White by Behr. I wanted a better contrast with my trim color, Behr’s Ultra Pure White, which the internet convinced me was the ultimate trim color.

Polar Bear was another contender for trim, so I grabbed that too. Here they are in contrast with BM White Dove:

For a digital swatch comparison, here are the four colors seen in the photo above:

---

Tip #4: Check Color Swatches Through the Day

After checking on my swatches at different times of day, I felt pretty confident that I had picked a winner. Silky White has putty undertones and looks warm next to a bright white trim.

Even though I was planning to paint the entire house white on white, I wanted to have some understated contrast. I’m not sure you can tell… white on white on white. Photos are hard.

Read More: How to Paint Ceilings Easily and Quickly

Now that I’ve been living with these walls for 6 months, I still love this color. I’ve started painting the trim in Ultra Pure White. Polar Bear looks like it would work too, so I’m keeping that one filed away for future.

Here are Silky White walls and UPW trim, together in our house.

Read More: How to Create Craftsman-Style Trim

Side Note: this is our door hardware. Schlage is always a home-run in my book and these levers are fantastic. I bought privacy levers for beds and baths and passage levers for closets. All are matte black and they are still in perfect shape nearly 3 years later.

Read More: 60+ Modern Black Door Hardware Ideas

If you’re also shopping for black door hardware, don’t miss this post: 60+ Modern Black Door Hardware Ideas. I pulled together a massive roundup of beautiful black door hardware. All budgets are included, and I really try to focus on legit hardware lines – no cheapos – because you need hardware to hold up over time.

---

Read More About Our DIY Home Updates

DIY Craftsman-Style Door Trim
Best Exterior BEHR White Paint Colors
The Best Flooring for Every Room
2022 Trends in Cabinet Hardware

---

Behr Silky White in More Rooms…

Here’s what our living room looks like today. It’s hard to capture white paint in this room, but this color is soft, not too harsh. If you look to the corner of the room, you can see the contrast against the flat white ceiling paint.

Here’s How to Create a Basket Wall

This is Silky White on the walls in our bedroom. For more photos of our house, check out this “work in progress” house tour.

Our Denver House Tour

I’m adding it to the basement, too! Why not? Might as well keep things streamlined in a white house. Here is Silky White in our basement. I started with this bedroom.

Don’t miss my posts on the best ceiling paint: How to Paint Ceilings Easily and Quickly

2023 Update: Get the Whole House Tour Before We Sold It!

I sold the house in November in 2022. Here’s the whole house tour, staged to sell. You can see Silky White in allll of its glory in these photos. The house looks sparse, because we had obviously moved out, but you’ll see how the light plays with this color.

Our Remodeled Denver House Tour – Silky White on Display!

My 12 Favorite Behr White Paint Colors

Lesson learned: be patient with your paint samples. As it turns out, I found some great Behr paint colors after all. I’ve even added a few to the list since I first posted this. I’m excited to add to the Pinterest world of white paint to help someone else discover Behr whites!

Here are links to see all of my recommended, favorite white paint colors online:

White | Polar Bear | Silky White | Ultra Pure White

Spun Cotton | Swiss Coffee | Original White |  Swan Wing

Weathered White | Soft Focus | Off White | Painter’s White

Here’s one last shot of a favorite Behr white paint color in our last house. I painted the doors and trim in Swan Wing semi-gloss to contrast with the gray wall color (Behr Dolphin Fin). I can recommend both of these colors together, too!

Read More: How to Paint Ceilings Easily and Quickly

Want to Remember These Tips? Download Now!

Here’s the quick and easy way to remember this blog post. Download my FREE printable PDF of the best Behr white paint colors! You can just take it to the store with you, rather than futz around with your phone in the paint aisle.

Don’t Forget! Grab These Easy Peel & Stick Samples

I hope Home Depot will expand this selection of $2 peel and stick samples soon. Here’s an easy way to try these colors on your walls: Ultra Pure White | Polar Bear | Painter’s White (another good neutral white)

What are your favorite white paints? I’d love to hear some other ideas!

Painting the outside of your house? Here are 12 white Behr paint colors for the exterior of your home.

Read More About Our DIY Projects

1 – How to Create Craftsman-Style Door Trim
2 – Best Exterior BEHR White Paint Colors
3 – The Best Flooring for Every Room in Your Home
4 – 2021 Trends in Cabinet Hardware