Sherwin Williams Shoji White Undertones and Alternatives (It’s not greige!)

What Color is Sherwin Williams Shoji White? (7042)

Shoji White is a creamy very pale shade of beige. It can sometimes look close to white, but it is not greige!

Should it bother me so much that people are saying it’s greige? Probably not.

I don’t actually care if Shoji White is technically a greige (it’s not), it doesn’t look greige EVER, and that’s what matters.

If you are looking for a soft greige, you would be upset if you tried Shoji White. There is nothing gray about it.

(More on that in just a moment.)

If you are wondering what “shoji” is, it is apparently Japanese paper screens. Like those room dividers that you see sometimes.

What Are the Undertones of Shoji White?

Shoji White is in the orange color family, so it has creamy beige undertones.

I hate to say it, but I have seen it looking a little pinkish or peach on occasion, so you will definitely want to vet it thoroughly in your home, and in your lighting.

(I haven’t seen it often, I only noticed in a couple of photos, and you know how IG is with the filters!)

On exteriors, I wouldn’t say that it ever looks pink or even beige. It looks creamy white.

Shoji White almost never looks yellow, which I think makes it easier to use.

Is Shoji White Warm or Cool?

Shoji White is definitely warm. Sherwin Williams even has it in their “Warm Whites” collection.

There might be situations where Shoji White looks pretty neutral, but I would say it typically looks warm.

LRV of Sherwin Williams Shoji White

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.

The LRV of Shoji White is 74.

True white paint colors usually have an LRV of about 82 or higher. Off-white paint colors tend to have LRVs of around 70 – 81.

Shoji White in the Sherwin Williams Color Strip

I think where people get caught up and call Shoji White a greige, is because the rest of it’s color strip is pretty greige.

One shade darker than Shoji White on the same strip is Worldly Gray, followed by Amazing Gray. It would make sense to assume that Shoji White is a lighter version of Worldly Gray:

The problem with this, is that Worldly Gray and Amazing Gray are on the same plane, but Shoji White is not at all.

I feel like you can plainly see that Shoji White is warmer than those grays, but bear with me as I pretend to be a data scientist! :

You can see that Shoji White is in beige territory, and doesn’t carry on the trend of the next two colors on the swatch. It is well off the line of gray-beige.

I’m not sure why Sherwin Williams has Shoji White where it is. The colors definitely still work together, so maybe that’s why?

Even when you look at the Accessible Beige color strip beside the Shoji White color strip, you can see that Shoji White would fit better there:

Here are the color cards with Aesthetic White and Shoji White reversed:

Better right?

The point is, trust your eyes!

In a final compulsion, I plotted Shoji White, Accessible Beige, and Balanced Beige on an orange hex chart.

Here is the result:

They don’t line up perfectly, but it’s a heck of a lot better than with the greiges!

Anyways, here’s the color strip that I made for Shoji White:

I played around with a bunch of popular creamy whites, and I think that Sherwin Williams White Flour is pretty close to a lighter version of Shoji White.

Accessible Beige is a good darker option after Shoji White, but there was still room for a color in between, so I went with Sherwin Williams Taupe of the Morning.

Shoji White in a Coordinating Color Palette

Here are the fresh and updated colors that I recommend pairing with Shoji White!

Coordinating White Paint to Use With Shoji White

The best contrasting trim and door option to use with Shoji White (in my opinion) is White Flour.

Because they have such similar undertones, White Flour does give a good bit of contrast without highlighting the peach undertones of Shoji (which a lot of other true white colors will).

Pair Shoji White with Cornwall Slate

Sage green is a great way to incorporate color into your palette while staying true to the natural vibe of Shoji White.

For this palette, I went with Cornwall Slate, but you could almost use any sage paint color with Shoji.

If I had been smart, I would have used Sherwin Williams Svelte Sage, but I forgot I had this example of the colors together!:

Neutral Paint Color to Use with Shoji White

Nobody really needs a neutral pairing for Shoji White, because most people are using it as their neutral paint color, but just in case, Accessible Beige is a great option!

Here is an example of Shoji White with Accessible Beige on trim:

Shoji White’s Complementary Color

Like most beiges, the complementary color for Shoji White is in the blue color family.

Technically it would be an equally light blue, but I opted for the smoky and more versatile color Sherwin Williams Outerspace (not to be confused with the charcoal blue of Cyberspace).

In this living room Shoji White has been complemented with lots of blue accents and dark brown tones:

Other White Trim Colors to Use With Sherwin Williams Shoji White

If you are too nervous to put Shoji White everywhere, but you do want it to still look white, choose a creamy white like Greek Villa or Alabaster.

For a bit of a compromise, Snowbound is also a good option.

If you want your trim and doors to pop, choose something like Sherwin Williams High Reflective White, or Behr Ultra Pure White.

This will make Shoji White look like a soft tan or beige color though, and not as creamy or white. So be mindful of that!

Here is Shoji White on the walls, with Sherwin Williams Extra White for the trim:

You may want to experiment with a couple different trim colors before you commit, because the right white pairing will be crucial for getting Shoji White to look how you want it to.

Sherwin Williams Shoji White Cabinets

Besides green, warm neutrals are super hot for cabinets right now. Shoji White does the job well!

Let me take you to a kitchen by our friends from @oakstorydesign. Look away if you don’t want to drool!

