Darker than white

What is it with Duch and their aversion to all color? We stipulated in the house we are renting that it needs to be repainted and that we want to chose the colors, and it should be pastel, neutral (we are sensitive of course to preferences), but that it couldn't be white. They had already bought the paint before we got there. Suspicious I drove up to see the house today. I walked into the front room, and sure enough the guy is painting it white. I complain to him in German which is all he understands that I didn't want white. He says: oh no, that's not white. That is cream. It's much darker than white". And I wanted to yell at him and say: ARE YOU BLIND??? Half a shade darker than the white ceiling is still blinding white! Anyway, I can see I'll have to take painting and color addition into my own hands.