An exterior paint job is a massive undertaking and choosing a colour is a huge commitment. Our Modern Farmhouse desperately needed an exterior paint refresh and I think choosing the right colour was one of the most agonizing aspects of this project.

Our yellow modern farmhouse with its big wrap around veranda, was charming to say the least. Over time, the yellow had faded and it was time to either refresh the paint with a new yellow or go bold and switch it up completely.

Here are a few “before” picture of our yellow farmhouse including a special custom print I had painted by Jaimie Illustrates.

Choosing an exterior paint colour

We went back and forth on colours and finally went with our heart and decided that we were going to turn our yellow farmhouse into a white farmhouse.

I researched for months both via Pinterest and also through some of my favourite designers on Instagram. I was really torn between a light greige or a true white. Here are a few of the images from my Home Style board Pinterest that I drew inspiration from.

In my research I learned a lot about LRV (Light Reflective Value) , tones, undertones, and how even the direction your home faces can play a huge part in how a colour will appear on your home.

The Best White Paint Colours for Exteriors

Here is a list of the top contenders for our exterior paint refresh and then I’ll reveal the colour we chose and why.

Sherwin Williams Alabaster | Sherwin Williams Oyster White | Sherwin Williams Shoji White |

Sherwin Williams White Duck | Benjamin Moore White Dove | Benjamin Moore China White

Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore

Our house is a classic Modern Farmhouse with dormer windows and a covered veranda. The trendy modern farmhouse is bright white with a lot of black accents. Personally, I didn’t want to fall into the very trendy farmhouse look. All of my inspiration pointed to a softer look with less contrast for a more classic look.

Narrowing this down helped me really hone in on warmer/creamier whites. Scrolling some of my favourite designers on Instagram, I kept going back to Monika Hibbs beautiful white home. I sent her a message and she was so kind to share her white exterior paint colour – Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee.

I think I was immediately smitten by the name itself. I mean really, how could you go wrong with a name like “Swiss Coffee”. As I started researching this paint colour, I quickly realized that this was the creamy white I had been looking for. With an LRV of 83.93 it was far from stark white but still nice and bright. This white is creamy and definitely more of an off white. It definitely has warmer undertones and pulls yellow in lower lights. This was ok for us because we did love our original yellow farmhouse.

Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee has turned out to be THE perfect white for our Modern Farmhouse Exterior. For a very slight contrast we went with Benjamin Moore Frostine for the trim and then Benjamin Moore Kendal Charcoal for our doors. The charcoal doors are a great “pop” to our white farmhouse exterior.

Our freshly painted Modern Farmhouse Exterior is everything I hoped for and more! I’m so happy that I took the time to really research the vibe I was after. Thinking of an exterior refresh in the future? Pin the images below and safe for later!

A Big shout out to Patrick and Team from A Step Beyond Painting. Their professionalism and expertise were beyond our expectations and we would use and recommend them again in a heartbeat!