Hancock Gray (BM HC-97)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Hancock Gray (BM HC-97) is a deep, warm beige from Benjamin Moore: LRV 26.9, so it reflects about 27 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Hancock Gray
Four Benjamin Moore colors picked for Hancock 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 Hancock 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 | Renwick Olive | SW 2815 | 25 | 2.6 | noticeably different |
| Behr | Urban Safari | PPU8-04 | 26.2 | 1.6 | very close |
| Valspar | Sandalwood | 6008-2B | 27 | 2.0 | very close |
| PPG Paints | Mossy Gold | 11-17 | 29 | 1.8 | very close |
Lighter and darker in Benjamin Moore
The Benjamin Moore beige colors nearest to Hancock Gray (LRV 26.9) by LRV.
Lighter than Hancock Gray
Darker than Hancock Gray
Color data
| Brand | Benjamin Moore |
|---|---|
| Color code | HC-97 |
| Hex | #968D70 |
| RGB | 150, 141, 112 |
| HSL | 46°, 15%, 51% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 26.9 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 58.7, -1.5, 16.7 |
| Undertone | Warm Yellow |
| Temperature | warm |
| Color family | Beige |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Hancock Gray (BM HC-97), published as #968D70
#87836F
#A6976F
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 Hancock Gray (BM HC-97)?
- Hancock Gray has an LRV of 26.9. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Hancock Gray is a deep color.
- What is the closest match to Hancock Gray in another brand?
- Urban Safari (Behr PPU8-04) from Behr, at a deltaE of 1.6 (very close).
- Is Hancock Gray warm or cool?
- Benjamin Moore lists Hancock Gray as warm, with a Warm Yellow undertone. Its Lab b* value is 16.7; 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.