Marshmallow
A near-white Behr sells across four different product lines and almost nobody reviews — the honest read on the color, the light that flattens it, and the wrong can you can accidentally buy.
Jessica has spec'd whites and neutrals for more than 300 rooms and keeps a sample wall of painted drawdowns in her studio. Every color review is checked against real reader rooms in the comments and re-tested when a formula changes. About the testing process →
- 1Classic Gray74
- 2Alabaster82
- 3Marshmallow87
- 4Sleek White92
- 5Ultra Pure White97
The Fast Verdict
Marshmallow is what a paint counter reaches for when a customer just wants "a nice off-white, nothing weird." At LRV 87 it is bright and warm-leaning, but the warmth is faint — barely more color than a pure white carries. That makes it easy to live with and genuinely hard to find an opinion about: Behr sells it in four different product lines, and almost nobody online has written a word about it.
A low-drama whole-house white for builders and repaint jobs · exterior siding and trim (it ships in Behr's exterior lines) · cabinets and trim under warm wood · anyone who wants barely-there warmth, not visible cream
You want a color with a documented track record and design-blog fame · you're ordering online and could grab Warm Marshmallow or Toasted Marshmallow by mistake · your room is dim, north-facing, and lit by cool LEDs · you want real, visible cream — this is much quieter than that
- Bright near-white (LRV 87) that stays warm without ever reading cream
- Sold across Behr Ultra, Dynasty, Marquee, and Premium Plus — one color code covers interior and exterior work
- Plays well with warm wood, brass, and most cabinet stains
- Reads clean and soft in full exterior sun, without a cold flash
- Predictable and low-risk when the room has real light
- Behr sells three different colors with "Marshmallow" in the name — easy to order the wrong one
- Very low chroma means it has little warmth in reserve; cool light drains it fast
- Almost no design-blog or owner-review history online — you're buying on the LRV number, not word-of-mouth
- Next to a cooler-toned white trim it can look faintly dull rather than crisp
What Color Is Marshmallow, Really?
A warm, very low-chroma near-white. In the deck it sits at hex #F5EFE5 (245, 239, 229) — red the highest channel, blue the lowest, but the gap between them is small. That small gap is the whole story: Marshmallow carries a whisper of warmth, not the visible cream of a color like Swiss Coffee, so it reads closer to a soft, unbothered white than to an off-white with a personality.
At LRV 87 it reflects almost all the light that hits it — bright enough to sit near the top of Behr's white family, just under the brand's most reflective whites. Behr lists it under White, and it ships across Behr Ultra, Behr Dynasty, Behr Marquee, and Behr Premium Plus, in both interior and exterior formulas. That spread is the real tell: this is a working color contractors and builders specify by the gallon, not a shade anyone picked for a mood board.
Undertone in one line: warm, but only just — never blue, never gray, but with so little chroma that it has less warmth in reserve than most of the whites it gets compared to. That is exactly why it behaves so predictably and why it has almost no online reviews to draw on: it rarely does anything dramatic enough to write about.
Where It Shines
Give it real daylight and it just works — the brightness reads clean without tipping cold, and the faint warmth keeps it from feeling clinical. Its actual job, based on where Behr sells it, is exteriors: siding and trim in full sun read soft and finished rather than glaring. Indoors it is a safe cabinet and trim white against warm wood, brass, and butcher block, doing the same quiet job White Dove and Alabaster do in other decks, minus the reputation.
Where It Fails
Marshmallow does not have a famous failure mode the way a moody accent color does — its problems are all about how little color it actually has to work with, and one very real, very avoidable mix-up at the paint counter.
Because the undertone is so faint to begin with, cool light does not just mute it — it can erase it. In a dark north room lit by daylight-white LEDs, Marshmallow can read flat and institutional, more "hospital hallway" than "soft white." Warm 2700K bulbs and any real daylight fix this; cool light with no daylight backup does not.
Behr sells three different colors with "Marshmallow" in the name. This one, Marshmallow (PPH-18), is a bright, barely-warm near-white at LRV 87. Warm Marshmallow (HDC-NT-11A) is a noticeably deeper, more yellow cream. Toasted Marshmallow (760C-1) is deeper still, a genuine tan sold for ceilings and satin enamel. A sample photo, a Pinterest pin, or a contractor's invoice that just says "Marshmallow" with no code is not enough to go on.
