The Best White Paint: Sherwin Williams First Star
Looking for the best white paint for your home’s interior? Look no further – today I’m breaking down my favorite neutral paint color for the home – Sherwin Williams’ First Star – and showing you how it looks in our home!
Every once in a while you accidentally stumble on the best possible thing for your house without actually trying.
That’s exactly what happened with the wall color throughout the majority of our house. Our home was a spec home, meaning it was already being built by the builder in our neighborhood and we came in about halfway through the process to purchase it. That means we didn’t have say in most of the big decisions for the home. We were able to choose the flooring throughout the house, but that’s the only customization option we had at all.
In the case of our wall color, it ended up being a great thing. I don’t know that I would have originally picked Sherwin Williams’ First Star as the paint color throughout our house, but it has ended up being the absolute perfect white for our walls and I can’t imagine anything else here now! I always get asked about it when I share pictures on Instagram so I figured it was high time to devote an entire post to this beautiful color.
sherwin williams’ first star (SW 7646)
It might feel a little silly to dedicate an entire blog post to one paint color, but choosing a paint for your entire home can be beyond overwhelming. I always find it so helpful when I’m choosing colors to see examples of the color in real life situation, so my hope is that if SW First Star is a color you’re considering for your home, this post will help you make a decision about if it’s right for you!
SW First Star Undertones
Let’s talk about one of the most important things when it comes to choosing the best white paint for your home – what are the undertones?
Sherwin Williams’ First Star is a cool, light gray color with (very) slight blue undertones. In our home, it reads as mostly white, but when you look at it next to the baseboards (which are painted SW Extra White), it’s clear that it’s actually more of a gray. I love that it isn’t a pure white, because for me personally, it makes it feel a bit cozier and less stark.
I traditionally gravitate to warmer grays for my space (which is why I might not have picked this color on my own), but First Star feels like the perfect cool gray that isn’t too stark or modern feeling, but adds just the right amount of crispness to a space.
First Star vs. Agreeable Gray
I wanted to touch briefly on the differences between First Star and Agreeable Gray, because Agreeable Gray is probably the most popular Sherwin Williams neutral paint for interiors, and it’s the color many (maybe even most) of the other homes in our neighborhood are painted.
Agreeable Gray is a very similar color, the key difference being that it’s a warm, greige color rather than the cool gray of First Star. It’s also a beautiful neutral, but may lend itself better to more traditional spaces where you want a warmer tone on the walls. It’s a very versatile color that generally reads more brown/greige than white, and it looks great in almost every space.
This is the color I may have chosen for our home if I was choosing blindly, but I’m honestly so glad we ended up with First Star instead. I love the crisper, airier feel that it has, and the cooler shade really helps my entire home feel brighter.
first star in a real-life home
Now, let’s take a look at how Sherwin Williams’ First Star actually looks in a few spaces around our home.
You’ll notice that it reads slightly differently in various rooms depending on the amount of natural light in the space, and that’s going to be true of any gray or white paint that you pick! That’s why it’s so important to always sample your paint colors in various rooms and lighting situations, because the light makes all the difference.
SHERWIN WILLIAMS first star in our living room
Here, you can see how First Star looks in our living room midday with no overhead lights on – just the natural light from the windows. Thanks to tons of natural light in our living room, we rarely (never?) turn on the overhead lights – we use a lamp or two in the evenings when we need to, but this room is almost always lit simply by the natural light from the windows.
SHERWIN WILLIAMS First Star in our dining room + kitchen
Here’s a peek at how SW First Star looks in the kitchen and dining room area.
I particularly like this view because I feel like seeing it against the stark white cabinets gives you a great idea of the undertones in the color and a better picture of how it truly looks.
Sherwin Williams First Star in our upstairs hallway
Here’s a great example of what First Star looks like in a space with no real natural lighting at all. Our upstairs hallway has a bit of residual light from the rest of the house during the day, but at night it’s basically a cave. On the left, you can see the first part of the hallway, where there’s more light from the rest of the house. On the right, there’s far less lighting – you really only get natural light in this space if the doors to the boys’ rooms are open. It’s a good example of how First Star might look in a home that doesn’t have a ton of natural light!
