Benjamin Moore Cloud White OC-130: Undertones

The first time I cut in Cloud White OC-130 on a 1920s dining room, the homeowner stood in the doorway at dusk and said it looked like candlelight on the wall. That is the whole pitch in one sentence. Cloud White is a warm white that never tips into yellow, and it carries that quiet creaminess into a room without going dull. People keep typing the same questions, spelled a dozen ways: is cloud white warm or cool, what is its undertone, and which rooms does it actually flatter? The answer leans hard on your light. Here is how this Benjamin Moore staple behaves indoors, from someone who has rolled a lot of it.

Quick orientation before the deep dive. Cloud White has a published LRV of about 85 and a hex approximation of #EFE9DA (RGB 239, 233, 218). That is a bright, soft warm white carrying a gentle cream-yellow undertone with a faint warm-gray steadier underneath. It reads clean, never icy, and that single trait is why it works as both a wall white and a trim white in the same house. This profile is one stop in our wider Benjamin Moore interior paint colors guide, and it is the indoor companion to the Cloud White OC-130 exterior guide: that one covers the color on siding, brick, and clapboard, while this page stays on interior walls, rooms, undertones, and pairings. Complementary, not duplicates.

Cloud White at a glance: the numbers that matter

Before opinions, here are the verifiable specs from the Benjamin Moore color library. These are the values you can take to a paint counter:

Sources: Benjamin Moore OC-130 Cloud White color data 2026; The Spruce white-paint undertone coverage; designer and painter field reports compiled by FacadeColorizer.

The takeaway from those numbers: Cloud White is bright but soft. At LRV 85 it reflects almost as much light as a stark white, yet the cream undertone subtracts the glare, so walls feel warm and easy instead of clinical. That is the difference between a white that looks like fresh snow and one that looks like fresh cream. Cloud White is firmly the cream.

Is Cloud White warm or cool? The undertone, decoded

Cloud White is a warm white, full stop. The few people who call it cool are usually reacting to one of two things: a north-facing room that strips the warmth out of everything, or a brighter, cooler white sitting right beside it for contrast. Here is what is happening underneath the paint.

The cream-yellow base is dominant in most light, but Cloud White also carries a faint warm-gray that keeps it from ever going buttery or custard. That balance is the magic: warm enough to feel soft and inviting, restrained enough that it does not yellow up against wood floors or cream cabinets. In warm or balanced light, Cloud White reads as a calm, clean, soft white. In cool, indirect north light it loses some of that obvious warmth and reads closer to a true off-white, which is exactly what some homeowners want anyway.

Watch out for one quirk. Next to a crisp blue-white like Chantilly Lace, Cloud White can suddenly look almost ivory by comparison. On its own, with nothing cooler nearby, that same wall reads simply as a clean warm white. Context does most of the work with any white at this LRV.

Sources: Benjamin Moore OC-130 color data 2026; designer field reports compiled by FacadeColorizer.

Best rooms for Cloud White

Bright, warm, and forgiving all at once, Cloud White is one of the few whites you can run across a whole floor plan, walls and trim, without any single room turning on you. Here are the spaces where it consistently earns its keep:

Living rooms and open great rooms

On a large connected wall plane, Cloud White reads as a soft, light-filled backdrop that flatters wood tones, brass, and natural fabrics. It keeps a big room bright without the cold edge a pure white can bring after the sun moves. For more whole-room schemes built around warm light, see our top living room paint colors for 2026.

Primary bedrooms

Cloud White makes a restful bedroom because the cream undertone stays cozy under lamp light at night instead of going stark. It reads calm and grown-up rather than gallery-white. If a bedroom is your project, our guide to calming master bedroom paint colors shows how a soft white sits next to other restful tones.

Kitchens, trim, and cabinetry

This is where Cloud White really pulls its weight. As a cabinet and trim color it pairs beautifully with warm-wood floors, brass hardware, and creamy stone counters, and it does not fight a warm wall color the way a blue-white does. It is a classic millwork white that looks intentional in both traditional and transitional kitchens. For where a soft white lands among the year's wall whites, see our roundup of the best white paint for walls in 2026.

