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This Sherwin Williams Color is Literally Named “Creamy” but Can You Take it at Face Value? (Undertones and Dupes!)

    Sherwin Williams Creamy sounds perhaps too convenient, but it might just be the perfect creamy white for your next project!

    Sherwin Williams Creamy swatched over a photo of the color in a dramatic arched hallway in the same color.
    Photo credit: @kristinhazendesign

    Here we will talk about Creamy’s pesky undertones, get some coordinating color ideas, see it in real homes, and finally, go over some comparisons and dupes!

    What Color is Sherwin Williams Creamy?

    Sherwin Williams describes Creamy like this:

    “This bright white has the softest of yellow undertones to create a subtle warmth in the room.” – sherwinwilliams.com

    Let’s get one thing straight, Creamy is not a bright white. Not only does it have relatively strong undertones, it has an LRV of 81.

    Sherwin Williams Creamy on upper kitchen cabinets and Sherwin williams Cyberspace on lowers.
    Photo credit: @finishingroommke

    What’s an LRV you ask?

    The LRV (Light Reflectance Value) of a color indicates on a scale of 0 – 100 how much light a color reflects (or doesn’t reflect). True black has an LRV of 0 and pure white has an LRV of 100.

    In the paint world, we are working in a range of about 3 – 93 because no paint color is purely black or completely white.

    Sherwin Williams Creamy plotted at 81 on an LRV chart showing the LRV scales of white and offwhite paint colors.
    Background photo: @kristinhazendesign

    At 81, Creamy is only a true white depending on who you talk to, the weather, my mood, etc. My rule of thumb is typically that true white paint colors have an LRV of 82 or higher.

    Personally, I would describe Creamy as an off-white. It can look fairly white, but you would never confuse it for a straight-outta-the-can white. It very obviously has pigment in it.

    Sherwin Williams Alabaster is a soft white that does a better job of flipping between creamy white and true white.

    What Are the Undertones of Sherwin Williams Creamy?

    Creamy’s undertones range from yellow to beige, and sometimes a little peach (which is sort of in-between).

    Sherwin Williams Creamy undertones looking different in two different homes.
    Left:@marandapenner Right: @kristinhazendesign

    I put together this graphic to show the more extremes of each, but we will see more pictures when we get to real homes in just a minute!

    Creamy in the Sherwin Williams Color Strip

    The color strip that features Creamy isn’t exactly a traditional light to dark collection, but instead several creamy white to off-white options.

    Color strip for Sherwin Williams Creamy features other white and off whites. Colors from top to bottom are Whitetail, Dover White, Creamy, Aged White, Neutral Ground, Canvas Tan, and Patience.
    Background photo: @kristinhazendesign

    I have already covered Whitetail and Dover White.

    Sherwin Williams Creamy in a Color Palette

    Here are the coordinating colors that I recommend using with Creamy:

    Sherwin Williams Creamy in a color palette with coordinating colors Silvermist, Grays Harbor, Cheviot, and Antler Velvet, over a background of leaves, crushed crystals, and stone.

    Coordinating White Paint Color for Creamy

    Since Creamy is technically riiight on the edge of white and off-white, you can use Creamy as your white paint. If you want some contrast however, I recommend Sherwin Williams Cheviot.

    Paint dot swatch of Sherwin Williams Creamy beside the same of Sherwin Williams Cheviot.

    Cheviot has a very similar undertone to Creamy, but it is a nice light white. The problem with Creamy being almost white, is that you will have to go quite light in order to see that contrast. With an LRV of 89, Cheviot is up there!

    Try Creamy with Sherwin Williams Grays Harbor

    Grays Harbor is a beautiful murky gray blue that can have green undertones, or it can look like a true blue.

    Paint dot swatch of Sherwin Williams Creamy beside the same of Sherwin Williams Grays Harbor.

    Blue is complementary to Creamy, but one that leans a little bit green like Grays Harbor is a good choice to stop Creamy from looking too buttery.

    Neutral Paint Color to Use with Creamy

    Because Creamy is so warm, you wouldn’t want to use a neutral that is too gray. Greiges are tempting, but the result would have Creamy looking very warm, and your neutral looking quite gray.

    Paint dot swatch of Sherwin Williams Creamy beside the same of Sherwin Williams Antler Velvet.

