Modern Ivory
Dunn-Edwards' quiet Warm Neutrals ivory, reviewed honestly: the rooms where it still reads as a white, the trim that makes it dingy, and what to pick instead.
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 →
- 1Titanium68
- 2Eider White73
- 3Modern Ivory78
- 4White Dove83
- 5Chantilly Lace91
The Fast Verdict
Modern Ivory is the ivory Dunn-Edwards mixed for people who want a white with a little body and none of the butter. At LRV 78 it sits in Warm Neutrals, not the Whites collection: low-chroma, yellow-family on the chip, ivory on the wall. In even daylight it reads as a finished off-white. Put it next to Warm White trim, or buy it hoping for a gallery white, and the ivory is the whole story. It is a Western-counter workhorse, not a celebrity, and it behaves like one.
Living rooms and bedrooms with real daylight · kitchen cabinets with warm wood and brass · bathrooms that want cream, not glare · anyone who wants ivory that still reads as a white
You want a crisp gallery white · trim is staying Warm White or leftover builder-bright · cool grey marble, grey LVP, or cool LEDs · a west wall that bakes all afternoon
- Quiet ivory at LRV 78 — warm enough to finish a room, not yellow enough to read as cream
- One-color rooms (walls + trim + ceiling) look original in older houses
- Flatters oak, walnut, plaster, brass — every warm wood tone
- Cabinets and baths: hides scuffs better than Whisper, Warm White, or any gallery white
- Quieter than Cottage White, creamier than Whisper — a real gap in the DE deck
- Looks dingy next to Warm White, leftover builder trim, or a white tub
- Not a gallery white — buyers expecting white see ivory by the second wall
- West afternoon sun pulls a peach-ivory flash
- Clashes with cool grey marble, grey LVP, and cool LEDs
What Color Is Modern Ivory, Really?
A quiet warm ivory, not a yellow cream and not a true white. Dunn-Edwards files DE6197 in the Perfect Palette Warm Neutrals — not the Whites collection, which is the honest filing. Cottage White and Birch White live with the whites; this can lives with the creams that still pass as walls-you-could-call-white. The Munsell is 2.43Y at chroma 1.0: yellow-family, almost no yellow on the wall, a hair more peach-ivory than Birch White's yellower 3.13Y. It has sat in that deck since the mid-2000s without a viral kitchen, a Color of the Year — Dunn-Edwards does not run one — or a national complaint thread. Confirm the chip says DE6197. Ivory is a reused word in the aisle, and none of those other chips are this paint.
At LRV 78 it reflects a lot of light, but it is not a bright white. Birch White sits one point higher at LRV 79 and is the creamier yellow-white; Cottage White is at 80 and still reads as a traditional yellow-cream; Whisper, Dunn-Edwards' White Dove, is at 87; Milk Glass is at 86; Warm White, the trim DE's own page suggests, is a true white at LRV 93. Sherwin-Williams Ivory Lace is the useful cross-brand neighbor at LRV 79 — similar depth, the trade's quiet default when Creamy feels too yellow. That gap is the useful part. On a wall Modern Ivory holds just enough ivory to soften shadows and flatter oak; on millwork it reads as painted woodwork rather than plastic-bright. On four walls next to a real white, the same number is the risk, because the field looks unwashed.
Undertone in one line: warm ivory with a quiet yellow-orange — never gray, never a loud pink, never yellow enough to pass as Cottage White. In even south or east daylight it reads as a finished off-white. In west sun the peach-ivory comes forward for an hour. If your sample looks dingy, a brighter white is sitting next to it, or the bulbs are cool. If it looks peach, that is the paint being honest about the hour. Both versions are the same can.
Where It Shines
Give it real daylight, warm wood, and no brighter white next to it, and it is an easy whole-room ivory. The one-color house — walls, trim, and ceiling all Modern Ivory with only sheen changes — is the pairing this color was mixed for: plaster, oak, and brass look original instead of freshly painted. Kitchens are the second home when the counters are warm: satin on cabinets hides knuckle marks a gallery white would broadcast. Dunn-Edwards also lists it as a bathroom wall color, and it earns the listing — warmer than Whisper, still light enough at LRV 78 that a small bath stays open.
Where It Fails
Almost every regret about this color follows one of three scripts, and all three are predictable before the first coat. None of them are a bad batch — but if your room matches one, this is not your ivory, and sampling bigger will only confirm it.
The pairing Dunn-Edwards prints on the color page is the trap: Modern Ivory walls, Warm White trim. Warm White is a true white wearing a warm name (LRV 93) — fifteen points brighter, and it wins the comparison. Modern Ivory looks yellowed, dingy, slightly unwashed. Chantilly Lace (LRV 90) and leftover builder ceiling-white do the same trick. The fix is the one-color rule: walls, trim, and ceiling all Modern Ivory, sheen change only.