Where to think twice

Stark, modern rooms with cool gray floors, black windows, and 4000K LED lighting are where Cloud White can look slightly creamy or off against everything else. In that crisp context a cooler white reads cleaner. Cloud White is also at risk next to brilliant whites: put it beside Chantilly Lace on a ceiling and the walls can read faintly ivory. If your scheme is built on cool grays, our Benjamin Moore White Dove OC-17 review covers a softer, slightly grayer alternative.

Trim, ceiling, and decor pairings

A warm white body color lives or dies on what sits next to it. Cloud White is unusual in that it works as both the wall and the trim, but the surrounding tones still decide whether it looks crisp or muddy.

• Self-trim (most seamless): Cloud White on walls and trim together, with a sheen change (eggshell walls, semi-gloss trim), gives a soft monochromatic envelope that designers love for older homes. The light catches the trim, the color stays unified.
• Brighter trim (cleaner contrast): Chantilly Lace (OC-65) as the trim white against Cloud White walls reads crisp and current, though it pushes the walls a touch creamier. Best where you want trim to pop.
• Avoid: a cool gray-white trim with a blue base next to Cloud White. The cool contrast can make the warm walls read dingy or yellowed by comparison.
• Ceilings: Cloud White or a clean flat white keeps the room soft and bright. A heavy blue-white ceiling over Cloud White walls exaggerates the warmth into yellow.
• Floors and decor: warm oak, white oak, rattan, brass, and natural linen reflect warmth back and let the cream sing. Cool gray-washed floors and chrome do the opposite and can leave Cloud White looking faintly muddy.

For wall color that lives happily beside Cloud White trim, soft greens, warm greiges, and muted blues all read well because the warm white softens their edges. If you want to see how a whole palette comes together around a warm white, our interior color schemes guide for 2026 maps out workable combinations.

Cloud White vs the whites people confuse it with

Almost every Cloud White search ends in a comparison. The three that matter most indoors:

• vs White Dove (OC-17): White Dove is a hair softer and grayer with a quieter warmth, which is why it hides imperfections so well on trim. Cloud White is the cleaner, slightly creamier of the two. Choose Cloud White when you want a touch more glow, White Dove when you want the softest possible white.
• vs Chantilly Lace (OC-65): Chantilly Lace is a bright, near-neutral white with a cool edge. Set them side by side and Cloud White reads obviously warmer and creamier. Pick Chantilly Lace for crisp modern rooms, Cloud White for warmth and older homes.
• vs Simply White (OC-117): Simply White carries a stronger yellow undertone and can go buttery in warm light. Cloud White is the more balanced, less yellow option that stays soft without going custard.

Spelling note: cloud white bm, bm cloud white oc-130, and benjamin moore cloud white paint all point to this same OC-130.

How to test Cloud White before you commit

A small fan-deck chip is the number-one reason people pick a white that disappoints. A chip cannot show how the cream undertone shifts across a day, and it reads brighter than a full rolled wall. Two better methods:

• Paint a large swatch: roll a 12-by-12-inch sample (or a peel-and-stick sample) on two different walls and check it mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and at night under your normal bulbs. Watch how the cream reads against your trim and floors specifically, since white is all about context.
• Preview it digitally first: upload a real photo of your room and apply Cloud White (plus a cooler white and a warmer white) before you buy any samples, narrowing three contenders to one worth painting. Pricing context for the full repaint is in our interior house painting cost guide for 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Disclaimer: Benjamin Moore, Cloud White (OC-130), White Dove (OC-17), Chantilly Lace (OC-65), and Simply White (OC-117) are trademarks of Benjamin Moore & Co. FacadeColorizer is an independent paint visualization service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Benjamin Moore. Color reproduction on screens approximates the manufacturer's chip; always confirm with a manufacturer sample under your own light before purchase. Sources: Benjamin Moore OC-130 Cloud White color data 2026, Benjamin Moore OC-17 White Dove and OC-65 Chantilly Lace color data 2026, The Spruce white-paint undertone coverage, designer and painter field reports compiled by FacadeColorizer.