Your post was so informative, thank you! I am painting the exterior of my home in peppercorn. I am trying to decide between Sherwin-Williams Pure White or Benjamin Moore Oxford White for my trim. Do you have a suggestion that has it? Seems you have a lot of knowledge about white paint. Thank you!

This means that a smaller number on an eyepiece gives a higher magnification. A 10mm eyepiece would provide twice as much magnification as a 20mm eyepiece. It also means that the same eyepiece gives different magnifications on different scopes. A 10mm eyepiece would be low power on a short-focal-length scope but high power on a long-focal-length scope. For example, on an 80mm short-focal-length refractor, a 10mm might only provide 40x magnification, but the same eyepiece on a 10" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope would give 300x.

Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee has more of a yellow undertone than Sherwin-Williams Pure White. Swiss Coffee is even a bit warmer than SW Alabaster. Pure White also has a slightly higher LRV of 84 compared to Swiss Coffee's 81.90. You can read my full review of Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee (spoiler alert, it's my least favorite of the most popular white wall paint colors).

Extra white vs high reflective whitekitchen cabinets

This was helpful…decided to go with Pure White in our powder room remodel. I have all variations of SW white throughout the house. Thought we would give this a try.

Our guest room is also a north-facing room. But notice how it looks a bit different depending on what time of day the photos are taken and the angle from which they are taken. Kind of crazy, right?! That's why it's so important to follow my tips for choosing paint colors for your home before making any decisions!

Some people paint their trim, ceiling and doors all the same color. I prefer contrasting trim. It all comes down to personal preference. I do have a post about trim color ideas here if you are interested: https://designertrapped.com/interior-trim-color-ideas-that-arent-white/

But then the big question became, “what white wall color should we use?” Our choice was made a bit challenging by the fact that we wanted to work with the existing trim color (Divine White by Sherwin-Williams). Divine White is really not white at all (it's more beige). So we wanted to choose a white color for our walls that would highlight the trim as a contrasting color.

Below you can see how Pure White looks in our bonus room, which is a north-facing room. A North-facing room is where you will see Pure White look the closest to a true white because of how the natural light hits it.

It's always a good idea to use large swatches like Samplize Peel & Stick Paint Samples where you intend to use the color. I've written a full review of Samplize Peel & Stick Paint Samples that you can check out! You can even cut them in half to try on different walls. Just never, ever, ever pick a paint sample based on the paint swatch or photos on the internet alone. It's a recipe for disaster.

This is an important aspect of many eyepieces. Eye relief is the distance from the eyepiece to the observer's eye. The shorter this distance, the more difficult it can be to observe. Also, if the observer must wear eyeglasses, short-eye-relief eyepieces can be very difficult or impossible to use. Long-focal-length eyepieces (usually low power) inherently have long eye relief, so they do not need to be specially designed to increase eye relief. Short-focal-length eyepieces (usually high power), on the other hand, do not inherently have long eye relief and must be specially designed to make them easier to use.

Above: Increasing the magnification may not always result in a better view, especially if the object being viewed is very large

A typical eyepiece collection would include 3 eyepieces: one low power, one medium power, and one high power. The usual magnification range depends on the telescope, but for most scopes the normal range might be from 50x to 250x.

If you are looking for a neutral white paint color, I would definitely consider Pure White! With its high LRV it will make a room feel bright and airy, which a lot of people (myself included) are looking for. It's a versatile color that is a great choice for everything from a living room to a bathroom. It's truly a neutral white with no obvious undertones and the touch of black in the formula keeps it from feeling cold or stark. I have zero regrets about choosing it for our walls!

In South-facing rooms, there tends to be a consistently bright light throughout the day. Pure White is most likely going to show its warmth in a south-facing room. That is certainly true of my home office, which is south facing. But I still find that Pure White doesn't read as too warm in my office.

If you are considering a white wall color, my best advice is to grab samples of several whites including Pure White! Pure White will look different in every home, so make sure to follow my recommendations in this post about how to choose paint colors for testing samples on at least TWO different walls in the same room because it will look different depending on how the light hits them.

Our kitchen is an interior room that gets indirect light from the south. The fact that it gets little natural light makes the high light-reflective value of Pure White (more on that in a moment) really important in this space, especially against the dark cabinets that I painted myself with this super easy DIY cabinet painting method.

