White Metal is a beautiful, light, silvery gray. It should top your list for subtle true grays from Behr!
Here we will see White Metal in real homes, get coordinating colors, discuss that pesky undertone, and fetch some dupes!
What Color is Behr White Metal (N520-1)
White Metal is what you might picture if you are thinking of a true silver paint color. It’s dark enough to not be an off-white, but you might not realize how dark it is until you see white next to it.
LRV and RBG of Behr White Metal
The LRV of White Metal is 63.
What’s an LRV anyways?
The LRV 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.
At 63, White Metal is darker than any off-white paint colors, but it’s on the lighter end of most whole-home wall colors.
Behr lists the RGB of White Metal as Red 209, Green 209, Blue 207.
Using the RGB from Behr, the hex code for White Metal is #D1D1CF.
What Are the Undertones of White Metal?
The undertones of White Metal are a little complicated. You can see from the hex chart that it’s in the yellow color family, but in reality this color is sooo gray that the color family doesn’t matter much.
So what are the undertones then?
Used on it’s own, or paired with warmer colors, White Metal will have subtle purple undertones.
Used with truly cool colors, it will look like a true gray, or have the slightest greigey undertone.
We will see more on this when we look at trim and real life photos.
I really don’t want a purple undertone to scare you though! White Metal is certainly still gray, and I happen to like a purple undertone more than beige sometimes.
Is White Metal Warm or Cool
The question of the hour! I would say that White Metal most often looks cool.
Technically a purple undertone can read slightly warmer than a blue gray, but generally plan on it looking cool.
The Behr White Metal Color Strip
Let’s take a look at all of the colors on this Behr color strip:
- White Metal (N520-1)
- Silver Bullet (N520-2)
- Flannel Gray (N520-3)
- Cool Ashes (N520-4)
- Iron Mountain (N520-5)
- Asphalt Gray (N520-6)
- Carbon (N520-7)
Behr White Metal Color Palette
Here is a color palette for White Metal, featuring all Behr coordinating colors:
Coordinating Colors for Behr White Metal
Diamonds Therapy
Diamonds Therapy is an underrated Behr white that is warm but also decently gray, which keeps it nice and neutral.
If you don’t want White Metal to look purple, this is the warmest that I would go with a coordinating white. Anything with an especially warm undertone (particularly yellow) may emphasize that purple undertone.
Read my post about this color here: Behr Diamonds Therapy Review and Comparison
Perfect Taupe
It’s a bit hard to pick a coordinating neutral for White Metal since:
- You are probably considering White Metal as your neutral
- Warm neutrals emphasize the purple
I went with Behr Perfect Taupe, since taupes often also have purple undertones. This combo should allow Perfect Taupe to look more beige, and White Metal to look more gray.
Iron Mountain
Behr Iron Mountain (not to be confused with the Benjamin Moore color of the same name) is a deep gray that also has subtle purple undertones. This will allow White Metal to look like a true gray.
Extreme
Behr Extreme is another coordinating color that has a very slight purple undertone. Blue is a hard color to use with White Metal and still have it looking gray, but this combo should do the trick.
Extreme also works as a complementary color for White Metal, as it is across the color wheel. This color also happens to be very similar to the Benjamin Moore Blue Nova (their “Color of the Year” for 2024).
What Trim Colors Go With Behr White Metal?
White Metal is a little bit tricky to pair with a trim white. You definitely don’t want to go with an overly warm white as I mentioned earlier. This will emphasize White Metal’s purple undertones a lot, and the color will probably not look at all like you had planned.
You can see here that the popular warm white Swiss Coffee clashes a lot with White Metal (in my opinion), and to a lesser extent, so does Polar Bear:
White Paint that Goes with White Metal
So what white is a good match?
My suggestion is to use a slightly darker, cooler white with White Metal, such as Vibrant White. This one helps White Metal look nice and neutral.
Behr Ultra Pure White is a nice bright white that will help White Metal look like a true plain gray.
If you really want to use a warmer white, Diamonds Therapy is a slightly grayer option that shouldn’t make White Metal look too purple.
Behr White Metal for Your Home Interior
Moving on to the fun part, let’s see how White Metal looks in real homes!
Behr White Metal in the Living Room
First up, we have White Metal looking subtle and lovely in Samantha’s house (@comfyandcozyathome):
When I say that White Metal has a purple undertone, this is all I’m talking about. It’s nothing to write home about, and nobody will think your walls are actually purple.
I see it, but maybe you don’t. I happen to have used a very similar color in my own home before, so I just know exactly how this translates.
