Black White or Alabaster for a dark room?

For the walls of a dark room, Resene Alabaster is usually the safer of the two, because its light reflectance value is higher (about 91 against about 84 for Black White in Resene's swatch library), so it returns more of what little light there is. Black White has more grey in it, and in dim light that grey shows, which suits people who want a soft, chalky look and disappoints people who wanted the room to feel brighter.

Neither is a warm white, though, and in a properly dark south-facing room that matters more than the choice between them.

What is the actual difference between the two?

Less than their reputations suggest. Here is what Resene itself publishes about each.

What Resene states	Resene Black White	Resene Alabaster
Swatch description	A calcite grey white, chalky and soft	A near white with a light blackened edge
Colour code	N93-005-100	N96-006-099
Approximate LRV (swatch library)	84	91
How Resene groups it	Grey (cool) white	Grey (cool) white

Resene explains that the first letter of a colour code shows what type of colour it is, with N meaning neutral, a very low saturation colour, and that the last three numbers show where the colour sits on the colour wheel. On those numbers, 100 and 099, the two sit in almost exactly the same place. The main difference between them is not undertone. It is how light they are.

LRV, or light reflectance value, is the share of light a surface reflects compared with the light falling on it. Resene defines 100% as the brightest white and a pure black as 0%. Resene's Habitat magazine describes Black White as a cool white with a hint of black, and at the time of that issue named it Resene's most popular paint colour, followed closely by Alabaster. Both are widely used, which is one reason they get compared so often.

How does each one read in low light?

In a bright room the two can look nearly the same. In a dim one the gap widens.

• Alabaster stays reading as white for longer as the light drops. Its higher LRV means more of the available daylight bounces back into the room, so corners and the window wall go grey later.
• Black White shows its grey sooner. In shadow it can look like a pale grey rather than a white, which some people love for its softness and others find flat.

The sheen changes this too. Resene notes that matte paint and textured surfaces absorb more light and make a colour seem darker, without changing its stated LRV, while smooth, glossy surfaces reflect more light and make the colour seem cleaner and brighter. So Black White in a flat finish on a wall and Black White in semi-gloss on a door frame will not look like the same colour, and neither will Alabaster. Sheen choices are covered in our guide to sheen levels.

Which works better on trim, and which on walls?

Resene's Habitat article on choosing whites says Alabaster is a favourite, and as a trim colour goes with just about any other paint colour. That is the most useful thing to know about it. Because it is lighter and fairly clean, it gives a crisp edge against most wall colours without introducing an obvious undertone of its own.

Black White on trim works best when the walls are also cool or grey-based. The same Resene article describes Black White as grey-based, prized for its cool architectural quality.

A practical pairing in a dim room is a lighter trim than wall, so the edges read clean rather than grubby. If you want both from the same family, Resene sells strength variations of both colours, such as Half and Eighth Black White and Double Alabaster, which let you step lighter or deeper without mixing undertones. The Alabaster family is covered in more detail in our guide to choosing Resene Alabaster.

What if the room is dark because it faces south?

Then the bigger question is warm versus cool, not Alabaster versus Black White. Resene groups both among its grey, cool whites, and says it is the red, orange, yellow and brown based whites that suit rooms needing warming up on the south side of a house.

How do you compare these two without repainting twice?

1. Put both samples up side by side on the darkest wall in the room, not on the window wall where everything looks brighter.
2. Hold each one against the trim you intend to use. If the trim will be Alabaster, check whether Black White walls read as a deliberate step darker or just as a grubbier version of the trim.
3. Look again at dusk with your own lights on, when the difference in how much light each one returns is easiest to see.
4. If the room will get a flat wall paint, judge the samples in a flat finish too, since sheen changes how light either white looks.

Testpots cost very little. Repainting a room because the white turned out grey costs far more, and there is no reason to pay a painter until the colour is settled.

And if the room is already painted in one of these two and it is in good condition, switching to the other is rarely worth a full repaint on its own. The difference is small enough that better lighting, a lighter ceiling or warmer furnishings will often change the room more for less money.

If you have chosen your colours and want the room painted properly, contact us for a free quote.