Old Salem Gray (BM HC-94)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Old Salem Gray (BM HC-94) is a deep, warm beige from Benjamin Moore: LRV 32, so it reflects about 32 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Old Salem Gray
Four Benjamin Moore colors picked for Old Salem Gray by this site's color math: a trim white, a deeper beige, 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 Old Salem 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 | Colonial Revival Green Stone | SW 2826 | 33 | 1.4 | very close |
| Behr | Dried Chive | S330-5 | 31.8 | 2.1 | very close |
| Valspar | Cool Moss | 6006-4A | 33 | 1.6 | very close |
| PPG Paints | Mossy Gold | 11-17 | 29 | 2.6 | noticeably different |
Lighter and darker in Benjamin Moore
The Benjamin Moore beige colors nearest to Old Salem Gray (LRV 32) by LRV.
Lighter than Old Salem Gray
Darker than Old Salem Gray
Color data
| Brand | Benjamin Moore |
|---|---|
| Color code | HC-94 |
| Hex | #A49A79 |
| RGB | 164, 154, 121 |
| HSL | 46°, 19%, 56% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 32 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 63.7, -1.7, 18.7 |
| Undertone | Warm Yellow |
| Temperature | warm |
| Color family | Beige |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Old Salem Gray (BM HC-94), published as #A49A79
#959078
#B4A478
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 Old Salem Gray (BM HC-94)?
- Old Salem Gray has an LRV of 32. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Old Salem Gray is a deep color.
- What is the closest match to Old Salem Gray in another brand?
- Colonial Revival Green Stone (SW 2826) from Sherwin-Williams, at a deltaE of 1.4 (very close).
- Is Old Salem Gray warm or cool?
- Benjamin Moore lists Old Salem Gray as warm, with a Warm Yellow undertone. Its Lab b* value is 18.7; 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.