Polar Bear (PPU18-07-2)
A bright white with the slightest warm cream undertone. Behr's most popular warm bright white. Slightly warmer than Dove, slightly brighter than Painter's White.
About Behr Polar Bear
Polar Bear (PPU18-07-2) is a white from Behr's collection with an LRV of 87 and warm bright white undertones. A bright white with the slightest warm cream undertone. Behr's most popular warm bright white. Slightly warmer than Dove, slightly brighter than Painter's White.
As a very light color, Polar Bear reflects a significant amount of light back into the room, making it an excellent choice for spaces where you want maximum brightness. It works as both a wall color and a trim or cabinet color, and it is light enough to use throughout an entire home without any room feeling closed in or dark. The high LRV means it will look bright even in rooms with limited natural light, though the undertones may shift depending on your light source.
Light Reflectance Value (LRV)
Polar Bear has an LRV of 87, placing it in the very light range on the 0-to-100 scale. LRV measures the percentage of visible light a color reflects. A pure black has an LRV of 0 and a pure white has an LRV of 100. Understanding a color's LRV helps you predict how it will feel in your space: higher LRV means brighter and more spacious, lower LRV means cozier and more intimate.
Undertone Analysis
Polar Bear has warm bright white undertones. Undertones are the subtle background colors that become visible in different lighting conditions. Even colors that look "neutral" in the store will reveal their undertones once they are on your walls and interacting with natural light, artificial light, and the colors around them.
A bright white with the slightest warm cream undertone. Behr's most popular warm bright white. Slightly warmer than Dove, slightly brighter than Painter's White. Warm undertones like these pair naturally with other warm elements: honey-toned wood floors, brass and gold hardware, cream-colored textiles, and warm-toned furnishings. They can clash with strongly cool elements like icy blue accents or chrome fixtures, though the effect depends on the strength of the undertone.
Lighting Behavior
Clean and bright with barely-there warmth. In most rooms, reads as a bright white. The cream is only visible next to a true cool white.
Every paint color looks different depending on the light source in your room. South-facing rooms get warm, direct sunlight that brings out yellow and warm undertones. North-facing rooms get cool, indirect light that emphasizes blue and gray undertones. East-facing rooms are bright and warm in the morning, cooler in the afternoon. West-facing rooms are the opposite: cool morning, warm afternoon. Incandescent and warm LED bulbs push colors warmer, while cool-white LEDs and fluorescent tubes push colors cooler. To avoid surprises, always test Polar Bear with a physical sample on your actual wall, and observe it at different times of day before committing.
Best Rooms for Polar Bear
Behr recommends Polar Bear for: trim, ceilings, cabinets, whole house, bathroom.
Polar Bear is versatile enough to use as a whole-house color, providing a consistent, cohesive look as you move from room to room. Whole-house colors need to work in multiple lighting conditions and alongside various furnishings, which is why a balanced LRV (87) and manageable undertones are essential. Polar Bear handles this well. As a trim color, Polar Bear provides a clean frame for wall colors without the starkness of a pure white. It softens the transition between wall and trim while still reading as "white" in most contexts. On kitchen and bathroom cabinets, Polar Bear offers a fresh, clean look. Cabinet colors are seen up close and under task lighting, so the undertones matter even more than on walls.
Closest Matches in Other Brands
Find the closest equivalent to Behr Polar Bear from other paint brands. Matches are calculated using Delta E (CIE2000), the industry standard for measuring perceptual color difference.
Sherwin Williams Matches
Pure White is close. Both are bright, slightly warm whites.
View all Sherwin Williams matches →Benjamin Moore Matches
White Heron is similar.
View all Benjamin Moore matches →Coordinating Colors
These colors pair beautifully with Polar Bear for a cohesive palette. Use them for trim, accents, adjacent rooms, or furniture to create a well-designed space.
Frequently Asked Questions
The closest Sherwin Williams match for Behr Polar Bear is Pure White (SW 7005) with a Delta E of 2.5, which rates as a "excellent match" match. Pure White is close. Both are bright, slightly warm whites. A Delta E under 2 means most people cannot tell the colors apart, while 2 to 4 means the difference is subtle.
Polar Bear has warm bright white undertones. A bright white with the slightest warm cream undertone. Behr's most popular warm bright white. Slightly warmer than Dove, slightly brighter than Painter's White. Undertones become most visible when the color is on a large surface like a wall, and they shift depending on the light source in your room. Always test with a physical sample in your specific space to see how the undertones interact with your lighting, flooring, and furnishings.
Polar Bear (PPU18-07-2) has a Light Reflectance Value (LRV) of 87, which puts it in the very light range. LRV measures the percentage of light a color reflects on a scale from 0 (pure black) to 100 (pure white). At 87, this is a light color that will keep rooms feeling bright and open.
Polar Bear leans warm. The warm bright white undertones give it a cozy, inviting quality. It pairs naturally with other warm elements like wood tones, brass hardware, and cream textiles. In north-facing rooms, the warmth is especially welcoming.
Color data sourced from manufacturer specifications. Match calculations use Delta E (CIE2000) computed from Lab color space conversion. Last reviewed: March 22, 2026.