Wind's Breath (BM 981) vs Ballet White (BM OC-9)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Ballet White, LRV 72 vs 69.6.
- Warmer
- Ballet White (Lab b* 8.4 vs 7.4). Wind's Breath reads greige; Ballet White reads warm white.
- North rooms
- Ballet White keeps more brightness (L* 85.3 vs 83.5 in north light); both drift gray about equally.
- Trim that works
- White Down BM 970, #EBE6D7, LRV 76.7: the Benjamin Moore white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 1.4, very close. At 1.4, test both side by side if the room is dim or north-facing.
See each color
Wind's Breath
More comparisons with Wind's Breath
Ballet White
More comparisons with Ballet White
Wind's Breath (BM 981) is slightly darker than Ballet White (BM OC-9) and slightly cooler: LRV 69.6 vs 72, deltaE 1.4 (very close).
Side by side
| Measure | Wind's Breath | Ballet White | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Benjamin Moore | Benjamin Moore | |
| Color code | 981 | OC-9 | |
| Hex | #DFDBCD | #E5E0D0 | |
| RGB | 223, 219, 205 | 229, 224, 208 | |
| HSL | 47°, 22%, 84% | 46°, 29%, 86% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 69.6 | 72 | −2.4 |
| Lab L* | 87.4 | 89.2 | −1.8 |
| Lab a* | -1.0 | -1.0 | −0.0 |
| Lab b* | 7.4 | 8.4 | −1.1 |
| Undertone | Neutral | Neutral | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | Greige | Off-white |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Wind's Breath (BM 981), published as #DFDBCD
#CED1CB
#F1E5CD
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 Ballet White (BM OC-9) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 2.4 LRV points lighter (72 vs 69.6), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Wind's Breath (BM 981) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 7.4 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 Wind's Breath in other brands
Closest matches to Ballet White in other brands
Common questions
- Is Wind's Breath the same color as Ballet White?
- They are very close: a CIEDE2000 difference of 1.4. Side by side you may see a slight difference between Wind's Breath and Ballet White.
- Which is lighter, Wind's Breath or Ballet White?
- Ballet White, with an LRV of 72 against 69.6.
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.