Pale Oak (BM OC-20) vs Agreeable Gray (SW 7029)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Pale Oak, LRV 68.6 vs 60.
- Warmer
- About the same, both greige (Lab b* 5.9 vs 5.7).
- North rooms
- Pale Oak: keeps more brightness (L* 82.8 vs 77.9 in north light) and drifts less gray (chroma drop 4.0 vs 4.6).
- Trim that works
- Pink Damask BM 890, #F6F0E7, LRV 85.5: the Benjamin Moore white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 3.4, noticeably different. At 3.4, test both: on a full wall the difference will show.
See each color
More comparisons with Agreeable Gray
Pale Oak (BM OC-20) is lighter than Agreeable Gray (SW 7029) and about as warm: LRV 68.6 vs 60, deltaE 3.4 (noticeably different).
Side by side
| Measure | Pale Oak | Agreeable Gray | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Benjamin Moore | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | OC-20 | SW 7029 | |
| Hex | #DDD9CE | #D1CBC1 | |
| RGB | 221, 217, 206 | 209, 203, 193 | |
| HSL | 44°, 18%, 84% | 37°, 15%, 79% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 68.6 | 60 | +8.6 |
| Lab L* | 86.7 | 81.9 | +4.8 |
| Lab a* | -0.5 | 0.3 | −0.9 |
| Lab b* | 5.9 | 5.7 | +0.2 |
| Undertone | Warm Greige | Warm Beige | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | Greige | Greige |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Pale Oak (BM OC-20), published as #DDD9CE
#CCCFCC
#EFE3CE
Agreeable Gray (SW 7029), published as #D1CBC1
#C0C1BF
#E3D5C1
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 8.6 LRV points lighter (68.6 vs 60), so it bounces back more of the limited light
Closest matches to Pale Oak in other brands
Closest matches to Agreeable Gray in other brands
Common questions
- Is Pale Oak the same color as Agreeable Gray?
- They are noticeably different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 3.4. Most people can see the difference between Pale Oak and Agreeable Gray side by side.
- Which is lighter, Pale Oak or Agreeable Gray?
- Pale Oak, with an LRV of 68.6 against 60.
Full pages
Related comparisons
Sources: Pale Oak: LRV and hex from Benjamin Moore technical data (verified 2026-10-02); Agreeable Gray: 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.