Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee is a long-loved, creamy warm white. Here's everything you need to know about this paint color and how it looks in different spots.
Are you looking at white paint colors? If so, I'm willing to bet you've seen more swatches of "white" than you thought possible! If you ever assumed white was an easy color to pick, shopping for white paint will quickly show you how complex it really is.
Honestly, picking a white paint color was the hardest choice when I was selecting our house colors. Cool whites, warm whites, neutral whites, whites with yellow undertones and pink undertones, and the list goes on.
Still, a few classic whites have stood the test of time and been loved by so many. Swiss Coffee fits that mold!
Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore has been around for many years. It's a popular off-white thanks to its creamy, soft qualities that lend elegance to any room.
Pro Tip
Whenever you're choosing a new paint color, try out the real paint color in your own home first!
The easiest, quickest way to do that is with Samplize! I use them exclusively for paint samples now. There's no mess and no leftover sample pots of paint. Plus, these peel-and-stick rectangles are made from real paint, so they're easy to move around the room and easy to save for future reference!
Order REAL Paint SamplesBenjamin Moore Swiss Coffee Undertones
Swiss Coffee is one of my favorite off-white paint colors! I love a good white, and this shade isn't just good, it's great. But to really appreciate it, you need to understand its undertones so you can use it the right way.
So what are the undertones of Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore? Just about every white paint color has at least subtle undertones (is it really possible to get a truly neutral white?)
This is a light off-white. With an LRV (Light Reflectance Value, where 0 is black and 100 is pure white) of 83.93, BM Swiss Coffee reflects a lot of light.
However, it has slight gray, green and yellow undertones that give it the soft, creamy, inviting look people love. These same undertones can make the paint read yellow or gold in some lighting.
If you prefer something a little less creamy but still warm, check out Benjamin Moore White Dove. It's another of my favorites.
Keep in mind that any creamy shade can show yellow undertones depending on the lighting and the colors around it. It's crucial to get (and use!) paint swatches when choosing colors so you can see exactly how a shade will read in your space before you commit!
Coordinating Colors for Swiss Coffee
Because it tends to read yellow/gold, Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee works really well with:
- Earthy colors
- Tans
- Browns
- Muted colors
- In north-facing rooms
- Dark rooms you want to brighten up
I would steer clear of pairing it with:
- Taupes and greiges with pink-purple undertones
- Cool whites
- Clean whites
Okay, now that we've covered some basics about coordinating well with Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore, here are some colors that seem made to pair 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 for the fun part: seeing this color in action! I gathered a collection of photos in different lighting, color pairings and rooms to show you how Swiss Coffee behaves.
Living Rooms with BM Swiss Coffee
Studio McGee shows just how light, airy, soft and inviting this color can be. In this room with lots of natural light, Swiss Coffee on the walls plays nicely with the dark wood accents and makes the perfect canvas for splashes of color.
Check out this farmhouse perfection from Room Lust. Both the walls and ceiling are painted in Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee. I think it's a smart approach because it not only sidesteps the dilemma of coordinating different whites, but also makes the room feel cohesive, comfortable and cozy while staying light and airy.
Swiss Coffee Paint in Bathrooms
This bathroom from Jenna Kate at Home is small and fairly dark, with just enough natural light that it would look blindingly bright if painted a crisp white.
Swiss Coffee works perfectly to lighten up the room and make the small space feel airy without being too bright.
Unlike the previous bathroom, which had some natural light, this one from HomeBunch is in a basement with no windows. The artificial light brings out the creamy quality just a bit more, making 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 a slightly creamy, soft quality, you really can't go wrong with Swiss Coffee.
The warm Chelsea Gray island hits the perfect mid-tone to bridge the gap between the soft, light cabinets and the much darker floor.
Here's a very traditional kitchen remodel from Talianko Design Group, LLC with Swiss Coffee cabinets that shows just how versatile this color is. It looks amazing in contemporary and farmhouse homes, but this color shines in traditional homes as well.
Modern Kitchen shows off just how light Swiss Coffee can be. People often hear "creamy" and run for the hills, but with the right light and coordinating colors, a creamy off-white is just what you need to make a space feel bright without being too bright.
In fact, without the contrast of bright white subway tile, you might not even notice the creaminess at certain times of day.
Bedrooms Highlighting Swiss Coffee
Becki Owens brightened this bedroom significantly by using Swiss Coffee, which pairs unbelievably well with the wood beams in the ceiling and the dark accent pieces. It's a stunning room that's also cozy 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 works really well in this lighting, doesn't it?
Are you in love with this color yet? It's clean, soft, chic, bright, comfortable and so much more.
