Are you dreaming about a white house with black trim, but need some help choosing the right paint colors? As part of my exterior paint color consultations, I do a LOT of white houses with black trim, and I have several go-to paint colors I recommend for achieving this classic look. In this post, I’ll share my favorite white paint colors and black trim ideas for getting that fabulous modern farmhouse exterior look.
Before we dive into the paint colors, let’s talk about the key features of a modern farmhouse exterior.
- White home exterior (white siding, painted brick, or stucco)
- Black or dark gray trim
- Wood accents and/or black accents (wooden front doors, black front door, black shutters, etc.)
- Black windows (white windows can work, too!)
White House Paint Colors
When it comes to choosing a white for your home’s exterior, there are a few important things to keep in mind. First, you don’t want to choose a white that is too bright, or you risk your house looking too stark or just too difficult to look at. So, you need to be aware of the paint color’s LRV (Light Reflectance Value).
LRV is a measure of how light or dark a paint color is on a scale of 0 (darkest) to 100 (lightest), and it’s important for white exteriors. You can find the LRV of a paint color on the manufacturer’s website.
A good rule of thumb for exterior white paint colors is that an exterior LRV should be no higher than 85. If you get higher than 85, the white tends to be too bright, and you might need sunglasses to look at your house. However, for a modern farmhouse style white house exterior, you want a white that is on the brighter side, so aim for a white that has an LRV between 80-85.
Secondly, for a modern farmhouse look, you want a white that looks fairly neutral. You don’t want your white to look overly creamy, and you also don’t want your house to look overly stark (like primer). My recommendation is to go with a white that has a touch of warmth to it, with greige undertones. Here are the whites I recommend most often for a white house with black trim.
- Benjamin Moore White Dove
- Sherwin-Williams Alabaster
- Sherwin-Williams Pure White
- Benjamin Moore Seapearl
For traditional homes, you can go with a creamier or darker off-white, but for a more modern look, it’s best to go with one of the whites above.
Benjamin Moore White Dove
Hands down this is my favorite white for that modern farmhouse look! BM White Dove has an LRV of 85, which puts it on the brighter side for a white. It is a warm white, with beautiful greige undertones that keep it looking quite neutral.
White Dove will look crisp and bright on an exterior that gets a lot of natural light, and it tends to perform really well in a wide range of lighting conditions that often affect how paint colors look on your exterior (things like shade/sun and warm/cool directional light).
Sherwin Williams Alabaster
Sherwin Williams Alabaster has an LRV of 82, so it’s slightly darker than White Dove. It’s also a little bit creamier than White Dove, which can be great for north-facing houses that need a touch more warmth to counteract the cooler lighting.
While this is the creamiest of the whites I recommend for a modern farmhouse style exterior, it’s definitely not overly creamy or yellow due to its brightness and more subtle undertones. Check out my post on SW Alabaster for more insights.
Sherwin Williams Pure White
With an LRV of 84, SW Pure White is brighter than Alabaster, and only a hint darker than White Dove. Pure White is considered a warm white, but it has stronger gray-greige undertones than both White Dove and Alabaster, making it a great choice if you are West-facing with a lot of warm light. Pure White looks like the perfect neutral backdrop on most houses, but could be a wee bit too gray and stark looking if your house faces north or east.
Benjamin Moore Seapearl (aka China White)
OK, you know how I said the ideal LRV for a modern farmhouse exterior was between 80 and 85? Well, BM Seapearl (also known as China White) is slightly under that at 78. However, Seapearl is a fabulous white for exteriors!
Seapearl has greige undertones that lean ever so slightly more gray than beige, making it a great option for west-facing homes. Also, if your house gets a ton of bright sun throughout the day, and White Dove, Alabaster, and Pure White look too bright, Seapearl should be next on your list to try.
What about BM Chantilly Lace or BM Simply White?
Chantilly Lace and Simply White are two very popular white paint colors, so it’s natural to think of them for a white exterior. However, with their high LRV values, they are much better suited to interiors. Chantilly Lace is very neutral, crisp, and bright, but has an LRV of 92. Simply White has tad more yellow to it, and an LRV of just under 92.