I’m glad you found it helpful, Hilary! I have a post on interior trim colors here if you are interested :) https://designertrapped.com/interior-trim-color-ideas-that-arent-white/

Hi Shannon! Most of all walls are painted Pure White by Sherwin Williams and our trim is Divine White by Sherwin-Williams. I love the contrast of the darker trim, but it’s definitely a personal choice. You may want to check out my post on interior trim ideas here: https://designertrapped.com/interior-trim-color-ideas-that-arent-white/ Have a great weekend!

Extra white vs high reflective whiteexterior

Hi Karen. Alabaster might be a good option for you. You can find all of my paint review posts here: https://designertrapped.com/interior-design/paint-color-reviews/

Befores, afters, mood boards, design plans, and more. We've redesigned a ton of rooms and spaces and you'll find them all here.

So helpful!! We move into our new house in late May and the first thing we are doing is painting all of the things! We have huge ceiling heights, so I want something bright and airy. We are going to paint the ceilings the same color (probably Pure White). Next will be deciding on trim color. There are way too many options for this extremely indecisive person!

I have an open concept kitchen/dining/Iiving room. The room has low natural light and I am struggling to find a wall color that will go with SW Alabaster trim. I also was thinking about using Alabaster as my kitchen cabinet color. The trim throughout the house is already Alabaster. What can I use for wall color to go with Alabaster trim and cabinets?

Thank you for this! I have painted 2 previous homes in Sherwin Williams Alabaster, and I’ve loved it! However, in my new home, the kitchen cabinets are a cool white that makes Alabaster look crazy yellow next to them. Also, the kitchen and living room have south facing windows, which just adds to the yellow tone in Alabaster. Fortunately, I tested out a few areas before going all in with Alabaster, but after I decided to NOT use it, I’ve had the hardest time figuring out what to use. What’s on the walls now is a grey-tone, and I hate it! I have been leaning towards Pure White, but two different Sherwin Williams employees have discouraged me from using it, saying I’ll “hate it.” See your photos of your gorgeous home with this color gives me the confidence to do what I was wanting to do with my home!

Hello! We are thinking of using PW on our garage walls and workout room. Do you think PW is a good choice for these areas? They will receive morning sun (east facing). Also, what sheen would you recommend for these high traffic areas? Thank you so much! Your article has been very informative!!

Hi Tasha! I attended the Beautiful Home Beautiful Life Summit. Wonderful! Thanks for the comparisons and explaining the importance of looking at the undertones. We had our kitchen cabinets painted in SW Pure White and trying to decide what color to paint the walls. We would like an off white that would be enough of a contrast to the cabinets but that still feels bright and airy. We get very little light in our kitchen with only a little breakfast nook with a west facing bay window. The cabinets are on the northern wall. Do you think Divine White would work?

Extra white vs high reflective whitecabinets

Hi Don! You do not need to use a special ceiling paint. If your drywall ceiling is already primed, you should be able to have Sherwin Williams Pure White mixed in whatever formula you prefer. As far as the paint sheen for your kitchen, it’s really a personal choice. I have a post on choosing a paint sheen you might find helpful here: https://designertrapped.com/paint-sheen-guide-chart/

So we sampled a few different whites against our trim and narrowed our choices down to Sherwin-Williams Alabaster and Sherwin-Williams Pure White. Pure White came out the winner and we have absolutely loved it. Read on to learn more about this pretty darn near-perfect white wall color!

There are two standard sizes of telescope eyepieces. The sizes are determined by the diameter of the eyepiece barrel that fits into the telescope. The two standard sizes are 1.25" and 2". A third size, 0.965", is a smaller standard that is usually best to avoid (see below).

Hi Corrine! I’ve never used Oxford White–sorry. I absolutely love Sherwin Williams Pure White for interior rooms, but I don’t know that I would use it on the exterior as it will probably read “too white” in the bright, outdoor light. I would recommend Sherwin Williams Alabaster or something similar. You can read my post on it (and see how it looked on the exterior of our prior home) here: https://designertrapped.com/sherwin-williams-alabaster-color-review-with-pictures/ I hope that helps!

High Reflective Whitepaint

Extra white vs high reflective whitekitchen

Pure White is a great choice for living rooms, family rooms, bedrooms bathrooms, walls, trim, ceilings and even cabinetry. It's truly one of the most versatile white paint colors out there. SW Pure White doesn't have any obvious undertones, so it looks beautiful is nearly all lighting conditions. Pure White is my go-to white wall color and the one I most often recommend to people who ask me for my advice.

