Colour guides · White

Which white for woodwork and skirtings? 8 shades

The white of the woodwork is the most seen and least chosen in the house: it is bought "white", by reflex, and then one is surprised it cuts too hard against a cream wall or looks yellow against a grey one. Skirtings, doors and windows frame every wall in the house — their white must be chosen according to that wall.

Here are our eight woodwork whites, from crispest to warmest, with the walls they frame best.

Updated September 2026 · by the Mylands France colour team

Which white for woodwork and skirtings? 8 shades

The short answer

The rule: the woodwork white follows the temperature of the walls. Beneath cool walls — greys, blues, greens, cool whites — a crisp white: Pure White No.1, Charterhouse No.4, Cotton Street No.3. Beneath warm walls — cream, beige, pink, earths, reds — a warm white: Holland Park No.5, Whitehall No.9, Holbein Chamber No.7. Beneath a deep colour, one or the other according to its temperature; and to avoid any cut at all, Sleet No.91 or the wall colour in satin.

At a glance

Our selection

8 colours

Pure White — dining room
N° 1 Pure White™
01

The crisp white, beneath proper colours

Pure White™ No.1

  • White
  • White
  • South light
  • LRV ≈ 91%

Our purest white, with no undertone. In satin on skirtings and doors it draws the room with a crisp line — it is the woodwork white of contemporary interiors, and the one that goes beneath every proper colour: a deep blue, a bottle green, a black. Beneath an off-white or a cream it cuts too hard and makes the wall look dirty.

Our tip — For walls in Observatory, Pleasure Gardens Green, Proper Blue, Downing Street, and cool greys.

Pairs with

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Lime green kitchen with stove, cabinets, and window
N° 4 Charterhouse™
02

The default woodwork white

Charterhouse™ No.4

  • White
  • White
  • South light
  • LRV ≈ 85%

A faintly grey-green off-white, barely softer than Pure White — the white we recommend most often for woodwork, because it is crisp without being hard. It goes beneath every cool wall and most off-whites, and it never yellows under lamps. If you remember only one woodwork white, it is this one.

Our tip — For walls in Frieze, Sloane Square, Mews Blue, Hawksmoor, Chiswick, and cool whites.

Pairs with

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Cotton Street — pantry
N° 3 Cotton Street™
03

The neutral white, beneath whites

Cotton Street™ No.3

  • White
  • White
  • South light
  • LRV ≈ 84%

A soft, clean white with no marked undertone, the colour of a cotton sheet. It is the woodwork white of a room with white walls: a notch crisper than Maugham White or Holland Park on the walls, it draws the skirtings and doors without a violent contrast. The pairing off-white on the walls, Cotton Street on the woodwork is the safest there is.

Our tip — For walls in Maugham White, Holland Park, St James, Chalk Farm.

Pairs with

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Sleet — Bathroom
N° 91 Sleet™
04

The white that never cuts

Sleet™ No.91

  • White
  • White
  • North light
  • LRV ≈ 77%

A soft neutral off-white, classed for north light, with the rare quality of staying white under every light without ever looking hard. It is the woodwork white for those who want white skirtings and doors without the crisp outline of a pure white: beneath a grey, a blue-green, a neutral, it frames gently. It is also very handsome alone, walls and woodwork.

Our tip — For walls in Eaton Square, Hoxton Grey, Oratory, Maritime, Long Acre.

Pairs with

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Holland Park — hallway
N° 5 Holland Park™
05

The versatile warm white

Holland Park™ No.5

  • White
  • White
  • West light
  • LRV ≈ 82%

A warm off-white, balanced between yellow and pink, that goes on the woodwork of any house with warm walls. Beneath a cream, a beige, a greige or an earth it frames without cutting — where Pure White would make the wall look yellow. It is also the woodwork white of old houses, where pure white looks anachronistic.

Our tip — For walls in Cadogan Stone, Temple Bar, Lots Road, Wharf Sacking, Egerton Place.

Pairs with

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Cadogan Stone — dining room
N° 9 Whitehall™
06

The stone white, beneath deep warm colours

Whitehall™ No.9

  • White
  • White
  • West light
  • LRV ≈ 80%

A warm white with a limestone undertone, a little deeper than Holland Park. On woodwork it has substance: beneath an olive green, a brown or a dark red it frames with the softness of a stone rather than the crispness of a white, and it makes the colour look richer. It is the woodwork white of evening sitting rooms and dining rooms.

Our tip — For walls in Sorrel Green, Serpentine, Amber Grey, Rothschild Street, Huguenot.