I’ve seen these colors used on exteriors, and they are super bright….like “too difficult to look at” bright. The only way I would recommend either of these two paint colors as an exterior house color, is if your house is very shaded, and doesn’t get a much sunlight.
Black Trim Colors
Even though paint colors tend to look brighter outside, I really don’t recommend using the darkest black shade you can find for your exterior trim. The reason being that it tends to look too dark and severe as a house trim color, especially when paired with whites. In other words, it creates too much of a stark contrast.
Instead, you want to look at off-blacks, which are colors that are almost black, but not quite. Off-blacks tend to be a little softer, and can have richer undertones that give a more sophisticated overall look. I recommend having an LRV for your “black” trim color that is greater than 5. Here are my favorite off-blacks to use as a trim color with a white house.
Sherwin Williams Iron Ore
Sherwin-Williams Iron Ore is my favorite off-black trim color to use with a white house. It is very neutral, leaning maybe just a hair toward the warm side, and pretty dark with an LRV of 6. It has just enough softness to cut down on the contrast with a white body, while still giving you the black trim look.
Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze
SW Urbane Bronze is lighter and warmer than Iron Ore, with an LRV of 8. It has a bit of brown in it, which leads to its bronze appearance, but it’s not overly warm. There’s something magical that happens when you pair this trim color with SW Alabaster, and it’s become a popular exterior combination.
Here’s a rendering I did for one of my exterior consultations, with SW Alabaster on the body, SW Dorian Gray on the shutters, and SW Urbane Bronze on the trim and doors.
Sherwin Williams Black Fox
SW Black Fox is a little darker than Urbane Bronze, with an LRV of 7, and has more brown to it. It’s a rich, dark shade with enough gray in it to keep it from looking overly brown. It’s a beautiful color that works well with any of the whites on my list. In this next picture, you can see Black Fox on the trim and garage door, and how nicely it ties it with the warm wood tones.
Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron
If you want your trim color to appear a little cooler and grayer, you should definitely give BM Wrought Iron a try. It has the same posted LRV as Iron Ore, but it doesn’t seem to look quite as rich and dark as Iron Ore on exteriors. Wrought Iron can be the right choice when other off-black trim colors look too warm, or if your home gets a lot of warm western sunlight. However, it might look too cool on a heavily shaded or north-facing home.
What about SW Tricorn Black?
Tricorn Black is a well-known popular black paint color. It is a deep, dark, pure black, and has an LRV of just 3. I love Tricorn Black for exterior shutters and front doors, but I don’t recommend it for trim with a white house. It’s usually just too dark!
The contrast of a bright white house with a super dark black trim is a little too jarring. You’re going to be much better off softening that contrast with an off-black. If you really want something that is a true black, but maybe not quite as dark as Tricorn Black, give BM Onyx a try.
Summary & Sampling
These days, you don’t have to look far to see beautiful examples of a modern farmhouse exterior. The combination of a white house with black trim has exploded in popularity over the last few years. Even though it’s become a huge trend, white and black is a classic color pairing that will never go out of style. And with these paint color tips, you’re sure to have a home that looks fresh, yet sophisticated. Just be sure to always sample your paint colors before committing to one!
For exteriors, be sure to view your samples in the morning and late afternoon sun, and also in shade and full sunlight. The color that looks best in all lighting conditions is the right one for your home!
My favorite source for paint samples is Samplize! Their peel-and-stick sample sheets are inexpensive, and super easy to use.
Need some help with your exterior design?
Want some help choosing paint colors for the exterior of your home, and wish you could visualize how things will look before committing? Do you need help convincing your significant other to paint your red brick exterior, or you want to explore different shades and accent colors to boost your home’s curb appeal? If so, my exterior paint consultation service is exactly what you need! It’s the perfect opportunity to explore new colors and looks on your own home to make sure you love the look before you start painting.
Want more paint color recommendations?
Note: This post contains affiliate links for your paint shopping and sampling convenience, which means I may receive a small commission if you make a purchase, at no cost to you.
Hi Melissa –
This is such a great article and I read them all. I am painting exterior board and batten house white with black trim but the painter I am using is insisting on Kelly-Moore and I am really struggling with Kelly-Moore white and black paint colors that would come close to your recommendations above.
Any suggestions?