You can see the samples of Alabaster (top) and Pure White (below) from a couple of different areas we tested them in our home in the photos below. Though they aren't drastically different, you can see how Alabaster is a bit more warm/yellow than SW Pure White, which just reads as neutral. You can also see how both whites look a bit different depending on the facing light.

You'll see what I mean about Pure White being more neutral than SW Alabaster and less stark than SW Extra White. When you look at Pure White next to the bright white printer paper I photographed these paint chips on, you can see that it's far less stark than “true white.”

Thanks for a great post on pure white. I recently decided on PW for my kitchen cabinets. I have cafe matte white appliances, a white oak island, quartz countertops, brass accents, and a European-style cobalt blue range I’m now trying to decide on a warm (but not yellowish) color for my North facing walls that will allow the cabinets to stand out but will not be high contrast. (SW shoji white?, SW Eider white, BM Swiss Coffee?) So I guess I am asking for recommendations of colors that “play well with Pure White” Help! I’m driving myself crazy! Thanks!Karen

Interior trim colors that aren't white are all the rage right now and I wanted to try it because 1) I think it's pretty and 2) it would save us a ton of money if we could avoid repainting all of our trim and doors.

Wondering how Sherwin-Williams Pure White compares to some of the other most popular white wall and trim colors out there? I've got you covered!

But what does that mean when you look at Pure White on walls for example? What your eye sees is a bright, timeless white that is far richer and more interesting than basic builder's white or even compared to Sherwin Williams Extra White.

I’m so glad you wrote this! I found this article because I was searching for pictures of houses with divine white trim. It was too overwhelming to consider painting all the trim, doors, and shutters. Then I thought maybe the contrast would be nice with white walls which is what I really wanted. And I found you! Your home looks beautiful and has given me the confidence to try it myself! Thank you!

This is where you can more easily see what I mean about Pure White still being a pleasant, soft-white than a “true” white. When you compare it to High Reflective White, you can see that Pure white is much softer. High Reflective White has more of a blue undertone, which makes it a cooler hue and can make it look a bit too stark for use in homes (in my opinion).

Take a look at the diagram below. It shows that both a telescope and your eye focus light to a point. Placing an eyepiece at the focal point of a telescope then creates a light beam which is neither converging nor diverging. Your eye can then focus the light beam exiting the eyepiece.

How does SW Pure White compare to BM’s Simply White? I’m trying to decide between these two for our kitchen cabinets. The walls are currently BM’s Cumulus Cloud which won’t be repainted.

Benjamin Moore White Dove is very similar to Pure White, but it is ever so slightly warmer. I would say Benjamin Moore White Dove sits right in between Alabaster and Pure White in terms of its warmth.

Why are eyepieces even necessary? A telescope is an optical system that creates an image, just like a camera lens creates an image on film. In fact, placing a camera at the focus of a telescope will also capture an image, since the telescope becomes the camera lens. But, placing your eye at the focus point of a telescope does not produce an image. Why not? Because your eye is also an optical system. Your eye focuses light just like a telescope does, and it cannot focus on a real image such as that created by a telescope. It requires a virtual image, which is what an eyepiece creates.

Can I use Pure White on the ceilings and walls or is it better to use a special ceiling paint? Do I need a primer with this over a prepped drywall ceiling? And finally what gloss would you recommend in a kitchen? Thanks much! -DonM

Pure White will also look a bit different depending on the paint sheen that you choose (check out my tips for choosing the perfect paint sheen). For example, Pure White in semi-gloss used on trim will look a bit brighter than an eggshell used on walls. If you are curious, all of our Pure White walls are an eggshell finish.

Thank you for this post! I’m definitely going to go with Pure White for our interior walls! Did you use this color on your ceilings too? What color would you recommend for our floor trim? It’s currently white (not sure on the exact color). Thank you!

Sherwin WilliamsHigh Reflective Whitereviews

Hi Lori! Thanks for participating in this year’s summit! I love Divine White on our trim and ceilings, but I think it would be a bit darker than what you are hoping for on your walls. You may want to look into SW Alabaster or Benjamin Moore’s Swiss Coffee. They would both provide some contrast, but would still be bright and airy. I hope that helps!

