Mourning Dove (Behr OR-W12) vs White Dove (BM OC-17)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- White Dove, LRV 83.2 vs 81.1.
- Warmer
- Mourning Dove, both warm white (Lab b* 8.1 vs 4.5).
- North rooms
- White Dove: keeps more brightness (L* 90.0 vs 88.3 in north light) and drifts less gray (chroma drop 2.1 vs 4.5).
- Trim that works
- Clear Moon Behr PWN-30, #FAF6EA, LRV 92.2 (estimated): the Behr white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 3.5, noticeably different. At 3.5, test both: on a full wall the difference will show.
See each color
Mourning Dove (Behr OR-W12) is slightly darker than White Dove (BM OC-17) and warmer: LRV 81.1 vs 83.2, deltaE 3.5 (noticeably different).
Side by side
| Measure | Mourning Dove | White Dove | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Behr | Benjamin Moore | |
| Color code | OR-W12 | OC-17 | |
| Hex | #EFE8D9 | #EFEEE5 | |
| RGB | 239, 232, 217 | 239, 238, 229 | |
| HSL | 41°, 41%, 89% | 54°, 24%, 92% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 81.1 (est.) | 83.2 | −2.1 |
| Lab L* | 92.2 | 94.0 | −1.8 |
| Lab a* | -0.2 | -1.2 | +1.1 |
| Lab b* | 8.1 | 4.5 | +3.7 |
| Undertone | Neutral | Warm Yellow | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | Off-white | White |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Mourning Dove (Behr OR-W12), published as #EFE8D9
#DEDED7
#FFF2D9
White Dove (BM OC-17), published as #EFEEE5
#DDE4E3
#FFF8E5
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 White Dove (BM OC-17) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 2.1 LRV points lighter (83.2 vs 81.1), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick White Dove (BM OC-17) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 4.5 against 8.1, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Mourning Dove (Behr OR-W12) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 8.1), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Mourning Dove in other brands
Closest matches to White Dove in other brands
Common questions
- Is Mourning Dove the same color as White Dove?
- They are noticeably different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 3.5. Most people can see the difference between Mourning Dove and White Dove side by side.
- Which is lighter, Mourning Dove or White Dove?
- White Dove, with an LRV of 83.2 against 81.1.
Full pages
Related comparisons
Sources: Mourning Dove: 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; White Dove: 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.