"How Does SW Dover White Look in the Snow?"
THE FARMHOUSE
When we picked out Sherwin William’s Dover White as the paint color for our Farmhouse this past summer, a lot of people asked “how will that look in the snow?” A really valid question for an exterior paint color, but with months left before the first snow, we could only guess. But now that winter’s here, I wanted to share photos of how our Farmhouse looks in the snow painted in SW Dover White for anyone else asking that same question…
The answer IMO is that Dover White looks great in the snow. I really love it!
About our Farmhouse
There are so many things that go into a color looking good on a home. And I wanted to share a few facts about our house for reference…
We live in Washington state (at about 47° latitude)
The front of our house faces south
These photos were taken on November 30th at 8:30am - meaning the sun was low in the sky and the light is a bit gray and cold compared to midday
SW Dover White
Dover White is a warm white that came highly recommended when we were looking at paint colors this summer. With a light reflective value (LRV) of 83, it’s pretty bright but doesn’t appear blinding. LRV is the percentage of light a color reflects - black is 0 and pure white is 100 - so it’s a good indicator how dark or light a color will look. The paint our house painter used was satin (Sherwin Williams A-100 exterior acrylic latex paint) so there’s a tiny hint of a shine to it. More on the paint job here.
seasonal light
When you think about how a paint color will look in the snow, you need to think about how the paint color will look in winter light. I’m probably a bit in the weeds here, but as someone who photographs their house over and over again in every season, I’ve grown to really appreciate how different seasons affect the light. In the summer months we get a greenish-yellow tint to everything due to all the leaves and greenery outside. In the fall, it’s a bit warmer yellow. And in the winter, when the sun is low and there’s snow on the ground, it’s magically bright and clean. Winter makes a creamy white look less creamy and more white and if you compare the photos in this post to the photos of our Farmhouse from the summer you can see it. Anywho, seasonal light is definitely something to be aware of when picking your paint color if you live somewhere with seasons like our’s.
sunshine
The photos above were taken early at 8:30am before the kids had a chance to get on their winter gear and trample the snow. But at 10am, the clouds parted, the sun came out and the house looked like this.
Dover White definitely looks creamier in the sunshine, but still really pretty against the snow. I’m feeling really happy with our color choices. Now I just can’t wait to get holiday decorations up on this beauty!
