Earl Gray (PPG 1020-5)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Earl Gray (PPG 1020-5) is a deep, warm beige from PPG Paints: LRV 32, so it reflects about 32 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Earl Gray
Four PPG Paints colors picked for Earl Gray by this site's color math: a trim white, a deeper beige, a quiet contrast from another family, a dark accent. PPG Paints did not choose these pairings.
Closest match in every other brand
Each brand's closest color to Earl 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 | Sticks & Stones | SW 7503 | 31 | 0.6 | indistinguishable |
| Benjamin Moore | Creekbed | 1006 | 33.3 | 0.9 | indistinguishable |
| Behr | Clay | HDC-NT-04A | 31.2 | 0.6 | indistinguishable |
| Valspar | Woodland Stone | 2007-9C | 36 | 2.7 | noticeably different |
Lighter and darker in PPG Paints
The PPG Paints beige colors nearest to Earl Gray (LRV 32) by LRV.
Lighter than Earl Gray
Darker than Earl Gray
Color data
| Brand | PPG Paints |
|---|---|
| Color code | 1020-5 |
| Hex | #A6978A |
| RGB | 166, 151, 138 |
| HSL | 28°, 14%, 60% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 32 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 63.4, 3.3, 8.9 |
| Undertone | Warm |
| Temperature | warm |
| Color family | Beige |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Earl Gray (PPG 1020-5), published as #A6978A
#968D88
#B6A18A
These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works
Similar shades from PPG Paints
More from PPG Paints
Common questions
- What is the LRV of Earl Gray (PPG 1020-5)?
- Earl 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 Earl Gray is a deep color.
- What is the closest match to Earl Gray in another brand?
- Sticks & Stones (SW 7503) from Sherwin-Williams, at a deltaE of 0.6 (indistinguishable).
- Is Earl Gray warm or cool?
- PPG Paints lists Earl Gray as warm, with a Warm undertone. Its Lab b* value is 8.9; 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.