Pair Marshmallow walls with a distinctly cool white trim — Behr's own White (52), for example, which leans blue rather than warm — and Marshmallow's small reserve of warmth loses the argument. The wall reads faintly dull next to the crisper trim, the same "brighter white wins" problem warmer whites run into everywhere, just with less margin here.
Room by Room
With daylight or warm lamps it is a quiet, unbothered backdrop that lets furniture and art do the talking. Flat or eggshell; it hides wall texture without drawing attention to itself.
It sits well against oak, walnut, butcher block, and brass, and it will not fight warm-toned granite or quartz. Satin or semi-gloss cabinet enamel; check it under your under-cabinet LED strip before committing, since cool bulbs are where it loses the most warmth.
Under 2700K bulbs at night it stays soft and easy. In a north-facing bedroom with no lamps and cool overhead light, it can go flat; swap the bulbs before you consider repainting.
With warm stone or wood vanities it is fine. Against cool white or gray quartz, its faint warmth will not win — pick a genuinely neutral white instead, or one with more color to spend.
Semi-gloss Marshmallow trim reads clean and soft under mid-tone walls. The risk runs the other direction here: pairing Marshmallow walls with a brighter, cooler trim white is what makes the walls look dull, not the reverse.
Sold in Behr Dynasty, Marquee, and Premium Plus exterior formulas, all semi-gloss. Full sun reads it clean and softly warm rather than glaring, and it pairs well with dark trim for a modern-farmhouse look.
Your Light Is the Risk
South or west light keeps it clean, warm, and unbothered — the light every near-white wants, and where Marshmallow has the least to prove.
With so little warmth to begin with, cool artificial light and no daylight can flatten it into a dull, institutional white. Test before committing.
Slightly warmer at the sun hours, back to quiet near-white the rest of the day. The shift is subtle, not dramatic.
2700K lamps keep it soft and warm. Cool daylight-white LEDs push it toward flat and gray — swap the bulbs before you swap the paint.
Most complaints about Marshmallow are a light mismatch. Upload a photo of your actual room and see it on your walls — then ask for the same wall in north light or evening lamps before you buy a single sample.
Need It From Another Brand?
Any paint counter can custom-tint Behr PPH-18 directly. If you would rather stay in one brand's own deck, these are the closest stock matches, measured as ΔE2000. Under 2 is a difference you will not see on the wall.
| Brand | Closest color | ΔE | LRV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherwin-Williams | White FlourSW 7102 · Sherwin-Williams | 0.5 | 87 | Color page → |
| Benjamin Moore | Pink Damask890 · Benjamin Moore | 0.5 | 85 | Color page → |
| Valspar | Crisp Cotton7007-4 · Valspar | 0.9 | 87 | Color page → |
| PPG / Glidden | Crumb CookiePPG18-01 · PPG / Glidden | 2.6 | 87 | Color page → |
| Glidden | Floral White61YY 85/050 · Glidden | 0.5 | 85 | Color page → |
| Dutch Boy | Aged Marble006W · Dutch Boy | 1.8 | 87 | Color page → |
Similar Behr Colors
The nearest shades to Marshmallow within Behr's own range, ranked by perceptual color distance — useful when you want the same look a touch lighter, darker, or warmer.
WCAG 2.1: AA is 4.5 : 1 for normal text, 3 : 1 for large text, AAA is 7 : 1.
Marshmallow vs the Colors You're Also Considering
Every Marshmallow sample board has the same rivals on it. The numbers show the real lightness gap — then it comes down to which risk you would rather live with.
Pick this if you want it a touch warmer than Polar Bear's cooler, more neutral cast.
Behr 75 · LRV 86Polar BearPick this if you want Behr's most-reached-for everyday white — Polar Bear has more of an actual track record.
Pick this if Swiss Coffee's cream reads too yellow for your room — Marshmallow keeps the same idea much quieter.
Behr 12 · LRV 80Swiss CoffeePick this if you want real, visible cream — Swiss Coffee shows far more personality and warmth.
