Balboa Mist (BM 1549) vs City Loft (SW 7631)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- City Loft, LRV 70 vs 65.5.
- Warmer
- About the same, both greige (Lab b* 5.4 vs 5.0).
- North rooms
- City Loft keeps more brightness (L* 83.3 vs 81.8 in north light); both drift gray about equally.
- Trim that works
- Pink Damask BM 890, #F6F0E7, LRV 85.5: the Benjamin Moore white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 1.3, very close. At 1.3, test both side by side if the room is dim or north-facing.
See each color
Balboa Mist (BM 1549) is slightly darker than City Loft (SW 7631) and about as warm: LRV 65.5 vs 70, deltaE 1.3 (very close).
Side by side
| Measure | Balboa Mist | City Loft | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Benjamin Moore | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | 1549 | SW 7631 | |
| Hex | #DAD6CC | #DFDAD1 | |
| RGB | 218, 214, 204 | 223, 218, 209 | |
| HSL | 43°, 16%, 83% | 39°, 18%, 85% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 65.5 | 70 | −4.5 |
| Lab L* | 85.7 | 87.2 | −1.5 |
| Lab a* | -0.4 | 0.1 | −0.5 |
| Lab b* | 5.4 | 5.0 | +0.4 |
| Undertone | Neutral | Warm | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | Greige | Greige |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Balboa Mist (BM 1549), published as #DAD6CC
#C9CCCA
#ECE0CC
City Loft (SW 7631), published as #DFDAD1
#CED0CF
#F1E4D1
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 City Loft (SW 7631) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 4.5 LRV points lighter (70 vs 65.5), so it bounces back more of the limited light
Closest matches to Balboa Mist in other brands
Closest matches to City Loft in other brands
Common questions
- Is Balboa Mist the same color as City Loft?
- They are very close: a CIEDE2000 difference of 1.3. Side by side you may see a slight difference between Balboa Mist and City Loft.
- Which is lighter, Balboa Mist or City Loft?
- City Loft, with an LRV of 70 against 65.5.
Full pages
Related comparisons
Sources: Balboa Mist: LRV and hex from Benjamin Moore technical data (verified 2026-10-02); City Loft: 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.