In this next photo of Samantha’s living room, the undertone looks slightly more blue:
Here is one last shot where White Metal looks very neutral.
You can see the undertone a bit more under the window.
Behr White Metal in the Kitchen and on Cabinets
Really quickly before we see cabinets painted in White Metal, here are kitchen walls in White Metal with white cabinets:
I think the cabinet paint is a very cool white, because White Metal looks very much gray here.
Moving on to cabinets themselves, this kitchen will have you doing a double take:
Yes, these cabinets are White Metal. They were refinished by Daniel (@calo501). You can see that the walls are a darker blue gray and it really makes White Metal look as light and warm as possible.
Behr White Metal on an Exterior
Unfortunately for us, there aren’t a lot of people sharing their fabulous White Metal projects. When it comes to exteriors we just have to do our best.
Luckily I have seen SW Passive (one of our White Metal dupes) on an exterior, so I do know what to look for.
White Metal is actually a pretty light color, and every color looks lighter and more reflective outside. You can expect White Metal to be a very subtle gray off-white.
This is a pretty good example of how White Metal will look on an exterior:
The only way you can tell this is gray, is because of the subtle contrast with the white trim around the windows.
White Metal Compared to Other Light Gray Paint Colors
Behr White Metal vs Silver Bullet (N250-2)
As we saw when we looked at the color strip, Silver Bullet is one shade darker than White Metal. It’s LRV is 56.
Behr White Metal vs Silver Drop (790C-2)
Behr Silver Drop is lighter and much more beige than White Metal:
You can see more from this color here: Behr Silver Drop Will Keep You Guessing!
Behr White Metal vs Dolphin Fin (790C-3)
Dolphin Fin is actually the shade darker than Silver Drop on the same color strip. It is a little bit darker than White Metal, and again more beige.
That being said, Dolphin Fin can sometimes have a blueish undertone, so you may want to consider it.
Read more about this color here: The Mysterious Color That is Behr Dolphin Fin
Behr White Metal vs Classic Silver (PPU18-11)
Classic Silver is actually very similar to White Metal in terms of color family, it’s just a good bit darker. It’s in the exact same area of the color wheel.
Behr White Metal vs Platinum/Sterling (PPU26-11 or 780-3)
Platinum and Sterling are actually the very same color. Compared to White Metal, Platinum is much cooler. It is a green based gray, but does still have a purple or blue undertone.
It is more likely to look blueish than White Metal, and it is also a hair lighter.
I also have a post for this one! : Read This Before Choosing Behr Platinum OR Sterling
Behr White Metal vs Silver Feather (BWC-29)
Technically Silver Feather is in a cooler area of the color wheel than White Metal, but because it is much less gray, it is actually warmer. It is also a little bit lighter.
Silver Feather can have a slightly green undertone.
Behr White Metal vs Silver Shadow (N510-1)
Silver Shadow is a very light blue gray, as opposed to White Metal which is just gray. You can pretty clearly see the difference between these two:
If you like this look, you might also like Sherwin Williams Upward.
Dupes for Behr White Metal
Looking for White Metal in another brand?
Here are the best color matches from Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams, and Valspar:
Benjamin Moore White Metal Equivalent
From Benjamin Moore the best color match for White Metal is the shade Cement Gray.
Benjamin Moore Cement Gray (2112-60)
Cement Gray is just a little bit warmer and darker than White Metal.
Valspar (Lowe’s) Equivalent to White Metal
Neither of my Valspar dupes are perfect today, and both are just a touch warmer than White Metal. Normally if I can’t find a super close match I would choose one warmer and one cooler, but all of the similar Valspar grays were quite blue when they were cooler.
Valspar Tempered Gray (4004-1A)
Tempered Gray is a little bit warmer, lighter, and less gray than White Metal.
Valspar Filtered Shade (4003-1B)
Filtered Shade is also a little warmer than White Metal, in addition to being slightly darker. Technically Filtered Shade is warmer than Tempered Gray too, but it is less saturated so that keeps it from getting too greige.
Sherwin Williams Equivalent for White Metal
From Sherwin Williams the closest dupe for White Metal is the color Passive.
Sherwin Williams Passive (SW 7064)
Passive is a tiny bit darker and cooler than White Metal. I do find that it looks very similar in real life.
Here are all of the color matches again:
White Metal Pros & Cons
White Metal is perfect if you want a truly gray paint color that is nice and light and doesn’t ever look greige.
Pros
- A subtle barely-there gray for cabinets
- Totally blank canvas for your other decor
- Light but not an off-white
Cons
- Probably not “enough” on an exterior
- Slight purple undertone
Not the one for you? Check out these other posts: