White: 25 shades, names and colour codes

In sRGB, white has all three channels at their maximum. Painted or printed white depends on lighting, surface and undertones; physical whites are not all alike.

Pairing white often means choosing a relationship between undertones, materials and shadow. Warm white, blue white and screen white are not the same starting point. Look at the existing surfaces before deciding which white will act as your reference.

White and wood: coordinate the fixed surfaces

With wooden flooring or furniture, compare white directly against the material. Off-white can continue warm tones; a more neutral white can create clearer separation. In an existing room, start with the floor, worktop and joinery, since these will be harder to replace than a cushion or small object.

White and blue: choose the background temperature

Greyed blue with slightly warm white can prevent a uniformly cool composition. For a sharper direction, try neutral white and navy. On a website, white can provide reading areas while blue organises navigation cues. Keep enough spacing: white also acts as an interval between pieces of content.

White and black: soften without losing structure

If the pair feels too severe, introduce texture or off-white before adding a new hue. In a living room, that might be ecru fabric; in a mock-up, a very light grey area between two blocks. Keep enough separation between text and background: softening the overall feel should not erase information.

Place samples beside one another, then separate them to assess each against the floor and furniture. Look in daylight and under your lamps. White paper can be a comparison aid, but not a certification reference: its own white depends on the paper and lighting. Choose the white that connects the project’s materials, not necessarily the one that looks whitest.

Use warm white as the base, the oak tone for a secondary area and ink for a few boundaries. Try roughly 75%, 20% and 5%. The oak code below is a proposed flat colour for a mock-up, not a reproduction of real wood.

A white door may appear yellowed beside a cooler wall even though its colour has not changed. Check the fixed whites before ordering paint. When photographing a white object on white, also provide visible separation through lighting, shadows or the background; a silhouette cannot rely on a colour name alone.