Powell Gray (BM CW-665)

Powell Gray BM CW-665#5A656C, LRV 14.6
Living room with walls painted Benjamin Moore Powell Gray CW-665 (simulated)
Living room, walls in Powell Gray

Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.

Powell Gray (BM CW-665) is a very deep, cool gray from Benjamin Moore: LRV 14.6, so it reflects about 15 percent of the light that hits it.

Colors that go with Powell Gray

Four Benjamin Moore colors picked for Powell Gray by this site's color math: a trim white, a deeper gray, a quiet contrast from another family, a dark accent. Benjamin Moore did not choose these pairings.

Closest match in every other brand

Each brand's closest color to Powell Gray, ranked by CIEDE2000 (deltaE): under 1.0 is indistinguishable, 1.0 to 2.3 very close, 2.3 to 5 noticeably different, over 5 clearly different.

BrandClosest colorCodeLRVdeltaEHow close
Sherwin-WilliamsGrays HarborSW 6236121.3very close
BehrCalligraphyN490-612.10.8indistinguishable
ValsparCobalt Cannon5001-2C122.6noticeably different
PPG PaintsLava Gray1038-6131.5very close

Lighter and darker in Benjamin Moore

Color data

BrandBenjamin Moore
Color codeCW-665
Hex#5A656C
RGB90, 101, 108
HSL203°, 9%, 39%
LRV (light reflectance value)14.6
Lab L*, a*, b*42.1, -2.6, -5.4
UndertoneCool
Temperaturecool
Color familyGray

Same paint, two kinds of light

Powell Gray (BM CW-665), published as #5A656C

North light (cool, indirect)
#495C6A
South light (warm, direct)
#6B6E6C

These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works

Similar shades from Benjamin Moore

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Common questions

What is the LRV of Powell Gray (BM CW-665)?
Powell Gray has an LRV of 14.6. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Powell Gray is a very deep color.
What is the closest match to Powell Gray in another brand?
Calligraphy (Behr N490-6) from Behr, at a deltaE of 0.8 (indistinguishable).
Is Powell Gray warm or cool?
Benjamin Moore lists Powell Gray as cool, with a Cool undertone. Its Lab b* value is -5.4; a higher b* is warmer and yellower, a lower one cooler and bluer.

Sources: LRV and hex as published by the manufacturer, via PaintDB (CC BY 4.0). Color differences are CIEDE2000 values computed by this site from the hex values (data snapshot 2026-10-01). Color names and codes belong to their manufacturers.

Published . Updated .