Sherwin Williams Extra White should be at the top of your list if you are looking for a clean, true white, with no yellow or warm undertones. It’s a popular white paint for trim, cabinets, drywall and even ceilings. I am sharing real life photos of Extra White in our home, showing you how it looks in different spaces and lighting.
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Sherwin Williams Extra White: Why Is It So Popular?
When it comes to the best Sherwin Williams whites, Extra White is a favorite white for many. I chose it for my home because it is a remarkably clean, true white paint! If you are looking for a cream or a warm white, this is not it.
Extra White is popular with builders and designers because it is a well balanced white. It also works well as an ideal trim or even ceiling paint for a crisp white look.
Is Sherwin Williams Extra White Warm Or Cool?
Extra White is on the cool side, with a slight gray cast in dark spaces. If you use it in northern facing rooms, Extra White will appear cooler. In south facing rooms or spaces with heavy afternoon sunshine, Extra White will look warm and balanced – but never creamy!
- No creamy or yellow undertones, even in rooms that face south
- In a north facing rooms with dim light and little warm sunlight to reflect off the paint, Extra White will appear cold and stark.
(If you are looking for a very warm white, check out Sherwin Williams Alabaster on our brick home we just moved into!)
Our house has a lot of windows with southern exposure and warm hardwoods throughout, giving us warmth that balances Extra White on all the shiplap, walls and trim.
How much sunlight your rooms get will make a difference in how Extra White looks on your walls! Keep reading because this paint does look different in darker spaces.
Sherwin Williams Extra White Trim Paint
Extra White is an ideal white trim paint choice for a crisp clean result. No need to use an off white to “cover” dirt, instead just use a glossy or semi gloss sheen so you can wipe the white trim down as needed.
But why stop with trim? Painting interior walls, ceilings, cabinets and trim all the same color works well. Just use different sheens on the trim to differentiate.
We used Extra White on our living room trim and shiplap as well. Because my painters used oil based paint, it wipes down easily with a damp rag. Latex paint in works great too however, and I was surprised when I saw them using oil. If you have trim or moldings in place of drywall, paint them with a semi gloss sheen so you can wipe it doesn’t easily.
souces: Lamp
In very dark rooms, Extra White could read cold! We have so much warm sunlight and warm hardwoods in our downstairs, Extra White looks so nice in this room. Scroll down to see how it looks in a darker north facing room.
All those photos show the extra white in my home on the trim, shiplap, railings and ceilings in various sheens.
Extra White Trim In A Kitchen
A common problem people run into with white kitchens is making sure all the whites work together. This isn’t just walls; this could mean counters, cabinetry, backsplash and trim.
Our cabinets came from the manufacture a warm white. On their own, the cabinets appear a crisp white! Next to the warm quartz, they look great – both are warm whites. Once we put the cabinets next to a clean white like Extra White, the cabinets appear off white. It is not too noticeable in real life, but I catch it in photos. I don’t mind cream cabinets, but I was going for a cooler white kitchen in this space.
(Read about our white oak hardwood floor stain colors here)
I kept the trim Extra White trim so that it didn’t have a different look from the rest of the home. Of course, that means it doesn’t match the cabinetry or in my opinion compliment it, and I had to make peace with that.
The kitchen island is Sherwin Williams Krypton- it might look gray in some pictures but it is a true blue with undertones of gray. Read all about our decision to paint the island krypton – and eventually pantry door – here.
More Extra White trim and moldings in our dining room below.
Shop The Room: Rug | White Console Table | white chairs
In our bedroom the board and batten trim work is Extra White by Sherwin Williams in an oil based paint.
Our guest bath uses Extra White on the shiplap and Benjamin Moore Hale Navy on the vanity. If you like this coastal combo, you have to take a peek at my post painting our bathroom cabinets Hale Navy here:
Extra White In Rooms That Face North
My son’s room is Extra White on the walls. His room and windows face northwest. The paint looks clean, and fresh in the mid afternoon. In the morning when the room has its’ least amount of light, the walls look colder with bluish undertones.
See His: Rug | Stools | Flag Art
In our son’s coastal room we used SW Ice Cube on the bottom and Extra White on top, both in a flat. His room does face north with only two small windows- so Ice Cube reads very cool; a bluish gray, and Extra White looks like a cold, clean white.
sources: similar bed (a dupe, original no longer sold from Crate and Barrel) | rug | similar dresser | hamper | art
What’s The Best Sherwin Williams White Colors For North Facing Rooms?
Most rooms that face north will already have a cold hue on the wall. Any paint with a blue or cool undertone will be made stronger. Try warm whites, creams, or a warm gray like Agreeable Gray, or Accessible Beige.
Alabaster is an off-white paint color that looks white on its own. Never cold or stark, this white has neutral beige undertones that come out especially in cool toned rooms. This makes Sherwin Williams Alabaster my ideal white paint color for a northern room! Read about our brick painted SW Alabaster here!
Make sure to bring warm colors into the room with the furniture – like brass and wood tones – to help even more.
Extra White Vs. Pure White
Extra White is often compared with Pure White, as they are both clean, crisp whites with a balanced undertone. Extra White is the brighter of the two, and the cooler, with an LRV of 86. I strongly wouldn’t recommend the use of either of the two together. They are too close in color that it won’t look intentional! Just pick one white – no need to complicate. If you are afraid Extra White might be too stark, choose Pure White.
Exteriors With Extra White Sherwin Williams
Let’s start outside on our exterior! For the siding, brick AND the trim we went with our favorite white, Sherwin Williams Extra White.
I had concerns before we had it painted that it would feel “too bright” on the eyes in a bad way, or blinding in the sun. But the shade is lovely – and the best part is it always looks clean, not dingy.
We get heavy pollen in North Carolina so we power wash the home each spring. It is probably only necessary every two years. Pop over to this post here to read more about painting and maintenance of white brick.
Here is Extra White under a mountain of snow- a rare occurrence in North Carolina. Is anything whiter than a fresh snowfall? The siding and brick look just like the snow. It doesn’t appear dingy against the snow or the gray sky. It still looks like a fresh white!
The shutters are painted Sherwin Williams Uncertain Gray. Read about that Uncertain Gray on our exterior here. The roof is a light silver gray- the shingles Certainteed and the color is their “Silver Birch”.
How To Know If SW Extra White Is Right For Your Home
Since Extra White is a clean white on the cool side, with a slight gray cast, pay attention to how much sunlight your home gets.
- If your home is dark and faces north, Sherwin Williams Extra White will appear cool and not warm.
- If you gravitate towards cooler colors like black, grey, blue and cooler tones whites, Extra White will be a favorite
- If you have warm sunshine and a warm house, Sherwin Williams Extra White will look balanced
If you enjoyed this you might also like reading about Sherwin Williams Krypton in My Kitchen, or Building Our Home, or take a peek at Our Coastal Kitchen.
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Sherwin Williams Krypton in My Kitchen
Sherwin Williams Alabaster On Our New Home
Building Our Home: 5 Things I Didn’t Know
