Polar Bear (Behr 75) vs Swiss Coffee (BM OC-45)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Polar Bear, LRV 90.2 vs 81.9.
- Warmer
- Swiss Coffee, both warm white (Lab b* 5.6 vs 4.0).
- North rooms
- Polar Bear: keeps more brightness (L* 92.2 vs 89.4 in north light) and drifts less gray (chroma drop 1.6 vs 3.0).
- Trim that works
- Diamonds Therapy Behr BWC-30, #E9E8E0, LRV 80.4 (estimated): the Behr white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 2.1, very close. At 2.1, test both side by side if the room is dim or north-facing.
See each color
Polar Bear (Behr 75) is lighter than Swiss Coffee (BM OC-45) and slightly cooler: LRV 90.2 vs 81.9, deltaE 2.1 (very close).
Side by side
| Measure | Polar Bear | Swiss Coffee | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Behr | Benjamin Moore | |
| Color code | 75 | OC-45 | |
| Hex | #F5F4EC | #EEECE1 | |
| RGB | 245, 244, 236 | 238, 236, 225 | |
| HSL | 53°, 31%, 94% | 51°, 28%, 91% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 90.2 (est.) | 81.9 | +8.3 |
| Lab L* | 96.1 | 93.3 | +2.8 |
| Lab a* | -1.0 | -1.2 | +0.2 |
| Lab b* | 4.0 | 5.6 | −1.6 |
| Undertone | Neutral | Neutral | |
| Temperature | neutral | warm | |
| Color family | White | White |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Polar Bear (Behr 75), published as #F5F4EC
#E3EAEA
#FFFEEC
Swiss Coffee (BM OC-45), published as #EEECE1
#DCE2DF
#FFF6E1
These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works
Which should you pick
Rules of thumb computed from the LRV and Lab values in the table above; no room test was done.
- Pick Polar Bear (Behr 75) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 8.3 LRV points lighter (90.2 vs 81.9), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Polar Bear (Behr 75) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 4.0 against 5.6, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Swiss Coffee (BM OC-45) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 5.6), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Polar Bear in other brands
Closest matches to Swiss Coffee in other brands
Common questions
- Is Polar Bear the same color as Swiss Coffee?
- They are very close: a CIEDE2000 difference of 2.1. Side by side you may see a slight difference between Polar Bear and Swiss Coffee.
- Which is lighter, Polar Bear or Swiss Coffee?
- Polar Bear, with an LRV of 90.2 against 81.9.
Full pages
Related comparisons
Sources: Polar Bear: hex as published by the manufacturer, via PaintDB (CC BY 4.0); LRV is not published by Behr for this color and is estimated here from the color's own hex value; Swiss Coffee: LRV and hex from Benjamin Moore technical data (verified 2026-10-02). 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.