White Bathroom Paint: Three Shades and What to Pair Them With
The best white wall paint for a bathroom is a light white with an LRV above 70, so the room bounces light back. This page shows three whites measured from museum paintings, a neutral, a cool and a warm one, plus colors from the same paintings to pair with them.
Quick answer
Use the neutral white #E8E8E8 on walls and ceiling, and the warm white #E4E0CD on a vanity or cabinet. Add the sand, brick red and dark olive in small doses.
Every color on this page was measured from one of these public-domain paintings.
Shades of white
#E8E8E8LRV 81
Neutral Soft White
Use it on bathroom walls and ceiling. At LRV 81 it bounces the most light of the three and has no clear undertone. It comes from the Teotihuacan Mural Fragment Depicting a Maguey Bloodletting Ritual, and the closest match measured is Sherwin-Williams SW 6252 Ice Cube.
Best on walls in a bathroom with good daylight, where its blue undertone reads clean. LRV 77. It comes from George Hitchcock's The Annunciation, and the closest match measured is Sherwin-Williams SW 6497 Blue Horizon.
A softer wall color, or a good choice for a painted vanity, next to beige tile, brass or wood. LRV 74, with a warm yellow undertone. It comes from Vigée Le Brun's portrait of the Comtesse de la Châtre, and the closest match measured is Sherwin-Williams SW 6175 Sagey.
Use it for a rug, floor tile or a painted door. At LRV 61 it is still light enough to keep the room open. It comes from Alvaro Pirez's The Presentation in the Temple, and the closest match measured is Sherwin-Williams SW 9101 Tres Naturale.
Keep it to small wood pieces such as a stool, mirror frame or shelf. At LRV 10 it is very dark and stands out against white walls. It comes from the Teotihuacan Mural Fragment Depicting a Maguey Bloodletting Ritual, and the closest match measured is Sherwin-Williams SW 6334 Flower Pot.
Best in towels or a bath mat, because it has no close commercial paint match. At LRV 2 it is almost black, with a warm yellow undertone. It comes from George Hitchcock's The Annunciation.
The same paint reads differently in cool north light, warm south sun and under evening lamps. Find the column closest to your room.
Color
Neutral daylight
North light
South light
Evening lamps
Neutral Soft White
Cool Blue White
Warm Yellow White
Light Sand
Try these colors in a room
Pick which color goes on the walls, the big furniture and the bold piece. Floors, shadows and trim follow your choice.
The framed picture on the wall is Mural Fragment Depicting a Maguey Bloodletting Ritual.
Which white should I choose for a bathroom wall?
Start with the undertone, then check the LRV. All three whites here are light, but they pull the room in different directions.
The neutral white, #E8E8E8, has an LRV of 81. It bounces the most light and shows no clear undertone, so it is the safest choice for a bathroom with gray tile, chrome fixtures or a white tub. The closest match measured is Sherwin-Williams SW 6252 Ice Cube.
The cool blue white, #D5E7E6, has an LRV of 77. It suits a bathroom with plenty of daylight, where a hint of blue reads clean and fresh. In a dim room it can feel chilly.
The warm yellow white, #E4E0CD, has an LRV of 74. It is the kindest to beige tile, brass and wood. It is also the darkest of the three, so it bounces a little less light in a small windowless room.
If you can't decide, pick the neutral white for the walls and bring the others in elsewhere.
What goes with white bathroom walls: trim, ceiling and floors?
Pair the wall white with colors from the same paintings and the room hangs together.
Trim and ceiling: if your walls are the cool blue or warm yellow white, keep the trim and ceiling in the neutral white, #E8E8E8. The trim then looks crisp against the wall. If the walls are already #E8E8E8, use the same color on the ceiling to keep the room bright and calm.
Floors and vanity: the warm yellow white, #E4E0CD, works well on a painted vanity or cabinet. The light sand, #E0CAB1, has an LRV of 61 and suits a rug, floor tile or a painted door. It is light enough to keep the room open.
Wood and accents: the deep brick red, #8E4033, has an LRV of 10. Use it in small doses, such as a wood stool, a mirror frame or a shelf. The dark olive, #2A2814, has an LRV of 2 and no close commercial match, so use it in towels or a bath mat instead of paint.
Keep the dark colors to one or two pieces. Against white walls, they read strongly.
How do these whites look in bathroom light?
Bathroom light changes a white more than most rooms do, because there is often one small window and a mirror.
In a room with strong daylight, the cool blue white, #D5E7E6, looks clear and airy. In a room with little daylight, the same color can turn gray-blue, so the neutral #E8E8E8 or the warm #E4E0CD holds up better.
Artificial light matters too. Warm bulbs add yellow, which makes the neutral white look creamier and the warm white look more yellow. Cool bulbs do the opposite and push every white toward blue. Pick your bulbs first, then judge the wall.
A wall with an LRV of 81 bounces the most light back, which helps in a small room with a single vanity light. The whites at 74 and 77 are close in brightness, so let the undertone decide.
Nearby colors reflect onto white as well. A brick red wood piece, #8E4033, can warm the wall beside it, and the sand, #E0CAB1, can make a cool white look slightly warmer.
How do I test white paint samples in a bathroom?
Test every color on the wall where it will live, not on a small card in the store.
Paint a sample board or a patch about two feet square. Do two coats and let it dry fully before you judge it. Wet paint looks different from dry paint.
Move the board around the room. Check it beside the tile, next to the mirror, near the window and by the vanity light. Look at it in the morning, at midday and in the evening with the lights on. A white that looks right at noon may look flat or yellow at night.
Test the three whites side by side, and add the sand or brick red if you plan to use them. Seeing the colors together shows the undertone far better than one patch alone.
The paint matches on this page are the closest measured to each painting color. They are not exact copies, so compare a real sample with the hex swatch above and trust what you see in your own room. Leave the samples up for a few days.
FAQ
What is the best white paint for a bathroom wall?
For most bathrooms, the neutral white #E8E8E8 is a safe choice. It has an LRV of 81 and no clear undertone, and the closest match measured is Sherwin-Williams SW 6252 Ice Cube. Choose the warm #E4E0CD for beige tile or wood, and the cool #D5E7E6 for a bright, sunny room.
What does LRV mean for white wall paint for a bathroom?
LRV is light reflectance value, from 0 for black to 100 for white. Above about 60 a color reads light and bounces light. The three whites here measure 81, 77 and 74, so all of them keep a bathroom bright.
Should bathroom trim be the same white as the walls?
It can be. Using the same white gives a calm, even look. If your walls are the cool or warm white, trim in the neutral #E8E8E8 will look crisper.
Can I use a dark color in a white bathroom?
Yes, in small amounts. The brick red #8E4033 (LRV 10) works on wood pieces, and the dark olive #2A2814 (LRV 2) works in towels or a mat. The dark olive has no close commercial paint match.
Which white is best for a small bathroom with no window?
The neutral #E8E8E8 bounces the most light at LRV 81, so it is the best starting point. If it feels too stark, try the warm #E4E0CD, and test both under the bulbs you plan to use.
Save these colors
A card with every color on this page, its LRV and the paintings it comes from. Pin it, or take it to the paint store.
Painting images: The Art Institute of Chicago, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, public domain (CC0).
Colors measured by Light & Pigment. Paint names belong to their brands and matches are approximate. Colors look different on screen than on a wall, so always test a sample.
From Mural Fragment Depicting a Maguey Bloodletting Ritual, Teotihuacan
