Shoji White vs Alabaster
In this post, I’ll compare the Sherwin Williams paint colors Shoji White vs Alabaster and give you tips on how to choose which would be better for your home.
Both are good white paint colors that can transform your space, but they each have unique characteristics that might make one more suitable for your home than the other.
Comparing Shoji White vs Alabaster
Two popular white paint colors from Sherwin Williams are Shoji White and Alabaster.
Shoji White is a warm, off-white that sits comfortably between white and beige. It isn’t the most popular white Sherwin Williams color, but it can look absolutely beautiful in the right setting.
Alabaster is more popular, and for good reason. The subtle creaminess of this soft, warm white has a timeless quality that works for a lot of different styles.
There are 2 important factors to keep in mind when you’re comparing Shoji White and Alabaster:
- Light Reflectance Value, or LRV for short – LRV is the measurement for how much light is reflected by a paint color. The higher the LRV number is, the brighter that paint color appears.
- Undertones – Undertones are the subtle colors that make white look warm or cool. Certain lighting conditions will make undertones even stronger.
| Shoji White vs Alabaster | Shoji White | Alabaster |
| LRV | 74 | 82 |
| Undertones | Warm; beige and gray | Warm; yellow |
| Best For… | Almost any use from interior walls to cabinetry to exteriors | Exteriors. North & East facing rooms. Early 2000s Tuscan-style Kitchens with dark granite countertops |
| Avoid Using For… | Rooms that don’t get a lot of natural light | Kitchen & Bathroom cabinets where you have bright white countertops or backsplash. Trim and interior doors, unless you’re also painting the walls in Alabaster. |
Alabaster exterior
Shoji White LRV vs Alabaster LRV
With an LRV of 74, Shoji White is far from being a bright white. And this is why I wouldn’t recommend using Shoji White in rooms that don’t already get a lot of natural light.
However, it does perform beautifully in well-lit rooms and thanks to the undertones, it can gently brighten up a space without leaning too cold.
Alabaster has an LRV of 82, which makes it brighter than Shoji White.
However, it’s still not what we’d consider a true bright white, so you’ll see it warm up a room a lot more than a different white color that’s 85+ on the LRV scale.
Shoji White undertones vs Alabaster undertones (aka does Alabaster look yellow?)
Shoji White has subtle warm undertones, with hints of beige and gray.
This makes Shoji White pretty flexible, and it’s one of the few creamy off-whites I’d be ok with for kitchen cabinets.
Alabaster has subtle warm undertones with a hint of yellow, giving it a creamy and soft appearance.
In MOST lighting, the creaminess of Alabaster won’t look yellow.
It’s only when you put it next to brighter, more neutral whites that you can start to see the yellow-cream undertones of Alabaster start to come through.
That’s why I wouldn’t recommend using Alabaster in kitchens or bathrooms that have bright white countertops or backsplash.
Shoji White walls and Urbane Bronze front door
Where to use Shoji White in your home
Because of its flexibility, Shoji White will look good in just about every part of your home. I’d recommend this color for:
- Interior walls
- Trim
- Kitchen and bathroom cabinets
- Exteriors
Shoji White coordinating colors
Shoji White pairs beautifully with warm, subdued colors. Here are some popular suggestions for a Shoji White whole house color scheme:
Where to use Alabaster in your home
Since Alabaster tends to lean more creamy than Shoji White does, there are fewer areas where I’d recommend using it. For most homes, these would be the best uses for Alabaster:
- Northern and Eastern facing rooms (the creaminess of Alabaster will warm up the cool natural light these rooms tend to receive)
- Exteriors, as the main color or trim
We used Alabaster as the main exterior color of our previous fixer-upper home, and it brightened up the dingy 1970s brick exterior without looking too cold or harsh.
Alabaster coordinating colors
Because of its yellow undertone, it could be tricky to use Alabaster in a whole house color scheme.
However, if you absolutely love Alabaster you can still pair it with some of these other popular Sherwin Williams colors:
Does Shoji White go with Alabaster?
You may be wondering, can you use Shoji White with Alabaster?
And well, you can do anything you want – it’s your house after all!
But should you pair Alabaster with Shoji White?
That’s a hard no.
Alabaster’s yellow undertones are too creamy to look good when paired with Shoji White.
If you’re looking for another white color that could work with Shoji White or Alabaster, I’d recommend Pure White. (It’s also a warm, soft white but it has more neutral undertones that play well with others.)
SW Alabaster walls and trim paired with a SW Pure White ceiling
Which is better: Shoji White vs Alabaster?
This is always tough because everyone’s home is different. But If I had to pick an all-around winner, it would be…
SHOJI WHITE!
Even though Shoji White isn’t as bright as Alabaster, its undertones give it much more flexibility.
Alabaster’s yellow undertones, even though they’re subtle, keep it from being a good choice with most of today’s popular interior styles. In fact, where Alabaster really performs best is on exteriors.
So if you’re looking for a warm white that you could use in a whole home color palette, I’d recommend Shoji White over Alabaster for this.
Shoji White kitchen cabinets paired with a Pewter Green kitchen island