Balboa Mist (BM 1549) vs Pale Oak (BM OC-20)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Pale Oak, LRV 68.6 vs 65.5.
- Warmer
- About the same, both greige (Lab b* 5.4 vs 5.9).
- North rooms
- Pale Oak keeps more brightness (L* 82.8 vs 81.8 in north light); both drift gray about equally.
- Trim that works
- Seapearl BM 961, #E7E4D9, LRV 76.4: the Benjamin Moore white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 0.8, indistinguishable. At 0.8, pick on price, finish or availability.
See each color
Balboa Mist
More comparisons with Balboa Mist
Balboa Mist (BM 1549) is slightly darker than Pale Oak (BM OC-20) and about as warm: LRV 65.5 vs 68.6, deltaE 0.8 (indistinguishable).
Side by side
| Measure | Balboa Mist | Pale Oak | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Benjamin Moore | Benjamin Moore | |
| Color code | 1549 | OC-20 | |
| Hex | #DAD6CC | #DDD9CE | |
| RGB | 218, 214, 204 | 221, 217, 206 | |
| HSL | 43°, 16%, 83% | 44°, 18%, 84% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 65.5 | 68.6 | −3.1 |
| Lab L* | 85.7 | 86.7 | −1.0 |
| Lab a* | -0.4 | -0.5 | +0.2 |
| Lab b* | 5.4 | 5.9 | −0.5 |
| Undertone | Neutral | Warm Greige | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | Greige | Greige |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Balboa Mist (BM 1549), published as #DAD6CC
#C9CCCA
#ECE0CC
Pale Oak (BM OC-20), published as #DDD9CE
#CCCFCC
#EFE3CE
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 Pale Oak (BM OC-20) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 3.1 LRV points lighter (68.6 vs 65.5), so it bounces back more of the limited light
Closest matches to Balboa Mist in other brands
Closest matches to Pale Oak in other brands
Common questions
- Is Balboa Mist the same color as Pale Oak?
- They are indistinguishable: a CIEDE2000 difference of 0.8. Most people cannot tell Balboa Mist and Pale Oak apart.
- Which is lighter, Balboa Mist or Pale Oak?
- Pale Oak, with an LRV of 68.6 against 65.5.
Full pages
Related comparisons
Sources: 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.