Manchester Tan (BM HC-81) vs Accessible Beige (SW 7036)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Manchester Tan, LRV 63.2 vs 58.
- Warmer
- Manchester Tan (Lab b* 12.0 vs 8.8). Manchester Tan reads yellow; Accessible Beige reads greige.
- North rooms
- Manchester Tan keeps more brightness (L* 80.4 vs 76.7 in north light); both drift gray about equally.
- Trim that works
- Ivory Tower BM 2157-70, #FBF2E4, LRV 86: the Benjamin Moore white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 3.9, noticeably different. At 3.9, test both: on a full wall the difference will show.
See each color
More comparisons with Manchester Tan
More comparisons with Accessible Beige
Manchester Tan (BM HC-81) is lighter than Accessible Beige (SW 7036) and warmer: LRV 63.2 vs 58, deltaE 3.9 (noticeably different).
Side by side
| Measure | Manchester Tan | Accessible Beige | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Benjamin Moore | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | HC-81 | SW 7036 | |
| Hex | #DBD2BC | #D1C7B8 | |
| RGB | 219, 210, 188 | 209, 199, 184 | |
| HSL | 43°, 30%, 80% | 36°, 21%, 77% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 63.2 | 58 | +5.2 |
| Lab L* | 84.4 | 80.7 | +3.7 |
| Lab a* | -0.6 | 0.9 | −1.5 |
| Lab b* | 12.0 | 8.8 | +3.3 |
| Undertone | Warm Yellow | Warm Sandy | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | Beige | Beige |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Manchester Tan (BM HC-81), published as #DBD2BC
#CAC8BA
#ECDCBC
Accessible Beige (SW 7036), published as #D1C7B8
#C0BDB6
#E2D1B8
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 5.2 LRV points lighter (63.2 vs 58), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Accessible Beige (SW 7036) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 8.8 against 12.0, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Manchester Tan (BM HC-81) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 12.0), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Manchester Tan in other brands
Closest matches to Accessible Beige in other brands
Common questions
- Is Manchester Tan the same color as Accessible Beige?
- They are noticeably different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 3.9. Most people can see the difference between Manchester Tan and Accessible Beige side by side.
- Which is lighter, Manchester Tan or Accessible Beige?
- Manchester Tan, with an LRV of 63.2 against 58.
Full pages
Related comparisons
Sources: Manchester Tan: LRV and hex from Benjamin Moore technical data (verified 2026-10-02); Accessible Beige: 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.