Get all the details about one of my favorite paint colors, Benjamin Moore Navajo White (not to be confused with the Sherwin Williams color of the same name).
We’ll show you this color used in our home, at various times of the day, for a complete review that will make your paint color decision oh-so-easy!
Navajo White is a beautiful and rich creamy white that is timeless and fresh.
This color feels a little tricky because Benjamin Moore changed the color code of it a couple times through the years, so you’ll see it noted as OC-95 or 947. Rest assured, it’s the same color.
Another reason this color feels a little tricky is because it changes so much throughout the day. I love it as a rich cream, as well as a more bleached out warm white.
With that in mind, you’ll see the color in varying lighting throughout this post. It’s rich and creamy, with strong yellow undertones – though it never feels like an actual yellow. Want to learn more? Keep reading!
Why You’ll Love this Paint Color
We first used Benjamin Moore Navajo White in the North facing mudroom and mudroom bath. This paint color is frequently used by one of my favorite designers, Phoebe Howard. Don’t miss my favorite Warm Whites!
I studied the spaces she used it in and felt it would be a great fit for all the newfound natural light we had in those spaces. I was right! It’s a stunning color – day and night.
It was our hope when we purchased our current home we would use just 1-2 paint colors for the entire home. However, the lighting is vastly different in different areas of our home, so I used several different shades of cream to best fit each space.
Our sizable well-lit breakfast room needed something a bit warmer than the Sherwin Williams Zurich White we had initially painted it. After the roof leaked not once, twice, but three times (after being replaced!), we decided to finish the room to our initial vision.
Having loved it in the mudroom, we decided to use it in the North-facing breakfast room. It was very pretty in that room, though I liked it best it in daytime rather than evening, where it felt significantly more yellow.
While we’ve since painted that room in a brighter white with less yellow undertones, we’ve kept this color in other spaces, because it’s just right!
Benjamin Moore Navajo White OC-95
You can learn more about our favorite cream color paints here.
Spaces it Works Well In
- Open concept spaces
- Rooms with a significant amount of natural lighting
- North-facing rooms
- This can also be a good color for rooms with that face east in the afternoons (western morning sun).
Makes a Room Feel
- light
- warm
Undertones
- yellow (more so than many of my favorite cream paint colors)
Styles it Fits
- traditional
- country cottage
- farmhouse
Benjamin Moore Navajo White LRV 78.26
The LRV of a color is important, because it showcases how much light is reflected on a simplified scale. Learn more in our guide to What is LRV?
Knowing the LRV of a color can also help you make a more educated comparison!
With an LRV of 78, this color is comparable to Soft Chamois at 78.94, and Sherwin Williams Zurich White, which has an LRV of 76.
Tips
- Paint the ceiling in the same color (can use a different sheen). We learned this lesson the hard way – when we painted our ceiling with a traditional bright white ceiling paint, it made this color feel too yellow in our breakfast nook.
- Paint moulding (like our picture frame moulding or board and batten) in the same paint color, but one sheen higher.
- Want to pair Navajo White with a gray paint color? Just make sure it’s a deeper, more saturated shade for contrast.
Coordinating Colors
- Try this color with a mushroom paint color for some contrast.
- Pair it with Benjamin Moore Hale Navy for a striking style.
- I don’t recommend pairing this color with a sage green paint color, as greens can bring out the yellow in this shade.
- This color works well with dark grays and blacks, especially if you’re updating a cream kitchen, as shown in the Instagram kitchen below.
Trim Colors
Careful with trim for this color, as going with a lighter warm white can easily make Navajo White look more yellow in comparison.
- For trim, try using this same color, just in the same sheen or one sheen higher. I first discovered this color being used as a trim. I like to paint the ceiling the same color as well, otherwise BM Navajo White will read yellow against stark white ceilings.
- Another option is to do Navajo White on your trim, but just a percentage! Try lightening it to 75% or even 50% to ensure the trim coordinates, with just a slight change in depth.
- Or, use Navajo White on your walls, with a deeper color on the trim. Our favorite Greige Paint Colors will coordinate beautifully as a trim color.
- Sherwin Williams Extra White or Benjamin Moore Simply White would give you more contrast. Because they both have a slight hint of yellow undertones, they will coordinate well but showcase the rich depth of cream in Navajo White.
Painting indoors? You can learn all about choosing ceiling paint and trim paint here! You will also find detailed information about using this color in tile paint and furniture paint.
Find all of our paint colors in our paint palette here and keep track of all of yours here. If you use any of them, please return to share your thoughts!
Thank you for the post Julie. We have just moved in to a new apartment with all walls painted in Bone White (I believe the builders only applied one layer as marks and fingerprints easy stain it). I’m very overwhelmed with all the different tones and undertones available out there. If Bone white is too dark/yellow for us, do you think we can go with Navajo White? The color will be used for a bright NW-W facing living room and no natural light hallway. Thanks!Â
It may be a touch too yellow for you? I highly recommend Soft Chamois – try a sample
We have 2 kitchens in our home with Almond appliances(I know, dated—lol) as well as a bathroom with the same colour in fixtures—-have found that Navajo white is a very good match and looks quite nice as a mono chromatic background for our furniture and accessories. We will be selling in a few months and will be repainting the kitchen—-I think it’s probably best to stick with the neutral Navajo white unless you can suggest a better match with almond appliances—Thanks
I would do the same or if there’s a drawer you can remove, have it color matched. It will make your kitchen look fresh! Best wishes for a quick sale!
I have Navajo white trim through the whole house. I wish I didn’t! Like you say, it is nice in rooms where there is tons of light, but otherwise it looks faded dirty yellow. We are re-doing the kitchen and I am very stuck trying to find a color for the walls to go with the NW (open to the family room and cabinetry all painted NW). Trying to achieve a light and airy, somewhat elegant-beachy look so I want to stay light, but every sample so far looks horrible next to the NW trim. I like creams way better than whites, but not this yellow ! Any ideas of a wall color with NW, maybe a greige that still stays airy but has enough contrast and color to hold the NW yellow at bay?
Soft Chamois is my all time favorite go to. I’ve yet to see it in a room where it didn’t feel just right!
Would Soft Chamois be okay to paint over 18-yr old kitchen walls in Navajo White? We painted our living room in a gray paint, over the Navajo White, and it turned out blue – we’ve actually learned to love it – a soft, serene blue. Now we want to paint the kitchen, and the gray we used is too dark (still looks blue, just darker than living room). What do you think of the Soft Chamois over NW? Thanks!
Actually, some greys read blue, especially in northern light. Painting over Navajo White shouldn’t have made it look blue. I love soft chamois – pick up a quart and give it a try!
I honestly said that if I never see Navajo white again that I would be totally fine with it. Our previous house in Texas had travertine floors and the ceilings and walls were all Navajo White. We had dark alder trim and doors. Because it was such a dark house, the Navajo White looked so yellow. I absolutely hated it and could not wait to paint it. It took five years because some of our ceilings were 24 feet high. It’s interesting that I would have never guessed your rooms were Navajo white. I guess the lesson is that paint truly looks different depending on the light and what’s with it. It looks fab in your home though!!!
Thank you, Sharon! That’s why I’m breaking down colors because they’re not a fit for every room. Navajo White is truly only a fit for spaces with a lot of natural light. I appreciate you sharing your experience so it helps others.
Navajo White is the trim on the exterior of our home! Love it
Oooh, so pretty! I love it for trim, but love your home even more!