Pointing

Pointing is a warm white with a faint red note underneath it — Patrick O'Donnell of Farrow & Ball calls it 'the red-based sibling of Wimborne White'. That red base is why it behaves the way it does in light.

North-facing rooms are where it is most reliable. The cool, even light has nothing to overheat the red, and Pointing reads as a soft, calm cream that takes the chill off the room without ever going yellow. Designer Phoebe Hollond, quoted in Homes & Gardens, calls it the perfect white for a north-facing room that is heavily patterned.

South-facing rooms in strong sun are where it can surprise you. Direct warm light can push that red note into a visible pink or peach by midday, especially on large uninterrupted walls. Designer Rachael Gowdridge, in Homes & Gardens, says it works in both north- and south-facing rooms, but sample it at noon before you commit.

Pointing is a whole-room white: walls, ceilings, cornice and woodwork. Designer Will Taylor calls it his go-to for ceilings and crown molding because of its soft, warm undertone, and O'Donnell recommends it for ceilings and trim. Farrow & Ball specifies its White and Light Tones primer beneath it.

Pointing on the walls with Wimborne White on the trim is a common, low-contrast English scheme.

On kitchen cabinets it reads as a soft cream rather than a white, which suits a traditional or Shaker kitchen and can look too warm in a hard-edged modern one.

Farrow & Ball names All White No. 2005 as Pointing's complementary white and shows it with Pink Ground No. 202, Setting Plaster No. 231, Stirabout No. 300, Jitney No. 293 and Wimborne White No. 239 — warm, earthy, pink-leaning company. Dusty pinks and earthy neutrals are its natural partners.

For trim, Wimborne White or All White. What to avoid is a cool, blue-leaning white: an architect's review at By Design & Viz warns that Strong White or Wevet on the trim beside Pointing 'reads as an undertone clash', and cool gray stone has the same effect, making Pointing look chalky or faintly pink.

It is most often compared with Wimborne White, which is yellow-based where Pointing is red-based. Dimity, School House White and Slipper Satin are the other whites it gets confused with.

It fails beside cool whites and cool stone. Put it next to a blue-white trim, chrome or gray marble and its red note shows as a dirty pink. It belongs in a warm scheme.

It can turn peachy in strong south sun. On a big, bright wall at midday the cream can read as a pale pink, which is lovely if you wanted it and unsettling if you did not.

And it is not a bright white. Anyone hoping for a crisp gallery white will find Pointing soft and creamy; All White or Wevet are the brand's cleaner options.