Some of the most popular Kelly Moore whites are Acoustic White (bright with some warmth), Antique White (a little creamier and darker than Acoustic), and Rotunda White (a light greige that can read like an off-white). For blacks, try Black Oak or Carbon.
What sheens are most popular or would you recommend for this style exterior?
For stucco, you should use a flat sheen. For siding, it’s best to use a satin sheen. For trim, I also recommend satin, but you can also use a semi-gloss sheen (slightly more durable, but a bit more shiny)
Hi! Melissa
Can you recommen paint windows sinding trim with a iron ore color or better question can we paint our vinyl windows ?
Yes, vinyl windows can be painted, but they require some surface preparation and a good quality primer. I don’t typically recommend painting vinyl windows because of this, and also because painting them can void the manufacturer’s warranty.
Hi! Melissa
Can you recommen paint windows sinding trim with a iron ore color?
Hi! Thank you for this post. It’s so helpful. I’d love to please solicit your recommendation for a white trim paired against a black house. I’m using BM Soot, which has a blue undertone, on a South (slightly west) facing home that gets a ton of strong light out front, and mostly indirect north light out back. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
I’d avoid anything too bright next to BM Soot. Something like BM Seapearl or even BM Classic Gray would look great!
What shade of blue for shutter and door would you recommend with SWAlabaster house, fascia, soffits then window trim and gutters will either be BM Onx, SW Iron Ore or BW Wrought iron? Thanks so much
Some of my favorites are: SW Uncertain Gray, SW Granite Peak, SW Debonair, and SW Smoky Blue.
Hello! This information is great. Can you provide me some advice for the walls and trim color in my kitchen? The cabinets will be painted BM Soot. The natural light source in the room comes from an east facing window and a north facing window. I will appreciate any advice. 😊
BM White Dove for trim color, and there are so many options for wall colors! What about BM Pale Oak or Edgecomb Gray?
Hi!
I was wondering if you could give advise on white type of paint sheen to go with and why you would recommend that. We are painting our house one one these shades of white/black with black trimmed windows.
Thank you in advance.
Hello Melissa!
Thank you so much for this great article. My mom and I are remodeling a home and are doing white with black trim and this helped us narrow down our decisions. On a different note, we want to do sage green kitchen cabinets. What sage green would you recommend? We will have white quarts counters, gold fixtures and white harringbone subway tile to give you the full picture.
Thanks!
Liah & Anna
Hi. What recommendation do you have for white using BEHR Premium Plus. And for the black (trim. ). Thanks
I can’t even tell you how helpful this article was! We’ve decided on White Dove for our ADU exterior but I can’t decide on the black for the trim. I feel like Urbane Bronze and Black Fox might be a bit too brown and I’m not sure if Iron Ore is too cool for White Dove? The ADU is in a very shaded area that has shade most of the day. Thank you so much for any advice you can offer?
Hi Melissa…I’m struggling with paint colors as previous owner used a brown shingle roof with mustardish tan walls, tan trim and white mullions. House is 3 stories cedar shingles and was going to use alabaster for walls with a lighter trim color and black mullions. What color do you recommend for the black mullions and the casing around the windows? And will the Alabaster look bad against the brown shingle roof? Really wanting a modern look but getting nervous that it will really stand out against the landscape vs the current color that blends in or that brown roof will not look right with the modern farmhouse color scheme?
I’m so glad I found your article! I’m planning to paint our farmhouse vacation home in a white and black palette. However, we have a green metal roof. What white and black would you suggest to go with the green roof? Thank you!!!
Hi — Great article. Our exterior full sun facing two story stucco will be painted a bright white/dark (blackish) trim. What colors would you recommend in the Dunn Edwards line that would be similar? Cool December for the white? Thanks so much!!!!
Hi! We have a black roof and would like to do a White House – but also have trim to worry about and aren’t thrilled about doing the trim in black. Any suggestions for the trim color?
HI Melissa
Can you please direct me with a couple exterior paint colors?:)
I am painting the stucco Snowbound SW and need help with the trim? I am going beterrn Black Fox and Iron Ore. I also have some river rocks that are light brown and grey.
Which trim would you choose with the snowbound?
Thank you!!
