The Color Digest · Compare
Settled, side by side
Wimborne White
Farrow & Ball · No. 239
The white that English houses are painted
Pure White
Sherwin-Williams · SW 7005
The white that stays out of the way
In real rooms
Every room, each colorThe difference
Read from the numbersWimborne White is the lighter of the two at LRV 89, 5 points above Pure White at LRV 84. Wimborne White leans warm where Pure White reads neutral. Both belong to the whites family. For a whole room, Wimborne White is the safer, more forgiving choice thanks to its higher LRV, while Pure White is the bolder pick.
How they read
In their own wordsWimborne White is Farrow & Ball's everyday warm white — named for the Dorset town where the company was founded — with just enough yellow to keep it soft and none of the chalkiness of a true white. At LRV 89 it is bright and clean, and it is the white most often used for ceilings, trim and whole rooms in English houses.
Pure White is one of Sherwin-Williams' most-specified whites for a simple reason: it has almost no agenda. A trace of grey keeps it from glaring, a trace of warmth keeps it from turning blue, and at LRV 84 it is bright without being stark. It is the white you choose when the art, the furniture or the view is the point.