If you Google or ask ChatGpt what the most popular paint colours are at the moment, Sherwin Williams Alabaster is bound to come up.
I am running another session of my Free Masterclass: Trend Proof Your Dream Home in October due to high demand. Be sure to save your spot!
While it may seem that all those popular votes for Alabaster must mean it’s a great colour, is choosing paint colours based on popularity really the best idea?
Let’s get into it. SW Alabaster is one of the most versatile off whites in my system. But I can count on one hand how many times I’ve specified it for walls.
And what is the difference between off white walls that work (above) and (more often) don’t work as well (below) as you would think?
There are lots of nuances to consider. I’m breaking them down for you in today’s video:
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Would Alabaster be a good color for kitchen cabinets?
Would Alabaster be a good color for kitchen cabinets ? I want a soft cream with no yellow undertones but some contrast with white trim.
Well, I’m here to say that I have Alabaster on all my walls and kitchen cabinets and ceilings. I do have white sheer drapes, white sofas and some pretty good light coming in. Don’t know if that makes a lot of difference but I like it very much. My dining table is medium brown and the chairs are all white. Same for my sofa table which has a white bottom but medium brown top. The rug in my living room is white with red, blue and gold in it. I have a huge picture on one wall of the cow Betsy, and she has many bright colors of red, yellow, green, blue. One of my chairs is a brown leather recliner. I get many compliments on it. I don’t have pets but when I have overnight company like family I do put covers on my sofas. It’s too expensive to have it all redone so I hope it looks okay to others who come to visit.
Must say I disagree. The couple who built this house used multiple types of flooring in spaces visible to one another and there’s a central space with multiple rooms tied together and mostly open to each other. SW Alabaster is perfect and it doesn’t, in fact, turn green as did the last color, in a space facing north and surrounded by leafy, visible treetops. In one of the low light adjoining rooms, it’s more light khaki and didn’t wash out at all. It also works in 2 bathrooms with other paint colors and multiple tile types (the pair who built the house must have had a lot of fun at tile and flooring stores) and little natural light. SW Alabaster manages to bridge all the disparate surfaces, furnishing types, cabinets, and sun orientations with grace and ease. I had no idea it was trendy; it’s perfect here.
As always, thanks for sharing your insights and helping us avoid stumbling into regrettable decisions. What about Benjamin Moore Alabaster? It is a warm white with pink undertones. I am considering Benjamin Moore Alabaster for a bedroom (Oregon coast) where I will have a “Clouded Mural” from Anewall installed (based on a “Sky Study” watercolor painting by James Ward, British artist 1769-1859). The mural has mostly soft blue-green colors, but the sky has wispy pinkish clouds (which aren’t shown in the online photos from Anewall). So I figured a warm white with pink undertones would not “fight” with the mural. I prefer a warm creamy color with yellow undertones, but the Samplize ivory samples didn’t quite look right next to the mural. The bedroom has north and east windows. White and cream are so vexing! The adjacent main room wall color (living/dining/kitchen) is SW Sea Salt, with warm SW Whitetail for ceiling.
Many years ago, shortly before I discovered Maria, I was considering a rental that was being painted a hideous color. I said it was a dealbreaker unless it was an off-white, so the maintenance director let use an SW fan deck and pick what I wanted.
I had been trained in the 1980’s as a color consultant so I knew about undertones. My main goal was to minimize the pink tone of the bleached oak cabinets. After a lot of online research, and comparison of color chips, I landed on Alabaster. It did help with the cabinets and was perfect for the other walls.
Although mostly north-facing, the living area had pretty good light. Our furniture was colorful (red toned sofa, purple bedspread) though. However I had a lot of wall
decor. I really loved it. But I think the key was that I chose it very intentionally (not because of popularity) for a particular purpose.
Many years ago, shortly before I discovered Maria, I was considering a rental that was being painted a hideous color. I said it was a dealbreaker unless it was an off-white, so the maintenance director let use an SW fan deck and pick what I wanted.
I had been trained in the 1980’s as a color consultant so I knew about undertones. My main goal was to minimize the pink tone of the bleached oak cabinets. After a lot of online research, and comparison of color chips, I landed on Alabaster. It did help with the cabinets and was perfect
for the other walls.
Although mostly north-facing, the living area had pretty good light. Our furniture was colorful (red toned sofa, purple bedspread), not white, though. However I had a lot of wall decor. I really loved it. But I think the key was that I chose it very intentionally (not because of popularity) for a particular purpose.
Sorry for the double post. I wish you had an edit function! 🙂
Well, darn. We are doing a new build and had six paint colors to choose from. Three were gray so they were a definite no. Other three were Alabaster, Natural Linen and Accessible Beige. I have AB in one room now but would not want it everywhere. NL is too close to the Divine White I’ve had for 8 years in current house. So, Alabaster it is. I do have an off-white sofa and plan to get off-white chairs with blue as the main accent color. Kitchen will have off-white cabs. Theres is plenty of light so fingers crossed it all works, at least in the open areas.
I personally love alabaster too but the yellow is noticeable depending on hard finishes. I let my countertops and fireplace lead that. We landed on shoji white. It’s very similar, very flexible, but less yellow. Good luck.