Is Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee an Ideal Choice for Your Walls?
Benjamin Moore’s Swiss Coffee paint color is considered one of the best in the global market, but how often will it deliver the right results? Let’s see. It is not recommended to go with a quick and vague selection of paint for your home or office decor.
When it comes to choosing the right paint color for your home or office, a lot of time and research are required. In the world of off-white paint colors, Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore is a star. BM Swiss Coffee is definitely meant to give a modern yet aesthetic touch to your walls that tickle your fancy.
But is that an ideal choice for you among offbeat white colors? Scroll down to learn more!
About Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee
When you get to know that even Studio McGee has used Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee to paint 75% of their walls, it is easy to realize that this color delivers some seriously good results. And we are not questioning that at all! The question here is, “How appropriate are those good results for your place? There are four popular choices for you when it comes to choosing some soft shades of white for your walls:
- Sherwin-Williams Pure White
- Sherwin Williams Alabaster
- Benjamin Moore White Dove
- Benjamin Moore’s Swiss Coffee
Each of these shades has its own importance. At this point, you will come across the term ‘LRV.’ It is very important to know about the LRV value of paint before choosing it. If you are wondering what LRV is, let us give you a quick rundown. LRV stands for light reflectance value. It is a measure used by design professionals to indicate the amount of light reflected and absorbed by a painted surface. The LRV range is indicated from 0 to 100.
If the LRV measurement is zero, then it is used to indicate a pure black shade, and if it is 100, it is pure white. In short, a higher LRV value indicates a whiter shade.
The Swiss coffee Benjamin Moore has an LRV measurement of 83.93. It obviously indicates a whiter shade. But what if we said the BM Swiss Coffee generates a more greenish tint to the walls?
How White Is Bm Swiss Coffee?
Here is how Benjamin Moore defines Swiss coffee:
“An essential white with just the right amount of warmth.”
– Benjamin Moore
Well, this is a perfect way to define BM Swiss Coffee. It is classified as an off-white paint color. Warm and delicate undertones are a peculiarity of the shade. You can even see a grey tint on the walls. And, as mentioned earlier, a green undertone too.
How often will you choose the color green to be the undertone shade for white walls? Such a choice is too unlikely to go with. Well, that is exactly what the result will be if you go with Swiss coffee, Benjamin Moore!
The paint gives a greenish undertone to your walls. When we say green, it doesn’t mean it is sharp. Instead, the green undertone of BM Swiss Coffee is extremely subtle. To know exactly what Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee can do for your walls, it is best to compare the shade with its immediate neighbor, Benjamin Moore White Dove.
BM White Dove is the paint color that BM Swiss Coffee shares a lot of similarities. Unlike Swiss Coffee Benjamin Moore, BM White Dove is not inclined towards green. At this point, let us consider a simple question: If you are looking for an offbeat white shade, which one will be your likely choice, BM Swiss Coffee and BM White Dove?
The white dove will be an obvious choice. But let us not conclude so easily. The hue family of paint color will tell you about its origin.
BM Swiss Coffee belongs to the yellow-hue family. The white dove, too, is from the same hue family but is whiter and brighter compared to BM Swiss Coffee.
Benjamin Moore’s Swiss Coffee and Its Undertones
There is no one color to talk about while exploring the undertones of Swiss coffee by Benjamin Moore. You will be able to see green, grey, and yellow undertones in this paint color. There is something that one should realize when the undertones of BM Swiss Coffee are discussed.
Not all the people who go with this paint color will get to see all these shades on their walls. This is a less discussed topic anyway; the undertones of paint color can be subjective.
A few designers have reported that they have seen zero undertones on walls while BM Swiss Coffee is used. Instead, it works perfectly well as a neutral, warm shade of white for the walls. For some others, they mostly see a yellow or greener shade.
More likely, the yellow tint tends to appear in most cases. The greyish undertone keeps the BM Swiss Coffee from looking completely yellow. But as said earlier, the lighting of the room decides how the paint will look on the wall. We have seen people wonder whether this shade is actually a warm color. The answer is yes.