Pairs with

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Modern interior with deep red walls and a black fireplace.
N° 7 Holbein Chamber™
07

The pinkish white, beneath pinks and plums

Holbein Chamber™ No.7

  • White
  • White
  • West light
  • LRV ≈ 84%

A warm white whose warmth comes from pink rather than yellow. It is the woodwork white of bedrooms and of pink, mauve or plum rooms: beneath a powder pink, a lavender grey, a pinkish taupe or a claret it frames within the same family, and the room stays soft where a pure or yellow white would break it. It is also the most flattering at night.

Our tip — For walls in Smithfield, Early Lavender, Rose Taupe, Plum Tree, Colosseum, and the pinks.

Pairs with

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Modern interior with potted plants against a black panelled wall.
N° 10 Downing Street™
08

The exception: no white at all

Downing Street™ No.10

  • Black
  • Dark tone
  • North light
  • LRV ≈ 5%

Not a white — the alternative to white. Skirtings, doors or windows in Downing Street beneath pale walls frame the room the way a black frame frames a print: the wall colour looks lighter, the proportions crisper, and shoe marks on the skirtings disappear. A choice with character that goes beneath every white and every neutral.

Our tip — For walls in Lots Road, Frieze, Cadogan Stone, Pure White — and staircases.

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These colours in real rooms

Our schemes in which one of this guide's shades plays the lead — or a supporting role.

All schemes · White →
Bathroom in Holland Park — wide view, Holland Park No.5, Whitehall No.9, Stockholm BH.11

Bathroom in Holland Park

Holland Park™ No.5 Whitehall™ No.9 Stockholm BH.11
Bedroom in Pure White — wide view, Pure White No.1, Acanthus Leaf No.12, Blueprint No.50

Bedroom in Pure White

Pure White™ No.1 Acanthus Leaf™ No.12 Blueprint™ No.50
Bedroom in Sleet — wide view, Sleet No.91, Maugham White No.2

Bedroom in Sleet

Sleet™ No.91 Maugham White™ No.2
Bedroom in Holbein Chamber — wide view, Holbein Chamber No.7, Fitzrovia No.26, Pub BH.08

Bedroom in Holbein Chamber

Holbein Chamber™ No.7 Fitzrovia™ No.26 Pub BH.08
Living room in Downing Street — wide view, Downing Street No.10, Cotton Street No.3, Messel No.39

Living room in Downing Street

Downing Street™ No.10 Cotton Street™ No.3 Messel™ No.39
Living room in Whitehall — wide view, Whitehall No.9, Cadogan Stone No.59

Living room in Whitehall

Whitehall™ No.9 Cadogan Stone™ No.59

Choosing the woodwork white

A woodwork white is never seen alone: it is seen against the wall it frames, and that contrast is what counts. Two rules are enough. Temperature: a crisp white (Pure White No.1, Charterhouse No.4, Cotton Street No.3) beneath cool walls, a warm white (Holland Park No.5, Whitehall No.9, Holbein Chamber No.7) beneath warm walls. A crisp white beneath a cream wall makes the wall look dirty; a warm white beneath a grey wall looks yellow. Contrast: the paler the walls, the closer the woodwork white must be to them — otherwise the room is chopped into rectangles. Beneath an off-white, choose a woodwork white just one notch crisper; or the same white, in satin, for a relief that comes only from the sheen.

Beneath a deep colour

A deep colour can take any contrast. Pure white draws the room crisply — the classic choice beneath a night blue or a bottle green. A soft white such as Sleet No.91 frames without cutting. And the colour itself, in Multi-Surface Satin on the woodwork, makes the outlines disappear: that is colour drenching, and often the loveliest.

The finish

Woodwork whites go on in Multi-Surface Satin for almost the whole house, in eggshell for a softer look, in gloss for front doors and exterior windows. Always over a multi-surface primer, which blocks the wood tannins liable to yellow a white. The detail is in which finish for woodwork?.

To go further: our off-whites compared, which white for a ceiling? and our ideas in white.

Frequently asked questions

Which white for skirtings and doors?
A white that follows the temperature of the walls: Pure White, Charterhouse or Cotton Street beneath cool walls; Holland Park, Whitehall or Holbein Chamber beneath warm walls. If you remember only one, Charterhouse No.4.
Should woodwork be painted pure white?
Only beneath proper colours or cool walls. Beneath an off-white or a cream, pure white cuts too hard and makes the wall look dirty: prefer a white just one notch crisper than the walls, or the same white in satin.
Which woodwork white with cream or beige walls?
A warm white: Holland Park or Whitehall. A pure white would make the cream look yellow.
Which finish for white woodwork?
Multi-Surface Satin for almost the whole house, over a multi-surface primer that blocks the wood's tannins. Eggshell for a softer look, gloss for front doors.

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