On the chip it can pass as a soft white. On four walls the ivory sits there in the open — quiet, a little peach in the afternoon, not the fresh white a search for Modern Ivory sometimes means. Shoppers who wanted Whisper, Milk Glass, or a crisp gallery white end up with a color guests will call cream. If white is what you actually want, this is the wrong can. Whisper is Dunn-Edwards' White Dove; Milk Glass is the cream that still reads as white.
Carrara-look quartz, grey LVP, and 4000K bulbs sit at the opposite temperature and shove the yellow-orange forward until the wall reads sour peach. Warm rugs will not rescue a whole-room clash. With cool floors or cool lamps, pick a true white — Lighthouse in this deck, or Chantilly Lace if you are crossing brands — and let the floor be the soft one.
Room by Room
With oak or walnut, plaster, and even south or east light it is the calm ivory those rooms were built around. Eggshell on the walls; same color on trim in semi-gloss. A west glass wall is the afternoon test, not a given. Grey LVP and a wall of cool art will pull the peach forward — sample first.
Warm counters, brass, butcher block, terracotta — all of it loves this ivory. Satin on cabinets wipes clean and hides knuckle marks around handles. Cool white quartz, grey tile, or a white farmhouse sink will make the boxes look more peach by contrast. Urethane-fortified cabinet enamel either way.
Filtered daylight and 2700K bulbs hold the ivory to a glow instead of a peach wall. Eggshell; same color in semi-gloss on the millwork. Crisp white linens will make the walls look more colored than they are — stay on cream or oatmeal bedding. If the bedroom faces west and bakes, this is a sample-the-afternoon can, not a given.
Dunn-Edwards puts it on the bathroom-wall shortlist for a reason: warmer than Whisper, still light enough that a small bath stays open. With warm stone, wood vanities, and brass: easy. With a white tub, white tile, or cool grey marble: it argues, and the ivory looks yellowed. If the fixtures are staying bright white, use Whisper or Milk Glass instead.
Semi-gloss Modern Ivory under Modern Ivory walls is the scheme that works. As trim under mid-tone greige, sage, or Stonish Beige it reads as classic painted woodwork, not a bright cut line. Do not use it as walls against Warm White woodwork — that is the dingy-wall photo. One-color houses work: eggshell on the field, the same formula in semi-gloss on the woodwork.
Dunn-Edwards points it at traditional exteriors with deeper warm neutrals and charcoal gray. Full sun reads it brighter and a little crisper than indoors, which is what you want on a pale stucco ranch. Pair it with Charcoal Smudge or Kendall Charcoal on the trim, not Warm White; walk the shady north side with a sample before you commit — that elevation will read a full step creamier.
Your Light Is the Risk
Even sun keeps it a finished ivory without tipping yellow. This is the light where LRV 78 still behaves like a white.
Cool grey daylight strips the warmth and leaves a dingy beige. Fine if you half-wanted greige; disappointing if you wanted ivory. Test first, or add warm lamps.
Quiet ivory in morning light, a fuller peach-ivory by afternoon, a short warm flash at golden hour. It changes — most people who wanted ivory love it.
2700K lamps: creamier, cozier, the bedroom version. Cool LEDs: the ivory reads dirty — swap bulbs, not paint.
Most complaints about Modern Ivory 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 Dunn-Edwards DE6197 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 | A La ModeSW 7116 · Sherwin-Williams | 1.1 | 85 | Color page → |
| Behr | Vanilla DelightW-B-220 · Behr | 0.4 | 85 | Color page → |
| Benjamin Moore | October Sky2162-70 · Benjamin Moore | 0.0 | 81 | Color page → |
| Valspar | Dairy BelleV164 · Valspar | 0.5 | 85.1 | Color page → |
| PPG / Glidden | Spun CottonPPG1203-1 · PPG / Glidden | 0.6 | 84 | Color page → |
| Glidden | Spun CottonPPG1203-1 · Glidden | 1.0 | 84 | Color page → |
Similar Dunn-Edwards Colors
The nearest shades to Modern Ivory within Dunn-Edwards'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.
Modern Ivory vs the Colors You're Also Considering
Every Modern Ivory 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 when Cottage White is too yellow and you still want cream that can pass as a white.
Dunn-Edwards DEW318 · LRV 80Cottage WhitePick this for the traditional yellow-cream DE specs on older Western houses — more ivory chroma, more yellow on the wall.
Pick this when Whisper feels too clean and you want the ivory to show.
Dunn-Edwards DEW340 · LRV 87WhisperPick this if you actually want a white — Dunn-Edwards' White Dove, grayed and nine points brighter.
Pick this when Birch White's yellow hour is too much and you want the quieter ivory.
Dunn-Edwards DEW326 · LRV 79Birch WhitePick this for the creamier yellow-white — same depth, louder afternoon, the Whites-collection neighbor.
Pick this when you want the same job in Dunn-Edwards, a hair more peach-ivory, one LRV point deeper.
Sherwin-Williams SW 7013 · LRV 79Ivory LacePick this if your painter works in Sherwin-Williams — the trade's quiet default when Alabaster feels stark and Creamy feels too yellow.
