Soft Chamois (BM 969) vs Ballet White (BM OC-9)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Soft Chamois, LRV 77.4 vs 72.
- Warmer
- Ballet White, both warm white (Lab b* 8.4 vs 6.7).
- North rooms
- Soft Chamois: keeps more brightness (L* 86.9 vs 85.3 in north light) and drifts less gray (chroma drop 3.6 vs 4.2).
- Trim that works
- Soft Chamois BM OC-13, #E8E5D8, LRV 77.4: 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
Ballet White
More comparisons with Ballet White
Soft Chamois (BM 969) is lighter than Ballet White (BM OC-9) and slightly cooler: LRV 77.4 vs 72, deltaE 1.7 (very close).
Side by side
| Measure | Soft Chamois | Ballet White | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Benjamin Moore | Benjamin Moore | |
| Color code | 969 | OC-9 | |
| Hex | #E8E5D8 | #E5E0D0 | |
| RGB | 232, 229, 216 | 229, 224, 208 | |
| HSL | 49°, 26%, 88% | 46°, 29%, 86% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 77.4 | 72 | +5.4 |
| Lab L* | 90.9 | 89.2 | +1.7 |
| Lab a* | -1.2 | -1.0 | −0.2 |
| Lab b* | 6.7 | 8.4 | −1.7 |
| Undertone | Neutral | Neutral | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | Off-white | Off-white |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Soft Chamois (BM 969), published as #E8E5D8
#D6DBD6
#FAEFD8
Ballet White (BM OC-9), published as #E5E0D0
#D4D6CE
#F7EAD0
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 Soft Chamois (BM 969) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 5.4 LRV points lighter (77.4 vs 72), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Soft Chamois (BM 969) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 6.7 against 8.4, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Ballet White (BM OC-9) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 8.4), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Soft Chamois in other brands
Closest matches to Ballet White in other brands
Common questions
- Is Soft Chamois the same color as Ballet White?
- They are very close: a CIEDE2000 difference of 1.7. Side by side you may see a slight difference between Soft Chamois and Ballet White.
- Which is lighter, Soft Chamois or Ballet White?
- Soft Chamois, with an LRV of 77.4 against 72.
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.