Chelsea Gray (BM HC-168)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Chelsea Gray (BM HC-168) is a deep, neutral gray from Benjamin Moore: LRV 23.3, so it reflects about 23 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Chelsea Gray
Four Benjamin Moore colors picked for Chelsea 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 Chelsea 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 | Classic French Gray | SW 0077 | 24 | 1.9 | very close |
| Behr | Barnwood Gray | PPU24-07 | 23.4 | 0.6 | indistinguishable |
| Valspar | Mountain Smoke | 6004-2B | 23 | 1.1 | very close |
| PPG Paints | So Sublime | 1006-5 | 23 | 2.8 | noticeably different |
Lighter and darker in Benjamin Moore
The Benjamin Moore gray colors nearest to Chelsea Gray (LRV 23.3) by LRV.
Lighter than Chelsea Gray
Darker than Chelsea Gray
Color data
| Brand | Benjamin Moore |
|---|---|
| Color code | HC-168 |
| Hex | #86847C |
| RGB | 134, 132, 124 |
| HSL | 48°, 4%, 51% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 23.3 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 55.1, -0.8, 4.6 |
| Undertone | Neutral |
| Temperature | neutral |
| Color family | Gray |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Chelsea Gray (BM HC-168), published as #86847C
#767B7A
#968D7C
These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works
Similar shades from Benjamin Moore
More from Benjamin Moore
Common questions
- What is the LRV of Chelsea Gray (BM HC-168)?
- Chelsea Gray has an LRV of 23.3. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Chelsea Gray is a deep color.
- What is the closest match to Chelsea Gray in another brand?
- Barnwood Gray (Behr PPU24-07) from Behr, at a deltaE of 0.6 (indistinguishable).
- Is Chelsea Gray warm or cool?
- Benjamin Moore lists Chelsea Gray as neutral, with a Neutral undertone. Its Lab b* value is 4.6; 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.