I hope this was a helpful look at how this color looks in a real-life space! To see even more images of this color throughout our home, check out our most recent house tour!
Sherwin Williams’ First Star is definitely my go-to white paint color for our home now, and I don’t see myself ever changing it. It’s ended up being the perfect white-but-not-too-white color for me, especially as a person who generally finds white walls to be boring!
What’s your favorite neutral paint color for your home?!
I have first star and really like it. Did you just do simple white shades or blinds? I’m wondering if I pair it with natural shades if there is a color that will work?
Hi! Yes, ours are white. I think anything would look great, though!
Thinking of painting kitchen walls this. Our cabinets are Repose do you think this would work?
I absolutely agree, Sherwin Williams First Star is definitely a top-notch choice when it comes to finding the perfect white paint!
Your home is beautiful! We are in process of changing all the wood trim and kitchen cabinets to SW Extra White. We have been searching for a pale cool gray for walls in kitchen, dining, living rooms (open floor plan). This area faces West in the afternoon. We tried SW Rhinestone on our enclosed lanai, off of kitchen. Looks great! But it looked very blue when we tested in living/dining area. After reading here, I purchased SW First Star. Again, shows slightly blue on some walls late afternoon. I’ve read that you can ask at the SW store to add few drops of orange to balance out the blue. Do you have any advice on this process before we paint any more walls? Thank you!!
Hi! I haven’t tried this before, but I would have them do it in a sample pot or even just a quart, then test it on one of the walls you’re having issues with before you commit!
I love your colors! Can you tell me where you got your sofas and the color swatch of the sofas? Thanks
Your home looks beautiful. Can you please tell me what is your paint sheen/finish ?
We are currently painting the front rooms of our home with First Star. I was kind of nervous because it seemed to light. We have white cabinets and trim. Seeing your house just gave me comfort. It is beautiful! I can’t wait to finish now. Your flooring is similar to what I am going with and I like the idea that you used the white floor boards with the wood trim next to the flooring. I think I will do that as well. Thank you!!!
Hi!
I am definitely looking at your home for design inspiration! My home was also already painted with SW First Star, or so I’m told. My local SW store provided us with a gallon of paint that does NOT match. It is way too dark. Do you know if they’ve changed the formula recently?
Hello Amanda,
My wife and I are building a new home, so obtaining samples and checking how they look in the space at various times of day (and how artificial lighting affects them) is not a realistic option.
We’re considering SW 7006 Extra White for the ceiling/doors/trim, and SW 7646 First Star for the walls. In addition, some areas will have coffered ceilings (upcharge!) and we are considering having the coffers painted with 7646 First Star and the coffer beams painted with 7006 Extra White. Our goal is for there to be enough of a “difference” between the two colors to be noticeable (walls and coffers), but not overwhelming. We want a light, airy feel, and are afraid of choosing a darker grey that might look “dingy”. Finally, both 7006 and 7646 are ‘cool’ colors as far as we know, so our understanding is that they will match well.
The LRV of 7006 Extra White is 86. The LRV of 7646 First Star is 69. Absent exact lighting information, do you think this is likely to be a good match, or would you recommend a different pair?
Thank you.
Hi John – that’s the combo we have here. I like it!
Hi Amanda,
I’m considering First Star for an old Victorian house we just bought that has a lot of unpainted woodwork. We are leaving the woodwork unpainted but want to paint the walls a color that will brighten and modernize the space. If I want First Star to read as white, should I paint the crown molding and ceiling First Star, also?
Thank you!
Our baseboards are pure white, so you can see the difference between a pure white and First Star in all of our photos! I think it would read as mostly white against just about anything – it’s a VERY light gray.
Hello, thank you for pics and thorought of FS . I have narrowed it down to FS for our whole house, with either SW Pure white or SW Extra White trim, doors and celing? or should we paint it SW FS flat on the ceiling?
We are coordinating with SW Indigo Batik , SW Rain and SW Worldly Gray for kitchen Cabinets (previously painted 2 yrs ago)so can’t change that, .