    For this reason, I went with the true beige of Sherwin Williams Antler Velvet. On paper, it is a bit warmer than makes me comfy, but then again, so is Creamy. These two work very well together, and as a team they will actually help each other look a bit more neutral.

    Pair Creamy with Sherwin Williams Silvermist

    I decided to go a little cooler toned with the coordinating colors in this palette (besides the neutrals), because they are complementary to Creamy, but also I feel like it’s fairly easy to pair cream with other warm colors.

    Paint dot swatch of Sherwin Williams Creamy beside the same of Sherwin Williams Silvermist.

    Choosing the right cool tones? That’s a little harder! Sherwin Williams Silvermist is the perfect cool toned gray blue-green that is colorful enough to bring some freshness into your space, but not too harsh against Creamy!

    Take a Look at Creamy for Your Home’s Interior

    Now let’s get into the fun stuff, and see Creamy in some real homes! First up is a home by Kristin (@kristinhazendesigns) that you may have noticed earlier:

    Sherwin Williams Creamy in an arched hallway
    Photo Credit: @kristinhazendesign

    This first photo is a beautiful example of the beige undertone of Creamy. The next one is in the same home, and while the undertone looks similar, it is a little more peach.

    Sherwin Williams Creamy on walls in an entrance beside an arched black wooden front door.
    Photo Credit: @kristinhazendesign

    You can see more of Creamy in the album from this beautiful remodel on Kristin’s website.

    Next we can see the warmer and more yellow undertone of Creamy in this flip house that Maranda (@marandapenner) was working on.

    Creamy walls with white board and batten paneling cover a bright, empty room with dark wood-look laminate flooring, two windows, and a white ceiling fan with a chandelier light fixture.
    Photo credit: @marandapenner

    Now the color on the upper part of the wall is Sherwin Williams Egret White, which you can see is much cooler and more gray than Creamy, so we would expect this to bring out the warmest undertones.

    Creamy walls with white board and batten paneling cover a bright, empty room with dark wood-look laminate flooring, two windows, and a white ceiling fan with a chandelier light fixture.
    Photo credit: @marandapenner

    This stronger yellow undertone isn’t as common as the rest, but I wouldn’t say it’s unusual or unexpected.

    Creamy on Kitchen Cabinets

    Back to another more beige undertone for Creamy, here we see it looking its most white:

    Creamy upper cabinets and Cyberspace lowers, both colors are lookalikes for Alabaster and Iron Ore.
    Photo Credit: @thefinishingroommke

    The team at The Finishing Room (@thefinishingroommke) paired Creamy upper cabinets with Sherwin Williams Cyberspace on the lowers and island.

    Cyberspace on lower cabinets and Sherwin williams creamy on the upper ones.
    Photo Credit: @thefinishingroommke

    You can see that Creamy looks quite neutral in this kitchen, but not as crisp and bright as a true white would.

    Cyberspace Lower cabinets
    Photo Credit: @thefinishingroommke
    White kitchen with Cyberspace lower cabinets and white countertops
    Photo Credit: @thefinishingroommke

    Finally for cabinets, we see Creamy on all of the perimeter cabinets in this kitchen that was also remodeled by The Finishing Room.

    two tone cream perimeter cabinets in a large open plan kitchen with an iron ore island and warm wood floors
    Photo Credit: @thefinishingroommke

    The island in this case is Sherwin Williams Iron Ore, but it actually looks a bit more like Peppercorn here.

    Sherwin Williams Creamy on an Exterior

    Like most colors, you should expect Creamy to read much lighter outside. It still doesn’t pop in the way that a true white would, but it can look quite white.

    Creamy exterior paint covers a large, two-story Spanish-style house with dark trim and shutters, featuring a large arched window and a two-car garage with a dark panel patterned door under a sunny blue sky.
    Photo credit: @lc.painting.llc

    On this stucco number, Lorenzo and his team @lc.painting.llc used Creamy for the body of the home. Despite it looking quite brown in photos, the garage door and trim are actually Sherwin Williams Black Magic.

    Sherwin Williams Creamy swatched over a photo of the color on a stucco exterior.
    Photo credit: @lc.painting.llc

    Personally, I still see the beige undertone here, but it is definitely subtle and very neutral looking. For some other great exterior options, you will love my post about Stunning White Paint Colors for Classic Brick Exteriors.

