White 04 isn't a neutral white you can throw anything at — it's a cool white, and it'll punish you if you treat it like a warm one. Pair it with warm woods, honeyed oak floors or yellow brass and the wall tips toward a sad mauve-grey. Keep the whole scheme on the cool side and it stays crisp and architectural.
For a soft, tonal pairing, Paint & Paper Library Slate IV (LRV 67.5) is the easy win — a gentle cool grey that sits a notch down from the white without making a fuss. Use it on adjacent walls, woodwork or a hallway runs into a living space; it reads as a quiet step rather than a contrast.
Want more depth and a proper accent? Mylands Artichoke BH.13 (LRV 27.6) gives you a washed, dusky green-grey that holds its cool. Cracking on a chimney breast, a panelled wall or kitchen cabinetry against White 04 walls.
And if you want drama, go deep with Dulux Sapphire Springs 1 (LRV 6.4) — a near-black inky blue that acts as your "crisp black" without being flat. Joinery, a front door, a feature wall behind the bed — it frames the white beautifully.
The "but what about warmth?" question always comes up. If your room genuinely needs warming, White 04 is the wrong white — switch to a warm white rather than fighting it. Don't try to rescue a cool white with warm accents; you'll just get clash and that mauve cast on the walls.
Practical advice: lean into cool metals — chrome, polished nickel, pewter, matt black — and skip the brass. For flooring, cool greys, pale limestone or a mid-grey engineered board beat warm oak every time. Sample large, view in your own light morning and evening, and check the white against the floor and any fixed timber before you commit. Cool with cool, and White 04 stays sharp.