Natural Cream (BM OC-14) vs Pale Oak (BM OC-20)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Pale Oak, LRV 68.6 vs 64.8.
- Warmer
- Natural Cream, both greige (Lab b* 8.0 vs 5.9).
- North rooms
- Pale Oak keeps more brightness (L* 82.8 vs 81.4 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 1.9, very close. At 1.9, test both side by side if the room is dim or north-facing.
See each color
Natural Cream
More comparisons with Natural Cream
Natural Cream (BM OC-14) is slightly darker than Pale Oak (BM OC-20) and slightly warmer: LRV 64.8 vs 68.6, deltaE 1.9 (very close).
Side by side
| Measure | Natural Cream | Pale Oak | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Benjamin Moore | Benjamin Moore | |
| Color code | OC-14 | OC-20 | |
| Hex | #DAD5C6 | #DDD9CE | |
| RGB | 218, 213, 198 | 221, 217, 206 | |
| HSL | 45°, 21%, 82% | 44°, 18%, 84% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 64.8 | 68.6 | −3.9 |
| Lab L* | 85.3 | 86.7 | −1.4 |
| Lab a* | -0.9 | -0.5 | −0.3 |
| Lab b* | 8.0 | 5.9 | +2.1 |
| Undertone | Neutral | Warm Greige | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | Greige | Greige |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Natural Cream (BM OC-14), published as #DAD5C6
#C9CBC4
#ECDFC6
Pale Oak (BM OC-20), published as #DDD9CE
#CCCFCC
#EFE3CE
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 Pale Oak (BM OC-20) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 3.9 LRV points lighter (68.6 vs 64.8), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Pale Oak (BM OC-20) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 5.9 against 8.0, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Natural Cream (BM OC-14) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 8.0), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Natural Cream in other brands
Closest matches to Pale Oak in other brands
Common questions
- Is Natural Cream the same color as Pale Oak?
- They are very close: a CIEDE2000 difference of 1.9. Side by side you may see a slight difference between Natural Cream and Pale Oak.
- Which is lighter, Natural Cream or Pale Oak?
- Pale Oak, with an LRV of 68.6 against 64.8.
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.