    Sherwin Williams Creamy Compared to Other White and Off-White Paint Colors

    I have no doubt that this off-white isn’t the only paint color you are considering, so here are some other fan favorites stacked up against Creamy! (Click to expand.)

    Alabaster and Creamy have incredibly similar undertones, but Creamy is like a slightly “turned up” version. It is also a hair darker than Alabaster.

    Sherwin Williams Creamy on half of a wall compared to Alabaster on the other half behind a wood hall table and wood chair.

    Both Alabaster and Creamy have beige and yellow undertones. Alabaster looks more neutral because it is more gray, and it is less likely to look peach.

    Creamy and Sherwin Williams Dover White look incredibly similar on paper:

    Sherwin Williams Creamy on half of a wall compared to Sherwin Williams Dover White on the other half of a wall behind a gallery of black and white photos.

    Dover White is a little lighter than Creamy, but the major difference between these two, is that Dover White isn’t very likely to look beige. They do have the same peach to yellow undertones, but Dover White is more overtly colorful than Creamy.

    When we are talking about the beige undertones of Creamy, it can look quite similar to Sherwin Williams Greek Villa. However, Greek Villa is a true white and not an off-white.

    Sherwin Williams Creamy on half of a wall compared to Greek Villa on the other half behind a white sofa.

    Although some people do report that they think Greek Villa looks yellow in their homes, I always see beige or maybe peach. On its own, Greek Villa can look like a totally true white with very limited undertones, but Creamy does not.

    Shoji White is much more gray than Creamy, so although the underlying tone is similar, Shoji tends to stay much more neutral.

    Sherwin Williams Creamy on half of a wall compared to Shoji White on the other half behind a round mirror and a floating wood vanity.

    At their most beige, these two will look quite similar. Shoji White is also darker than Creamy, but because of that extra gray, it is actually easier to make Shoji read white.

    Shoji White can lean peach, but not ever yellow.

    Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee is a true white, and not an off-white like Creamy. Therefore it is much more likely to look white.

    Sherwin Williams Creamy on half of a wall compared to Benjamin moore Swiss Coffee on the other half behind a light gray sofa with jewel toned throw pillows.

    Swiss Coffee at its strongest, does look similar to Creamy because it has a creamy beige undertone. I do find that Swiss Coffee can also look a little yellow, or a little peach, but never as obviously as Creamy does.

    Dupes for Sherwin Williams Creamy from Other Brands

    Here are all of the best alternatives to Creamy from each of the major paint players:

    Swatches of Sherwin Williams Creamy and dupes Dover White, Mourning Dove, and Collector's Item, over a background of fluffy whipped cream.

    Creamy in Benjamin Moore 

    Benjamin Moore had a lot of pretty close alternatives to Creamy, but the best color match is their shade Collector’s Item:

    Sherwin Williams Creamy on half of a wall and dupe Benjamin Moore Collector's Item on the other half behind a beige sofa.

    Collector’s Item is just a little lighter and brighter than Creamy.

    Best Behr Color Match for Creamy (Home Depot)

    Not to be confused with the Sherwin Williams version of Dover White, the Valspar version is my Lowe’s dupe for Creamy!

    Sherwin Williams Creamy on half of a wall and dupe Valspar Dover White on the other half behind a white sofa.

    Valspar Dover White is just a whisper darker than Creamy.

    Creamy Equivalent in Valspar (Lowe’s)

    The best dupe for Creamy at Home Depot, is Behr Mourning Dove.

    Sherwin Williams Creamy on half of a wall and dupe Behr Mourning Dove on the other half with a white and black sofa in front.

    Mourning Dove is just a tiny bit more saturated than Creamy, but otherwise the color is the same.

    Here is another look at each of the dupes!:

    Swatches of Sherwin Williams Creamy and dupes Dover White, Mourning Dove, and Collector's Item, over a background of fluffy whipped cream.

    Thank you so much for reading until the end, that really helps my site! I hope this helped you decide if Creamy is the perfect creamy color for you!

    Still not sure? Here are some other great options:

    Swatch of Dover White in a Dover White kitchen with teal backsplash.
    Benjamin Moore White Dove swatched over a photo of an all-white dove living room with big bright windows.
    All of the creamy paint colors from the article that are still white, swatched over a background of creamy white perimeter cabinets and a smoky blue island.