Creamy By Sherwin Williams: Paint Guide

Do you dream of warm, creamy off-white kitchen cabinets? Check out Creamy from Sherwin Williams. Once you learn all about this color and its undertones, you’ll know whether it’s a good fit for your home!

White paint is anything but simple, thanks to its many different undertones. Plus, there’s the difference between white, off-white, and cream to consider…oh my!

Sherwin Williams Creamy is very, well, creamy. It’s not white. Instead, it’s a creamy warm off-white.

Before we go any further, I need to make a note about creamy paints. Most people want cream but don’t want it to look yellow. Well, here’s the thing: cream isn’t “cream” without yellow!

Fun fact: Cream is actually made from yellow with lots of neutral beige/gray/black added to take it from sunshine yellow to soft cream.

Every cream has a yellow base because that’s the color that imparts its soft creamy color. Thankfully, the neutrals tone it way down and make it more of a neutral color of its own. That said, there are definitely some cream colors that are closer to a buttery yellow cream and others that fall closer to an off-white on the spectrum.

I am a huge fan of finding a few colors that work in many different locations and lighting situations and sticking with them. Right now, I’m taking turns highlighting my list of favorite kitchen cabinet colors! These are whites, off-whites, greiges, and grays that I use time and time again with great success.

This beautiful color has an LRV (light reflective value) of 81, making it a very light color, although not one light enough to be considered white.

Let’s take a deep dive into Creamy from Sherwin Williams and learn about its undertones, colors that pair well, and see it in action in pictures of different homes.

Undertones For Creamy Sherwin Williams

The tricky thing about choosing any white (including off-white and cream) is dealing with the color’s undertones. Seriously, there’s no avoiding them. The best strategy is to learn about the undertones for any color you like and work with them.

It should be no surprise that Creamy’s primary undertone is yellow! However, it’s not as noticeably yellow as other colors, such as Sherwin Williams Dover White.

Sherwin Williams Creamy vs. Alabaster

I find that it helps to compare two similar colors side-by-side in order to get a true sense of what the color looks like. That’s especially true of any color in the gray or white families!

If you look at these two colors side by side, you’ll notice that Creamy earns its name. Alabaster (our most frequently requested kitchen cabinet color) is slightly lighter and cooler than Creamy.

Although it’s LRV is 82 and nearly identical to Creamy, it’s noticeably lighter. In fact, the difference is just enough that while Creamy is firmly in Camp Cream, Alabaster is light enough to fall in Camp White.

How Lighting Impacts The Appearance of Creamy

The cool, blue-tinted light in north-facing rooms cools Creamy down to the point where it can seem to lose it’s yellow creamy color and act as a beautiful soft off-white. The color shines in this lighting!

The warm lighting in south-facing and west-facing rooms intensifies Creamy’s color, and you’ll notice the yellow undertones more.

Pair These Shades With Creamy Sherwin Williams

It’s time to point out some coordinating colors that naturally pair well with this warm creamy off-white.

I think it looks especially nice with:

Warm Stone SW
Anew Gray SW
Studio Taupe SW
Storm Cloud SW
Krypton SW
Reynard SW
Swanky Gray SW
Exclusive Plum SW
Clary Sage SW
Worldly Gray SW
Malabar SW
Fallen Leaves SW
Antler Velvet SW
Alabaster SW
Eider White SW
Divine White SW

Ways To Use Creamy From Sherwin Willliams In Your Home

I particularly love using this color as a main color to help make accent colors pop. Creamy looks amazing in many different rooms as a main wall color or kitchen cabinet color. I would not recommend using it as a trim color however, due to the amount of yellow it can display.

Let’s check out some pictures of this color in people’s homes so you can see how it behaves in different types of lighting.

Soft Off-White Bathroom

This bathroom from Concepts And Colorways looks incredible in Creamy with a south-facing skylight. The matching cabinets and walls present an elegant yet comfortable room anyone would want to spend time in!

bathroom painted in creamy by sherwin williams

Living Room Cabinetry

In a moment, you’ll see Creamy looks incredible on kitchen cabinets. As you see right now from Kelley Nan, this color looks just as incredible on living room cabinetry in an off-white color palette. Isn’t this gorgeous playing off of the nearby stone?

Lighten Up A Tuscan Kitchen

Tuscan kitchens tend to have wood tones and busy, rich granite. As a result, they can sometimes look dark and busy. The best way to lighten up a Tuscan kitchen is to paint the cabinets a light color.

In this example from Bella Tucker, Creamy couldn’t be a better choice!

Creamy Kitchen Cabinets

I love this kitchen from McReynolds Designs! Creamy kitchen cabinets play with the wood floors well and create a light, warm, beautiful kitchen. It’s also a perfect color for farmhouse decor.

Plays Well With Wood

This wood kitchen from The Remodeling Resource is envy-worthy and dreamy! The kitchen is entirely finished in wood, making Creamy the absolute perfect cabinet color to embrace the warm tones and keep the feeling light and airy.

wooden kitchen with Creamy painted cabinets

Is Creamy Sherwin Williams Right For Your House?

There are few cream colors that shine the way that Creamy does! That said, it’s always the right fit, but I do love it on cabinets. ALWAYS, always sample the color in your own space before committing! The simplest way to do this is to order your samples from Sampelize. It’s the mess-free way to sample! Gone are the days where you have to buy a dozen sample quarts of paint colors, poster boards and brushes then spend a couple hours painting on one coat then waiting for it to dry to paint on another coat. So annoying! Just go to Sampelize and order the colors you need!

Does the thought of painting your cabinets make you quiver in anxiety? I am a firm believer that anyone can paint their kitchen cabinets or furniture. In fact, my DIY Cabinet Painting 101 class will show you exactly how to do it well.

You’ll learn everything you need to know about painting cabinets from start to finish. And, I’ll be there cheering you on and guiding you on until you finish!

Download The Ultimate Cabinet Paint Supply List right now to get started! It’s 100%…and awesome!

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Creamy By Sherwin Williams: Paint Guide