Both trim colors would work great with Snowbound. The warmth of Black Fox would look great with your warm-toned river rocks, but if your exterior is west-facing, you might want to go with the more neutral Iron Ore. The best thing to do is get samples of all three and see how they look in different lighting (morning versus late afternoon). That’s the best way to know for sure.
Hi Melissa!
This post is saving me, thanks! Our new build is a west facing brick home. Based on your article, we’ve chosen BM Wrought Iron for soffit and BM White Dove for the brick, and we’ve painted swatches on the house that I like. We have installed pre colored black metal windows. The window black is VERY BLACK, while the Wrought Iron color is reading very gray next to it. Is it better for the painted soffit color to be an exact match to the metal windows or just to complement it? I like the contrast I am seeing on the color swatches but don’t want to create a design faux paux. What’s your take?
We have new vinyl windows that have bright white trim. (We couldn’t afford the black!) I want to paint our siding White Dove (shutters, garage, front door will be Benjamin Moore Onyx.) Will the White Dove look terrible with the bright white vinyl windows? Should I go with Chantilly Lace instead?
White Dove will work really well with white windows. You’ll see a slight color difference when you look at them up close, but from a distance it will hardly be noticeable. Chantilly Lace is a bit too bright for exteriors in most cases.
Hi Melissa,
Our painters use Vista Paint. What colors (white house/black trim) would you recommend from this vendor?
Thanks so much!
For whites, take a look at White Fence or Bonaire, which are similar to BM Seapearl and SW Shoji White. Or, try Luna Moon (similar to SW Alabaster) and Shell Tint (similar to BM White Dove). For blacks, try Subway (like SW Iron Ore).
Hi wanting to paint our house white with black trim. Our house faces West. I really like white dove but don’t know what black trim color to pick. Our house gets a lot of light on it.
Awesome article! Thank you for excellent comparisons. I am in South Florida, my house faces north. I have a tiled barrel roof that I also plan to paint black, (windows are white). Will BM Wrought Iron also be a good color for the roof, and use the same color for trims? I was thinking of trying White Dove or Alabaster and BM Wrought Iron. Thank you.
Hi Melissa,
I am about to have the stucco exterior of our house painted white (thinking of White Dove as per your recommendation). I am looking for a dark (towards black) trim and fascia color that I do not want to have any green undertones. I don’t love Urbanze Bronze because it looks a tad green to me. What do you think of SW Peppercorn or BM Chelsea Gray for the trim and fascia? Do you think those would work as trim colors with White Dove? Our house is supposedly French Country, if that helps. Also, apart from our front, which is east facing, the south facing wall is pretty noticeable too as you drive up to the house. We are going to paint the shutters Wedgewood Gray or Stratton Blue. Any help and advice would be appreciated. Thank you!
Both Peppercorn and Chelsea Gray work well with White Dove. Peppercorn is darker, and leans cool. BM Chelsea Gray has some green undertones, so I would opt for BM Kendall Charcoal instead. You might also try BM Wrought Iron and SW Iron Ore.
Thank you so much for responding! I only just saw this and it’s perfect because I am finally getting around to submitting the proposal. Thank you again!
Hi Melissa,
This was such a helpful article. We painted our homes exterior sw alabaster and our trim and shutters sw urbane bronze.
We’ve just realized need to replace our double front door and aren’t sure what colour to go with. Do you have any suggestions at would work with alabaster and urbane bronze? Or do we play it safe and go with urbane bronze? Thanks!
Hi Melissa, I appreciate these insights for our ADU we are building and ready to paint! I will do the White Dove for exterior with black windows (we currently have that as interior paint in our house). I will also use it for the interior paint. For the interior trim, I remember it was important to get a bright white visible against the White Dove. Do you have a recommendation for one which would offer some contrast and be visible against the White Dove? I can’t recall if Chantilly Lace was enough of a difference. Thanks!
BM White Dove is also one of my favorite colors for trim and ceilings. However, if you want a brighter white to provide some contrast with White Dove, BM Chantilly Lace is your best bet.
That’s so helpful, thank you so much!
We are using alabaster for siding and board and batten and iron ore for soffit and fascia and doors. What color do you recommend we use for trim on windows and doors?