My Candid Review of Natural Cream OC-14 by Benjamin Moore

Looking for a light greige paint color to add both depth and warmth to your kitchen cabinets? Today, I am giving my honest review of Benjamin Moore’s Natural Cream OC-14 and sharing pictures of how this paint color looks in my own home…

Unless you have been living in a cave or completely off the grid, I am sure you have noticed a shift in interior design trends as of late.

While just a few years back, bright, crisp whites and cool greys were all the rage, it seems the pendulum is now shifting and more people are gravitating to less of a studio vibe and more to a homey embrace.

Yes..warmer colors are now dominating the paint scene, and I myself have officially joined the bandwagon.

Wishing to add some depth and warmth to my previously all-white kitchen, after testing samples for what seemed like ages, I finally found a winner with Benjamin Moore’s Natural Cream OC-14 for my cabinets.

Wanting something still relatively light in my East-facing room, while I had initially assumed that Sherwin William’s Accessible Beige was going to be the winner (given it is a coordinating color to my Sherwin William’s Shoji White walls), unfortunately, this slightly darker greige leaned too grey and dark in the afternoon light.

From testing real paint samples (not just the paper swatches) on my kitchen cabinets, I found Natural Cream still reflected light beautifully- despite the natural lighting fluctuations of the day.

What is the LRV of Natural Cream OC-14?

On the LRV (Light Reflectance Value) spectrum with zero being the lowest value and 100 being the highest (like a pure white), Benjamin Moore’s Natural Cream is 64.78. As you can see from it’s lower LRV, Natural Cream is actually not considered a white or even an off-white, but a light greige.

What are the undertones in BM Natural Cream?

What I particularly loved right off of the bat with Natural Cream, is that I never noticed any purple undertones that you often find with more grey-leaning greiges. At the risk of sounding anti-climatic, this color primarily has noticeable grey and beige undertones. But because the color is warm, there are slight notes of green and even just a little yellow( this is what warms the color without leaning too yellow like perhaps Creamy White by Benjamin Moore).

In the photo above, you can see the contrast of the Natural Cream cabinets leaning against the Shoji White pony wall. I took this photo while I was letting my painted cabinets cure. This particular picture was taken at dusk so that you can see what the color looks like in lower lighting conditions (and with a cooler natural light as my kitchen gets a cooler cast in the evening hours). As you can see, the Natural Cream reads more grey in this low light, but in the morning it appears more creamy and beige.

What colors go with Natural Cream?

The beauty of this particular greige is that it can work with both cool and warm colors alike. As for my own home, I needed something to compliment the warm wood beams and red brick fireplace in my kitchen. As you may also note, the marble peel and stick backsplash I went with here leans a little cooler- proving Natural Cream’s versatility in real life.

Making the contrast of the black island feel a little less bold, I love how Natural Cream softens the space while adding a little nuance to it (not your typical black and white kitchen).

While Natural Cream would probably not contrast enough with Shoji White in most homes, in my kitchen, Shoji White reads much more “white” than tan or off-white (like in my bedrooms and office). This is most likely because there is lots of natural light in my kitchen (an entire A-frame wall of glass) and the room is East facing (so it tends to get cooler lighting after the morning hours). Which leads me to my next point…

What trim colors go with Natural Cream OC-14?

If you want Natural Cream to have a more saturated effect, I think a white-white or even a crisp white like Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace would work well. If you prefer a little less contrast, you could go with a complimentary warm white like Benjamin Moore’s White Dove.

At any rate, I would not recommend going for a white hue with stark, blue undertones. Also, be sure you don’t go with a trim color with too similar of an LRV to Natural Cream as this could potentially just clash (in other lighting conditions, SW Shoji White (LRV 74) and BM Natural Cream would probably not be the best choice).

Tip: If you don’t want any contrast at all between your walls and trim, feel free to simply use Natural Cream for your trim/baseboards as well.

At the end of the day, there is only one way to tell if Natural Cream will work for your own home’s unique lighting conditions. First, buy a paper swatch and if you think it’s a winner when you see the swatch in your space, I would then proceed to step two- painting a real sample of it in your room (on various walls/places), and then watching to see how the color changes throughout the course of a week.

Similar Paint Colors to BM Natural Cream OC-14:

If Natural Cream doesn’t happen to be a winner for you after you have followed the steps above (some people have said it actually looks horrible in their own lighting conditions), you could try similar sample colors such as Benjamin Moore’s Pale Oak, Baby Fawn or Sherwin William’s Accessible Beige.

If you have been on the hunt for a warm greige cabinet color to cozy up your kitchen without absorbing too much light or reading way too grey, I hope today’s review of Natural Cream has given you some direction. I am certainly loving it in my own home!

Thank you so much for stopping by and spending some time with me this week! If you found this post helpful, it would mean the world to me if you could share it with a friend or on social media…

Now get out there and design some good vibes along with a fabulous life!