Boothbay Gray (BM HC-165)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Boothbay Gray (BM HC-165) is a medium, neutral gray from Benjamin Moore: LRV 43.3, so it reflects about 43 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Boothbay Gray
Four Benjamin Moore colors picked for Boothbay 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 Boothbay 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.
| Brand | Closest color | Code | LRV | deltaE | How close |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherwin-Williams | Mineral Deposit | SW 7652 | 43 | 1.6 | very close |
| Behr | Flint Smoke | 730F-4 | 43.3 | 0.9 | indistinguishable |
| Valspar | Polished Silver | 4008-1B | 47 | 2.8 | noticeably different |
| PPG Paints | Mirror Mirror | 1039-3 | 43 | 2.2 | very close |
Lighter and darker in Benjamin Moore
The Benjamin Moore gray colors nearest to Boothbay Gray (LRV 43.3) by LRV.
Lighter than Boothbay Gray
Darker than Boothbay Gray
Color data
| Brand | Benjamin Moore |
|---|---|
| Color code | HC-165 |
| Hex | #AAB2B0 |
| RGB | 170, 178, 176 |
| HSL | 165°, 5%, 68% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 43.3 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 71.9, -3.2, 0.1 |
| Undertone | Neutral |
| Temperature | neutral |
| Color family | Gray |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Boothbay Gray (BM HC-165), published as #AAB2B0
#99A8AE
#BCBCB0
These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works
Similar shades from Benjamin Moore
Comparisons that include Boothbay Gray (BM HC-165)
More from Benjamin Moore
Common questions
- What is the LRV of Boothbay Gray (BM HC-165)?
- Boothbay Gray has an LRV of 43.3. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Boothbay Gray is a medium color.
- What is the closest match to Boothbay Gray in another brand?
- Flint Smoke (Behr 730F-4) from Behr, at a deltaE of 0.9 (indistinguishable).
- Is Boothbay Gray warm or cool?
- Benjamin Moore lists Boothbay Gray as neutral, with a Neutral undertone. Its Lab b* value is 0.1; 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.