Shaker Beige (BM HC-45) vs Manchester Tan (BM HC-81)

Living room with walls painted Benjamin Moore Shaker Beige HC-45 (simulated) — Shaker Beige BM HC-45#D1C2A7, LRV 53.5 Verified 2026-10-02

Living room with walls painted Benjamin Moore Manchester Tan HC-81 (simulated) — Manchester Tan BM HC-81#DBD2BC, LRV 63.2 Verified 2026-10-02

Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.

Quick decision

Lighter: Manchester Tan, LRV 63.2 vs 53.5.
Warmer: Shaker Beige, both yellow (Lab b* 15.5 vs 12.0).
North rooms: Manchester Tan keeps more brightness (L* 80.4 vs 75.0 in north light); both drift gray about equally.
Trim that works: White Blush BM 904, #F6F0E1, LRV 84.7: the Benjamin Moore white closest in hue to both.
Closeness: deltaE 4.6, noticeably different. At 4.6, test both: on a full wall the difference will show.

See each color

Shaker BeigeBenjamin Moore, BM HC-45LRV 53.5, #D1C2A7

More comparisons with Shaker Beige

Manchester TanBenjamin Moore, BM HC-81LRV 63.2, #DBD2BC

More comparisons with Manchester Tan

Shaker Beige (BM HC-45) is darker than Manchester Tan (BM HC-81) and warmer: LRV 53.5 vs 63.2, deltaE 4.6 (noticeably different).

Side by side

Measure	Shaker Beige	Manchester Tan	Gap
Brand	Benjamin Moore	Benjamin Moore
Color code	HC-45	HC-81
Hex	#D1C2A7	#DBD2BC
RGB	209, 194, 167	219, 210, 188
HSL	39°, 31%, 74%	43°, 30%, 80%
LRV (light reflectance value)	53.5	63.2	−9.7
Lab L*	79.0	84.4	−5.4
Lab a*	0.9	-0.6	+1.5
Lab b*	15.5	12.0	+3.5
Undertone	Warm Yellow	Warm Yellow
Temperature	warm	warm
Color family	Beige	Beige

Same paint, two kinds of light

Shaker Beige (BM HC-45), published as #D1C2A7

North light (cool, indirect)
#C1B8A5

South light (warm, direct)
#E2CCA7

Manchester Tan (BM HC-81), published as #DBD2BC

North light (cool, indirect)
#CAC8BA

South light (warm, direct)
#ECDCBC

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 Manchester Tan (BM HC-81) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 9.7 LRV points lighter (63.2 vs 53.5), so it bounces back more of the limited light
Pick Manchester Tan (BM HC-81) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 12.0 against 15.5, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
Pick Shaker Beige (BM HC-45) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 15.5), which counters cool indirect light

Closest matches to Shaker Beige in other brands

Closest matches to Manchester Tan in other brands

Common questions

Is Shaker Beige the same color as Manchester Tan?: They are noticeably different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 4.6. Most people can see the difference between Shaker Beige and Manchester Tan side by side.
Which is lighter, Shaker Beige or Manchester Tan?: Manchester Tan, with an LRV of 63.2 against 53.5.

Full pages

Related comparisons

By Paint Pairs. Color data from manufacturer specifications, via PaintDB. The most-viewed colors are checked against each manufacturer's own color page.

Published 2026-10-01. Updated 2026-10-01.

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.