Gray Owl (BM 2137-60) vs Wickham Gray (BM HC-171)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Wickham Gray, LRV 67.9 vs 64.5.
- Warmer
- Gray Owl, both green-gray (Lab b* 3.8 vs 2.5).
- North rooms
- Wickham Gray: keeps more brightness (L* 81.9 vs 80.7 in north light) and drifts less gray (chroma drop 0.0 vs 1.0).
- Trim that works
- Paper Doll BM CSP-485, #E8E9E1, LRV 79.5: the Benjamin Moore white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 1.7, very close. At 1.7, test both side by side if the room is dim or north-facing.
See each color
Gray Owl (BM 2137-60) is slightly darker than Wickham Gray (BM HC-171) and slightly warmer: LRV 64.5 vs 67.9, deltaE 1.7 (very close).
Side by side
| Measure | Gray Owl | Wickham Gray | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Benjamin Moore | Benjamin Moore | |
| Color code | 2137-60 | HC-171 | |
| Hex | #D3D4CC | #D4D8D2 | |
| RGB | 211, 212, 204 | 212, 216, 210 | |
| HSL | 68°, 9%, 82% | 100°, 7%, 84% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 64.5 | 67.9 | −3.4 |
| Lab L* | 84.6 | 85.9 | −1.3 |
| Lab a* | -1.8 | -2.4 | +0.7 |
| Lab b* | 3.8 | 2.5 | +1.4 |
| Undertone | Neutral | Neutral | |
| Temperature | neutral | neutral | |
| Color family | Gray | Gray |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Gray Owl (BM 2137-60), published as #D3D4CC
#C1CACA
#E5DECC
Wickham Gray (BM HC-171), published as #D4D8D2
#C2CED0
#E6E2D2
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 Wickham Gray (BM HC-171) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 3.4 LRV points lighter (67.9 vs 64.5), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Wickham Gray (BM HC-171) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 2.5 against 3.8, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Gray Owl (BM 2137-60) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 3.8), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Gray Owl in other brands
Closest matches to Wickham Gray in other brands
Common questions
- Is Gray Owl the same color as Wickham Gray?
- They are very close: a CIEDE2000 difference of 1.7. Side by side you may see a slight difference between Gray Owl and Wickham Gray.
- Which is lighter, Gray Owl or Wickham Gray?
- Wickham Gray, with an LRV of 67.9 against 64.5.
Full pages
Related comparisons
Sources: Gray Owl: LRV and hex from Benjamin Moore technical data (verified 2026-10-02); Wickham Gray: 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.