The final eyepiece size is the one to avoid. 0.965" eyepieces are the standard size for "department store" telescopes. These inexpensive telescopes often frustrate new stargazers, and one of the primary reasons is that viewing through 0.965" eyepieces is all but impossible. Also, standard accessories such as Barlow lenses and filters are not normally available for these eyepieces. And you are usually stuck with the eyepieces that come with the scope since 0.965" eyepieces are rarely sold separately. The difference between a scope with 1.25" eyepieces and one with 0.965" eyepieces is usually the difference between a scope that ends up in the yard showing you the wonders of the universe and one that ends up in the closet collecting dust.

You can also change field of view by simply changing magnification. If the apparent field is kept the same, a lower power eyepiece will give a wider field of view. To view very large objects such as the Andromeda Galaxy or Pleiades star cluster, you need a very large field of view and hence a very low magnification. Field of view is very important for getting the best view.

If you have ever wondered “is Sherwin Williams pure white warm or cool?” you are essentially wondering out its undertones.

love your post. Very thorough and in-depth review. I have decided to choose Pure white as the main paint color for the entire house, Crushed Ice as the accent in living room/ Dining room/stairs, and Dove Tail for Mud room and Media room. Thanks Tasha!

The most important eyepiece characteristic is focal length. This is the number, in millimeters, written on the side of every eyepiece. It allows you to determine the magnification an eyepiece gives in combination with a given telescope. Magnification is determined simply by dividing the focal length of the telescope by the focal length of the eyepiece.

The amount of sky seen through an eyepiece (called the true field of view) is determined by both the magnification and the eyepiece's apparent field of view. Apparent field of view is a design characteristic of an eyepiece design. Some eyepieces have narrow apparent fields and some have wide apparent fields. If the magnification is kept the same (i.e., the eyepieces have the same focal length), an eyepiece with a wider apparent field will have a wider true field.

Hi Shaunta! Glad you found it helpful. We used a creamy beige on our ceilings and trim (Divine White by Sherwin-Williams), which is a bit of an unconventional choice but we love it!

Just did our new interior doors in SW Pure White trim in semi-gloss, done with roller. The case and base will be the same. Doors look great…love the color. The Pure White was a close match to my new kitchen cabinets also. All the interior walls will be SW flat White Duck. Good luck!

Extra white vs high reflective whitesherwin williams

In this post I'm sharing all the details of Sherwin-Williams Pure White – from its LRV, undertones, and how it compares to other popular white paint colors, to help you determine if it's the right shade for your home.

Almost all telescopes are designed to be used with 1.25" diameter eyepieces. Most telescopes will include at least one 1.25" eyepiece. Accessories such as Barlow lenses and filters are designed to thread into the barrel of these eyepieces, so such accessories are also distinguished by size. Good 1.25" eyepieces typically cost $40-200, although there are more and less expensive models.

Pure White is Sherwin-Williams' most popular white color for a reason. If you've read my review of Sherwin-Williams Alabaster Color you may be surprised that I didn't choose it for our current home. Frankly, I was surprised! I told my husband repeatedly that I felt like Alabaster would be the best choice. But then we sampled Alabaster and Pure White against our trim color and Alabaster looked too yellow. It was then that I realized what is so perfect about Pure White. It is a bit cooler than Alabaster and is a crisp white that still manages to feel inviting and soft.

One thing that people often fail to think about when it comings to choosing paint colors is a color's light reflectance value (LRV). Pure White's LRV is 84–the brightest, purest white has an LRV of 100. In other words, the LRV of Pure White is fairly high. That means that it will reflect back a lot of light into the room. That makes it a great choice for any room that you want to feel bright and airy.

This was incredibly helpful! I have a darker trim with yellow undertones I cannot stand. Switching the walls to something cooler but not cold like Pure White looks like it’d really help!! Thank you for putting this together ❤️

The undertones of Pure White are almost non-existent, though the formula does include a bit of yellow as well as a touch of black. The yellow gives Pure White a very slight warmth that keeps it from feeling clinical. Make no mistake, Pure White is a far cry from stark white (stark white walls would be awful, in my opinion). And the gray undertones balance it and keep it from looking too yellowish. I think the touch of black/gray undertones is what really sets Pure White apart from Sherwin Williams Alabaster.

So when we moved into our new house and decided to have all the painting done before moving in, it was pretty easy to decide we wanted all-white walls, at least to start with. Choosing paint colors can be overwhelming before you move into a home, so though I figured we might eventually paint a room or two a different color, white seemed the best way to start in every single room.