Modern Ivory Coordinating Colors
The rule for coordinating with Modern Ivory: stay on the warm side of the fence, and do not put a brighter true white next to it. It flatters dusty beiges, stucco sages, deep navies, and charcoal grays — and it argues with icy blues, cool greys, and blue-grey stone. These are the partners that keep showing up in rooms that work:
Warm Neutrals, Not Whites
The filing is the review. Dunn-Edwards keeps Whisper, Milk Glass, Cottage White, and Birch White in the Whites collection. Modern Ivory lives in Warm Neutrals, next to creams and sandy beiges, which is the brand admitting this is an ivory with a job, not a white with a hint. It has been in the Perfect Palette since at least the mid-2000s, shows up on the bathroom-color shortlist, and gets pointed at traditional exteriors with charcoal gray. None of that made it famous. There is no Color of the Year story — Dunn-Edwards does not run one — and almost no independent designer write-up. Honest obscurity is the point: it is the can a Western painter grabs when the client said white and then pointed at a warm chip.
If you landed here from a search for ivory, pause long enough to match the SKU. Ivory Lace, Cottage White, Navajo White, and a dozen Antique Whites will fill the same search, and they are not this paint. Hold DE6197 next to Whisper and the ivory shows; hold it next to Cottage White and the yellow drops out. That is the gap it occupies, and it is the only reason to buy it instead of a better-known cream.
Modern Ivory With Wood Tones and Floors
Warm wood loves it. Oak — red, white, honey — walnut, butcher block, and cedar all sit comfortably against this ivory because the yellow-orange meets theirs halfway. If your floors are orange-leaning builder oak, Modern Ivory is one of the few off-whites that softens the orange instead of amplifying it, the same job Ivory Lace and White Dove do in older kitchens.
The flooring that needs a sample first is cool grey LVP or grey-washed wood. Grey floors pull the peach into relief, and the wall can read sour against them. Warm rugs will not rescue a whole-room clash. Cream carpet is fine; honey oak is fine. Metals are the easy part: unlacquered brass, antique bronze, and matte black all work; polished chrome is the one that leans cold against it.
Three Ready Palettes Built on Modern Ivory
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 ivory at two sheens keeps older plaster from growing a dirty-trim line. Hale Navy is the single dark note the scheme needs, and it stays navy as long as the room has light.
Try this palette in your roomFine Grain is the DE workhorse greige, and it shares enough warmth with this ivory that the wall-to-cabinet handoff stays quiet. The navy island grounds the cream so the kitchen does not float. Keep the counters warm.
Try this palette in your roomThis is the pairing Dunn-Edwards actually writes down: a warm ivory body with charcoal gray, not a brighter true white. Charcoal Smudge frames the ivory so it reads crisp from the street; Stonish Beige is the Southwest's default stucco beige, so the foundation looks like the same house, not a different paint job.
Try this palette in your roomModern Ivory FAQ
Is Modern Ivory warm or cool?
Warm — but the quietest kind. A low-chroma yellow-orange keeps the ivory from reading as a true white without tipping into Cottage White yellow. In even south or east light it reads as a finished off-white; in west afternoon sun it goes a step peach. It never reads icy. If you wanted a grayed white, that is Whisper.
What trim color goes with Modern Ivory walls?
Modern Ivory itself, in semi-gloss. A brighter trim white — Warm White at LRV 93, leftover builder white, Chantilly Lace — makes the walls look dirty. That pairing is the most common mistake with this color, and it is the one Dunn-Edwards prints on the color page. If you insist on contrast, go darker (Fine Grain or Charcoal Smudge), never brighter.
Is it good for a bathroom?
Dunn-Edwards lists it as a bathroom wall color, and with warm stone and brass it earns the listing: creamier than Whisper, still light enough at LRV 78 that a small bath stays open. A white tub, white tile, or cool grey marble will make the ivory look yellowed. If the fixtures are staying bright white, use Whisper or Milk Glass instead.
Will it look yellow in my room?
Less than Cottage White or Birch White — that is the whole point of this can. On a west wall after about 4 p.m. you will still see a peach-ivory flash. Next to a true white, it will look cream, not yellow. In even south or east light it stays ivory. Cool LEDs and grey floors will pull the warmth forward. Sample a big board on the actual wall and look at it through the afternoon before you commit.
How is it different from Birch White or Cottage White?
Birch White (DEW326, LRV 79) is the creamier yellow-white in the Whites collection — same depth, a louder 4 p.m. yellow. Cottage White (DEW318, LRV 80) is the traditional yellow-cream DE specs on older Western houses. Modern Ivory sits in Warm Neutrals, a hair more peach-ivory than yellow, and is the one that still passes as a white in even light. If Birch White's afternoon is too much and Cottage White is too cream, this is the gap.
Is it good for kitchen cabinets?
Yes, if the counters are warm. Satin Modern Ivory on shaker doors flatters butcher block, oak, and unlacquered brass, and it hides scuffs better than a brighter white. Cool white quartz, grey tile, or a white farmhouse sink will make the boxes look more peach. Use a urethane-fortified cabinet enamel.
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