Marshmallow Coordinating Colors
Marshmallow stays quiet on purpose, so its best partners don't compete for attention: other Behr whites at a different sheen, a real beige with the yellow taken out, warm woods, and one confident dark for contrast. These are the pairings that keep showing up on the product lines Marshmallow actually ships in:
The Three Marshmallows: A Real Mix-Up to Avoid
Behr sells three separate colors with the word "Marshmallow" in the name, and they are not close. This color, Marshmallow (PPH-18), is a bright, low-chroma near-white at LRV 87. Warm Marshmallow (HDC-NT-11A) is a visibly deeper, more yellow warm cream. Toasted Marshmallow (760C-1) is deeper again — a genuine tan, sold for ceilings and satin enamel work. Order by name alone at a busy paint counter, or off a Pinterest screenshot with no code visible, and there's a real chance you walk out with the wrong can.
The fix costs nothing: confirm the code, PPH-18, before anything gets tinted. If a sample photo, a contractor's invoice, or a swatch just says "Marshmallow" with no code attached, treat the color as unverified — it could be any of the three, and they read very differently on a wall.
Marshmallow on Exteriors
This is arguably Marshmallow's real job. It ships in Behr Dynasty, Marquee, and Premium Plus exterior formulas, all in semi-gloss, which is Behr treating it as a working siding and trim color rather than a boutique interior shade. Full sun reads it clean and softly warm rather than glaring, and it avoids the faint blue flash some "pure" whites pick up on stucco or fiber cement.
Pair it with a true near-black trim like Cracked Pepper for a modern-farmhouse contrast, or let the door carry the personality with a warm brick tone like Sunset Orange. What to avoid: a cooler-toned white trim from the same deck — Behr's own White (52) leans blue rather than warm, and next to it Marshmallow siding can look faintly dull instead of crisp.
Three Ready Palettes Built on Marshmallow
A color is never alone on the wall. These are complete combinations in the 60-30-10 pattern, with the reason each one holds together. Every one opens in the visualizer.
One white at two sheens costs no decisions and produces zero clashes room to room. Cracked Pepper supplies the single dark note the scheme needs, so the whole house stays as low-drama as Marshmallow itself.
Try this palette in your roomThis is the job Behr actually sells Marshmallow for — a soft, warm siding white with near-black trim for the modern-farmhouse contrast, and one brick-red door so the front elevation has a pulse.
Try this palette in your roomEven Better Beige gives the walls a real, yellow-free beige to sit against; Hidden Gem carries the one deep, characterful note the room needs so the cabinets can stay this quiet and still look intentional.
Try this palette in your roomMarshmallow FAQ
Is Behr Marshmallow warm or cool?
Warm, but only just. It never reads blue or gray, but the warmth is faint compared to a true cream — it has less color in reserve than a lot of the whites it gets compared to, which is why cool light affects it more.
Is Marshmallow the same as Warm Marshmallow or Toasted Marshmallow?
No — these are three different Behr colors that happen to share a name. Marshmallow (PPH-18) is the bright near-white reviewed here at LRV 87. Warm Marshmallow (HDC-NT-11A) is a visibly deeper, more yellow cream. Toasted Marshmallow (760C-1) is deeper again, a genuine tan. Always confirm the code before you buy.
What's the difference between Marshmallow and Behr Swiss Coffee?
Swiss Coffee (LRV 80) is a true, visible cream with real yellow warmth. Marshmallow (LRV 87) is brighter and far more neutral — pick Swiss Coffee if you want the color to show, Marshmallow if you want it to stay quiet.
Does Marshmallow work on exteriors?
Yes — it's sold in Behr's Dynasty, Marquee, and Premium Plus exterior formulas, all in semi-gloss. It reads clean and softly warm in full sun and pairs well with dark trim.
Is Marshmallow good for kitchen cabinets?
Yes, in satin or semi-gloss cabinet enamel. It's friendly to warm wood, brass, and most cabinet stains — just check it under your actual under-cabinet lighting, since cool LED strips are where it loses the most warmth.
Is Marshmallow a popular or trending color?
Not in any documented way — there's no Color of the Year history and very little design-blog or owner-review coverage to point to. What it has instead is distribution: Behr sells it across four product lines as a working white, which is a different kind of proof than internet buzz.
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