As I mentioned farther up in this post, Sherwin-Williams Pure White has very subtle warm undertones that keeps it from feeling clinical. You can pair it with warm wood tones and rich fabrics for a cozy, inviting space, but it also works beautifully with cool colors and materials. In comparison, Benjamin Moore's White Dove has cool gray undertones that can often come across as cold and gray in poorly lit rooms and can make it much more difficult to combine with warm colors and tones.

As homeowners, we all know finding the perfect white paint can feel a bit daunting. There are countless shades of white and undertones to consider, and the last thing we want is to end up with a sterile and uninviting room because we chose the wrong one. Enter Sherwin-Williams Pure White SW7005! Pure White by Sherwin-Williams is a beautiful, neutral white that is a great choice for anyone who wants white walls, trim and/or ceilings. It's bright and crisp but doesn't feel cold or stark. Keep reading to see if Sherwin Williams Pure White SW7005 Paint is the best white paint for your walls!

The second standard size is the larger 2" diameter. Many telescopes will accept these eyepieces, though some telescopes will require an optional adapter. Not all telescopes work with 2" eyepieces. 2" eyepieces are wide-field, low-power eyepieces. Above a certain magnification (which depends on the design), 2" diameter barrels are not required, so not all wide-field eyepieces are 2"--some will still be 1.25" and this is not a disadvantage, just a function of the design. This is a common misconception. Accessories such as filters and Barlow lenses are designed for 2" eyepieces as well. 2" eyepieces typically cost $200-400, with some of the largest and highest quality eyepieces costing around $600. Some inexpensive models are also available for around $100, though these will obviously not have the features or quality of the more expensive eyepieces.

We just had a bathroom redone and the contractor had me pick from SW paints, and because I couldn’t choose I said, just paint everything Pure White. And they did. And I love it! We are now planning to do our whole upstairs in Pure White, as everything is in a horrible denim blue now. My only qualm is deciding if we should do Pure White trim and doors in a different sheen (semi gloss?) or go for the darker trim look. Any suggestions on what would be a nice trim color with pure white? O

Note: I took the photos below on the brightest white surface I could find to give you the most accurate color representation. But remember, the colors you see will vary depending on the screen settings of the device you are viewing this post on. That's yet another reason that it's so, so important to test paint colors in your own home before choosing one!

Above: Increasing the magnification makes the image larger, but the image gets dimmer and the field of view gets smaller

Extra white vs high reflective whitereddit

Eyepieces determine the magnification and field of view of a telescope. Different eyepieces are used to view different objects. Some objects, such as nebulae and star clusters, appear quite large and are best viewed at low magnifications (which give a wider field of view), whereas planets appear very small and are normally viewed with high-magnification eyepieces. One of the most common misconceptions in amateur astronomy is that magnification is the most important aspect of a telescope. In reality, the diameter (aperture) of a telescope determines its power and different eyepieces are used to get the best view of a given object. Often the best view is at a low magnification. Be sure to read the section on Understanding Magnification for more details.

Greek Villa is definitely warmer than Pure White. Snowbound, on the other hand, is a tad more gray and slightly less bright than Pure White.

Pure White by Sherwin-Williams really doesn't have any obvious undertones (more on that later). But it is still creamy and soft enough to feel inviting and not stark or cold. It's still considered to be a warm white, but I don't detect any obvious yellow undertones, which I can see in Alabaster at times.

If you have never heard the term undertones before, I talk about it in this detailed post about how to choose paint colors for your home. The short version is that undertones are the parts of the color you don't really “see.”

Above: Two short focal length eyepieces, one with normal eye relief and one specially designed with long eye relief. Note the difference in the size of the eye lens.

Hi, I'm Tasha. I'm a designer and DIYer currently renovating our 5th home! Here you will find doable DIY projects, home design ideas and how-to tutorials that will help you create a home you love. You can do it, we can help!

Thanks for your article. We chose Pure White based on your recommendations. It is gorgeous with Sherwin Williams Natural Linen!

If you've been around here a while, you know I am a BIG fan of painting interior walls white. We started transitioning to walls when we were still in our old house because I realized somewhere along the way that our colorful artwork and decor stood out more with white walls as the backdrop.

Even when you don’t want to do a full renovation, you can create spaces that you love. Here you'll find all my best design tips.

Hello I found your post on Pure White very helpful and informative. Wondered if I could ask question, if one were to use Pure White on their walls should they also use Pure White on trim ceiling and interior doors in a different sheen or should they use an entirely different white color perhaps like Extra White?