Paint colors for your home, inside and out
White · Bedroom · colors from 5 paintings
White walls with black trim give a bedroom a crisp outline. This page shows two whites, two near-blacks and three warm partner colors, all measured from paintings. The partners keep the contrast from feeling stark.
Quick answer
Use the warm white #EEE0D1 on the walls and the near-black #15100C on the trim or one wall. Add the tan #9A6237 in wood and the cream #CFC7AF in textiles.
A very light neutral at LRV 73, slightly cooler than the other white, good for walls or a ceiling. It was measured from Composition (No. 1) Gray-Red by Piet Mondrian.
From Composition (No. 1) Gray-Red, Piet Mondrian
A very light white at LRV 76 with a warm yellow undertone, the best wall color here. It comes from the portrait of Anna van der Aar by Frans Hals.
From Anna van der Aar (born 1576/77, died after 1626), Frans Hals
A very dark color at LRV 2 with a warm yellow undertone and no close paint match, a softer black for trim. It was measured from Portrait of a Woman by Rembrandt.
From Portrait of a Woman, Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
A near-black at LRV 1 with no close paint match, for trim or a bed wall. It comes from The Arab Sage by a German painter.
From The Arab Sage, German Painter
A light beige at LRV 57 for bedding, curtains or a rug that softens the contrast. It was measured from Flora and Zephyr by Jacob de Wit.
From Flora and Zephyr, Jacob de Wit
A very dark red-brown at LRV 7 for a bed frame or dresser. It comes from the portrait of Anna van der Aar by Frans Hals.
From Anna van der Aar (born 1576/77, died after 1626), Frans Hals
A deep red-orange at LRV 16 for wood, leather or a bench. It was measured from The Arab Sage by a German painter.
From The Arab Sage, German Painter
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pale Pearl Gray | ||||
| Soft Ivory | ||||
| Linen Beige |
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 Composition (No. 1) Gray-Red.
Pick the white first. The soft ivory #EEE0D1 has an LRV of 76 and a warm yellow undertone, so it feels cozy beside black. Its nearest matches are Alluring White from Sherwin-Williams, Creme Fraiche from Behr and Dimity from Farrow & Ball.
The pale pearl gray #DDDED8 has an LRV of 73 and no clear undertone. It looks cleaner and a little cooler. Fleur de Sel from Sherwin-Williams is a near-identical match.
For the black, #15100C (LRV 1) is a true near-black and #2C251C (LRV 2) is slightly warmer. Neither has a close commercial match, so compare a sample against a chip before you buy.
Black trim also hides scuffs near doors, but it shows dust, so plan to wipe it down every few weeks.
Contrast needs a bridge. The linen beige #CFC7AF (LRV 57) works in bedding and curtains and links white to black. Its nearest match is Cargo Pants from Sherwin-Williams.
For wood, the saddle tan #9A6237 (LRV 16) suits a bench or leather chair, and the dark walnut #6D402F (LRV 7) fits a bed frame or dresser. Both sit between the white and the black in tone.
Use black on trim, window frames or a single bed wall, not on everything. A ceiling in the same white as the walls keeps the room open, and a rug in beige softens the floor.
Keep window treatments light, such as the linen beige, so the black frames stay the main outline.
Black trim draws a line around every window and door, so it is most visible in bright rooms. In strong daylight, the contrast between #EEE0D1 and #15100C looks graphic and crisp. In a dim room, it looks softer.
In a north-facing bedroom, the warm ivory helps balance cool light, and the pearl gray can look flat. Under evening bulbs, both whites warm up and the black recedes.
Black paint shows brush marks and dust more than light colors. A satin finish on trim gives a clean edge, and an eggshell on walls keeps the glare down.
If you want a lighter feel, paint only the window trim black and keep doors and baseboards the same white as the walls.
Paint a white sample on the wall and a black sample on a board that you hold against the trim. Look at them together, since the contrast is what you are judging.
Leave the samples up for three days. Check the white at midday and the black at night. Black can look brown, green or blue in different light, and the warm black #2C251C will lean brown more than #15100C.
Paint a short section of trim in two coats before you commit. Black trim shows every flaw in the wall behind it.
Try a black painter's tape line along the wall first. It shows how strong the effect will be before you paint.
Yes. Keep the white warm, such as #EEE0D1, and add beige and wood so the contrast does not feel stark.
The near-black #15100C has an LRV of 1. The warmer #2C251C has an LRV of 2 and leans brown. Neither has a close commercial match.
A warm white such as #EEE0D1 (LRV 76) feels soft. A cooler one such as #DDDED8 (LRV 73) looks cleaner.
Only in a room with good light. A black ceiling lowers the room visually, so most bedrooms do better with a white ceiling.
Beige, tan and brown. Here, #CFC7AF, #9A6237 and #6D402F come from the same paintings as the whites and blacks.
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.