BM Swiss Coffee is a warm shade of white that provides a white and clean feel to your walls. Comparing the paint with another shade will let you know the difference better. Also, it is recommended to use paint samples to see how the color looks on your wall.
Effect of Light on Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee
The availability of light and how well the room is lit determine how the walls should look in a particular shade of paint. The same goes for Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore. Each cardinal direction will have a different look to offer for different colors of paint. Let’s see how it works.
As you know, there are four cardinal directions. Depending on which direction your room is facing and the availability of light according to that, you can calculate how your walls will look.
1. East-Facing Rooms
It is obvious that east-facing rooms will be lit up brightly during the daytime. The room is likely to have a yellow-orange hue at this time. If this room is active mostly during the evening hours, then we will recommend you go with a warmer shade of paint.
2. West-Facing Rooms
During the early hours of the evening, west-facing rooms will have a more bright look. If you are using a warmer tone of paint, it might look too accentuated due to the already natural tint of color in the room. On the contrary, the warm-toned walls won’t feel odd if the room is used during the morning hours.
3. North-Facing Rooms
You will get to witness how colors play and act funny if it is a north-facing room. A bluish color is naturally seen in such rooms. If lighter colors are used for the walls, they will look more muted and shaded. So it is recommended to use bolder shades for walls.
4. South-Facing Rooms
South-facing rooms are known to have really bright lights throughout the day. The use of warm and cool shades for the wall with a south-facing light source will work well here. Darker shades of color will be more accentuated under such lighting.
Role of Natural Vs. Artificial Light
One of the most confusing or ignored things is the effect of artificial light on painted walls. Not only natural light but also artificial light can make a huge difference in how a room should look.
If you know exactly how to tweak the looks of your walls with the right kind of lighting, you can try literally any kind of paint for your walls and make them look appealing. To understand the effect of artificial lights on walls, you should first understand the kinds of light bulbs available in the industry.
To easily understand the kind of effect these bulbs will have on your walls, you can analyze the Kelvin numbers of the light bulbs. Kelvin temperature is a measurement used to indicate the kind of light emitted by the bulb. Bulbs with low Kelvin values will have a more yellowish light, and those with high Kelvin values will have a bright white light. We recommend that you not choose the bulb by just reading its name, as it could be misleading. Instead, go through the details on its box and learn about the bulb thoroughly.
Who Should Choose Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee?
The scenarios in which we will suggest BM Moore Swiss Coffee are very minimal. The very first reason to suggest BM Swiss Coffee over any other soft white shades for your walls will be if the color is already used in your place. In this case, the paint will go well on the walls. The only other reason to suggest this shade will be if you purposely want your walls to project such odd undertones along with white. Otherwise, it is common to go with the other options that could give a much better output than BM Swiss Coffee.
It is an undeniable fact that BM Swiss Coffee is a versatile color. Hence, its application is wide. The only catch is that it is less recommended when soft-white tones are your primary choice.
Wrapping Up
Although popular, Benjamin Moore Swiss coffee might not be everyone’s cup of tea (or coffee!). People tend to often choose this paint color, mostly because of its popularity and not because they understand how the color can act in their home. As this particular kind of sharing is pretty subjective in nature, the way it can look depends on a lot of factors like the availability of light, the position of the room, etc.
We hope this article gives you an idea of how variable this paint can look under different circumstances and whether or not you should go for it. You can always go with a better alternative if you are looking for brighter and whiter walls!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Is the Best Trim Color for Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee?
The one-word answer to this question will be white. Although not all whites can go well with Swiss coffee, Benjamin Moore Trying to sample paint colors is recommended to find out which suits you best and not make the wrong choice for your walls.
Can Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee Be Used for Exteriors?
BM Swiss Coffee can be used for exteriors. If you are aware of how this color can look under sunlight, it can be used as a good exterior paint option. Sunlight can make a wall look duller or muted, and knowing with what color BM Swiss Coffee can be used is recommended before using it for exteriors.
Is Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee an Ideal Option for Having Soft White Walls?
No, it is not. If you need the walls to look more white and bright, it is recommended to choose a paint color with a higher LRV than BM Swiss Coffee. Using BM Swiss Coffee can add more undertone colors like green, grey, and yellow to your walls.