We live in Arizona, so lighting is very different,- Question: SW Pure White or SW Extra white for doors, trim and ceiling? or use FS?
Thtanks
In our house, we have SW Pure White on our doors and trim, and we have First Star on the ceiling. 🙂
Hello, just saw your reply post, Well, in the blog it states that you used SW Extra White in the baseboards and then SW Pure white on the doors and door trim and then SW First star on walls and ceiling?? Is this correct? Please advise, I am having a struggle with SW Pure White or SW Extra White for my trim doors and baseboards. WE have a cool greyiish beige off white floor, and live in ARizona . Don’t want to pick up yellows, ..
We also get a lot of natural light.
Hale navy kitchen island light grey counter tops with bright white cupboards (ikea) and b nickel hardware
in the kitchen.
In the living room we have a driftwood panelling accent wall and a driftwood colour dinning table. We live on the ocean hence the driftwood accents and brushed nickel lighting. I am considering the first star paint colour.
What do you think?
Hi,
Would first star work in bathroom with no windows ? And could you also use it for a ceiling paint as well as the walls together ?
Hi! Yes, we have it on a windowless bathroom in our house, and we also have it on all of our ceilings!
Any input on SW Spare White for exterior? We will have some stained wood at entrance and white windows with stained wood accent on top. Would love your opinion ( house is board and batten)
Hi! I don’t have any experience with that specific color
Going to use First Star in home building. Our trim and cabinets will be snowbound.
I am having difficulty finding flooring to go.
Whst do you have? I love it! I’m finding that the floor is too pink or greenish or gray.
Hi! Our exact flooring has been discontinued, but it’s LVP from Armstrong!
What do you think about First Star for kitchen cabinets?
I think it would look great!
I found your post because I just had a house built and the builder used First Star throughout and I hate it, ha ha. Such a bland, boring color, especially since we have a big open floorplan and white kitchen cabinets. We didn’t have a choice on anything, being post-Covid with material shortages, so I was looking for ideas of what to do with it. Anyway, your home looks lovely and I’m glad you’re enjoying the color.
So light and airy I love it! We will be getting our main areas painted in first star in a couple weeks!. Except the dining room. It will be done in agreeable gray for a little warmer touch.
We have this color in the house that we are buying (inventory home currently in build process). I’m trying to find a nice color of “cut and loop” carpet for the upstairs that won’t clash with it. Any thoughts?
Hi! We have a light gray/tan carpet – you can see it in some photos towards the end of the post. I don’t know the name of the color, though.
Hi…. Will FS look white on the exterior? we will have dark brown/black trim
I imagine it would, but I always recommend testing!
This was really helpful. I was going to do a cool Grey on my walls. Currently it’s that builder white color, kinda yellowish tint? But I just put in white quartz counters and liked the airy feel. But I didn’t want stark white. The way you described it as a really light cool grey is exactly what I’m looking for. It looks great in your house!
Finally I’ve found someone who has used First Star throughout their home like me! I love it paired with my Extra White trim. So light and airy! Could definitely use some help on my kitchen, however, where the previous owners painted the kitchen cabinets a warm Dover White (think creamy and yellow) in an area that doesn’t get much natural light. I have to fix this. Looks like we have similar granite too. What color are your cabinets and backsplash? Love your home!
Hi! Ours are a pretty pure white – we didn’t choose the color, but it’s a good basic white. The backsplash is light gray.
Hello what color is on the ceiling? Thx
It’s First Star as well!
Yes, I love this color! My daughter picked it for her room and it is beautiful BUT, I would not call this a white at all. This is a very light, light gray. It looks gorgeous with her gold rose accents and white bedspread but you can totally see the gray in it.
It brightened her room soooo much! Looks beautiful in your home too! 🙂
Totally agree. This is not white. This is light light gray! We went with SW 7005 – Pure White in our home. That is white.
You have done a great job choosing the colour. It looks lovely. I want to paint our hall and bathroom. I am leaning towards grey. Hope it looks as good as your home.
Thanks for sharing.
Shirley