You can really see here how Shoji White looks cream with a hint of beige, but it isn’t yellow at all.

If you want Shoji White to look fairly white, like it does on these cabinets, your kitchen will need to have lots of natural light.

By using black handles and pulls, Oak Story Design kept the contrast as high as possible. The creamy white tiles tie in well with Shoji White, in a way that bright white tile would not.

The gray green of Sherwin Williams Retreat looks great with Shoji White!

Not to be an agent of chaos, but here is Shoji White where it does look a tiny bit peach or pink:

If instead of white, you want to bring out the warm beige color of Shoji White on your cabinets, try using brass or gold hardware, and paint your walls a brighter white.

Updating Existing Cabinets with Shoji White

It’s not super hard to make brand new cabinets look amazing, so I was delighted to find these dated oak cabinets refinished in Shoji White by @farmhouse.chic!

This kitchen makes me think English countryside.

Here is another shot:

I wouldn’t personally use Shoji White with stark white appliances, but it looks beautiful with the butcher block countertops.

Sherwin Williams Shoji White for Your Exterior

Shoji White has really become one of my favorite white paints for exteriors.

Here I have collected several examples of different exteriors in this creamy color.

Shoji White on a Brick Exterior

Here is a brick home painted with Shoji White:

Definitely creamy, but it doesn’t look as beige as it can inside.

Shoji White on Siding

Now to the beautiful home of Samantha (@samanthamaree.conner).

Samantha and her husband built their house, and chose Shoji White to finish off the cedar and brick exterior.

The door color is Sherwin Williams Black Magic.

Here is another angle:

I do think Samantha has a warm filter on her photos, so Shoji White should not have those areas that look a little orange in the pictures.

Here is one final look. I think the color is more accurate here, but none are super far off:

Shoji White on Vinyl Exterior Siding

Here is one last exterior in Shoji White.

Jeanette from @offthecuffhome used Shoji White on the siding for her dormers, and Sherwin Williams Greenblack on the trim.

This combination looks great in the curated jungle of her yard.

Shoji White for the Rest of Your Interior

For the rest of the home, let’s take a look at a truly spectacular build by Brandi (@brandandie36).

I already shared a couple of Brandi’s photos near the beginning of this post, when we looked at what color Shoji White really is. Now there is plenty more where that came from!

Shoji White in the Living Room

Here is what we will call the great room, because I mean…it’s pretty great!

This is the kind of house that could sell me any color, to be honest.

You can see that Brandi did end up choosing a whiter white for her trim. I found it useful to scroll so the trim is cut off, and you can picture how Shoji would look as the only white, vs how it looks with the brighter trim.

Here is the same room from in the kitchen:

Beautiful!

Shoji White in a Bathroom

Don’t bother picking up your jaw, Brandi isn’t done.

Here is her hotel spa bathroom:

I mean…

Shoji White for Walls

I want to say this is a hall? But it’s the size of my living room, so I can’t be certain!

Shoji White looks beautiful with that muted brick and herringbone floor.

Are corridors your thing?

Perfect. Here are some more Shoji White walls:

And back to this room, which I shared earlier, but from another angle:

See what I mean? If Shoji White would made my house look this good, I would be filling my trunk with 5 gallon pails of it!

Shoji White in the Bedroom

Moving on to an interior by Donna, here is Shoji White in a more typical home:

Here it is in another bedroom:

Very soft and clean. It reminds me of the warm light of summer.

Shoji White with Bright White

If you were wondering how Shoji White will work with existing true white fixtures and finishes, here it is in a bathroom:

You can see that it is a soft beige, but it doesn’t look white here. Go back and compare it to how it looks in the second bedroom without the contrast.

It’s crazy what a difference it makes!

Sherwin Williams Shoji White Compared to Other White and Off White Paint Colors

Let’s take a look at Shoji White compared to some other popular whites that you may also have on your short list!

Colors are sorted A-Z. Click to expand.

Dupes for Sherwin Williams Shoji White from Other Brands

Need to get your paint from somewhere else? Here are the best colors to get the look of Shoji White at other stores!

Shoji White Benjamin Moore Version – Fossil AF-65

The Benjamin Moore Equivalent of Shoji White is Fossil.

Fossil is just a little bit darker and cooler than Shoji White. This makes it slightly less likely to look peach, and I would say it does look more greige.

Shoji White Behr Equivalent – Cotton Knit (PPU7-11)

The best dupe for Shoji White at Home Depot is Behr Cotton Knit:

These colors are very very similar. The only difference here is that Cotton Knit is technically slightly cooler than Shoji White. I don’t think you would be able to tell though!

Valspar Equivalent to Shoji White

Sadly Valspar discontinued the best dupe for Shoji White, but they do still have a good alternative in Totten’s Inlet.

Totten’s Inlet is a little bit lighter and cleaner than Shoji White. It has a bit less gray in it, so you may find the undertone to be a little stronger.

Valspar Oyster Pearl 7002-2

Valspar used to have a near perfect dupe for Shoji White with their shade Oyster Pearl.

For some unholy reason they have discontinued the color (7002-2) despite keeping 7002-1 and a number of other close shades. I believe you should still be able to ask for Oyster Pearl and they would have the color in their system, but I’m not 100% on that.

Here is another look at each of these dupes: