Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee
Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee is an enduring and popular creamy warm white. Here’s everything you need to know about this paint color, and how it looks in different spots.
Have you been researching white paint colors? If so, I’m willing to bet you’ve seen more swatches of “white” than you thought was possible! If you ever thought white was a simple color to choose, looking at white paint options will quickly make you realize that white is far more complex than you realized.
Seriously, picking out a white paint color was the hardest color when I was choosing our house colors. Cool whites, warm whites, neutral whites, whites with yellow undertones and pink undertones, and the list goes on.
However, there are a few classic whites that have withstood the test of time, and been well-loved by so many others. Swiss Coffee fits that mold!
Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore has been around for many years. It’s a popular off-white color thanks to it’s creamy, soft qualities that lends elegance to any room.
PRO Tip
Any time you are choosing a new paint color, you need to try out the real paint color in your home first!
The easiest and quickest way to do that is with Samplize! I solely use them for paint samples now. There’s no mess, no leftover sample pots of paint. Plus, these no-mess, peel-and-stick rectangles made from real paint, are easy to move around the room and easy to save for future reference!
Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee Undertones
Swiss Coffee white is one of my favorite off-white paint colors! I love a good white, and this color isn’t just good, it’s great. But in order to really be able to appreciate this color, it’s important to know about its undertones so that you use this shade the right way.
What are the Swiss Coffee Paint Benjamin Moore undertones? Just about every single white paint color has at least subtle undertones (is it really even possible to get a truly neutral white?)
This color is a light off-white. With an LRV (Light Reflective Value scale where 0 is black and 100 is pure white) of 83.93, BM Swiss Coffee reflects a large amount of light.
However, it has slight gray, green and yellow undertones that give it that soft, creamy, inviting look that people love. These same undertones can make this paint read yellow or gold in some lighting situations.
If you prefer something a little less creamy but still warm, check out Benjamin Moore White Dove. It’s another one of my favorites. 😉
Don’t forget that any creamy shade can show its yellow undertones depending on the lighting and the color pairings. It’s crucial to get (and use!) paint swatches when choosing paint colors so that you can see exactly how a color will read in your space before you commit to it!
Coordinating Colors for Swiss Coffee
Because of its tendency to read yellow/gold, Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee works really well with:
- Earthy colors
- Tans
- Browns
- Muted colors
- In north-facing rooms
- Dark rooms that you want to brighten up
I would avoid coordinating with:
- Taupes and greiges that have pink-purple undertones
- Cool whites
- Clean whites
Ok, now that we’ve gone through some of the basics about coordinating well with Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore, here are some colors that were just meant to coordinate with this creamy off-white.
Benjamin Moore recommends these colors:
- Nightfall
- Mt. Rainier Gray
- Nickel
- Senora Gray
Some of my go-to colors that look great with Swiss Coffee:
- BM Storm
- Hale Navy
- Holiday Turquoise
- SW Accessible Beige
- BM Iron Mountain
Rooms with Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore
Now here’s the fun part: seeing this color in use! I gathered a collection of photos in different lightings, color pairings, and different rooms to demonstrate for you how Swiss Coffee behaves.
Living Rooms with BM Swiss Coffee
Studio McGee shows just how light and airy, yet soft and inviting this color can be. In this room with lots of natural light, Swiss Coffee paint on the walls plays nicely with the dark wood accents and makes the perfect canvas for you to add splashes of color.
Check out this example of farmhouse perfection from Room Lust. The walls and ceiling are both painted with Benjamin Moore Swiss coffee. I think it’s a perfect solution because this strategy not only eliminates that dilemma of how to coordinate with different whites, but it also makes the room feel cohesive, comfortable, and cozy while also being light and airy.
Swiss Coffee Paint in Bathrooms
This bathroom from Jenna Kate at Home is a small, fairly dark room with just enough natural light that it would be blindingly bright if painted with a crisp white.
Swiss Coffee works perfectly to lighten up the room and make the small space feel airy without being too bright.
In contrast to the previous bathroom which had some natural light, this bathroom shown by HomeBunch is in a basement with no natural light. The artificial light pulls out the creamy quality just a little more to make a basement bathroom feel soft, warm, and comfortable.
This kitchen from Studio McGee is gorgeous. If you have dark floors and want white cabinets with that slight creamy, soft quality, you really can’t go wrong with Swiss Coffee.
The warm Chelsea Gray island hits that perfect mid-tone color to bridge the difference between the soft, light cabinets and much darker floor.
Here’s a very traditional kitchen remodel from Talianko Design Group, LLC with Swiss Coffee cabinets that highlights just how versatile this color is. Not only does it look amazing in contemporary and farmhouse style homes, but this color shines in traditional style homes as well.
Modern Kitchen shows off just how light Swiss Coffee can be. I think people often hear “creamy” and run for the hills, but with the right light and the right coordinating colors, a creamy off-white is just what you want to make a space feel bright – but not too bright.
In fact, without the contrast of the bright white subway tile, you might not even notice the creaminess in certain times of the day.
Bedrooms Highlighting Swiss Coffee
Becki Owens significantly brightened up this bedroom by using Swiss Coffee which pairs unbelievably well with the wood beams in the ceiling and dark accent pieces. It’s a stunning but cozy room all at the same time!
Life on Virginia Street painted the walls of this bedroom Benjamin Moore Classic Gray, but the board and batten behind the bed is Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee. Pairing these two colors together works really well in this lighting, right?
Are you in love with this color yet? It’s clean, soft, chic, bright, comfortable, and much more.
I love the color swiss coffee. But what white trim would I use? It’s so confusing. I have dark wood floors. Thank you
Good morning,
I just purchased a semi modern farmhouse looking home. It is a new construction and the builder used a grey on some of the walls that I’m really having a hard time with. I’m used to classic najavo white and more traditional. The kitchen is white cabinetry and the floors are a acacia wood almost walnut in color I and white wainscoting. Thanks for the tip. What do think?