Pale Oak (BM OC-20) vs Shoji White (SW 7042)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Shoji White, LRV 74 vs 68.6.
- Warmer
- About the same (Lab b* 5.9 vs 6.7). Pale Oak reads greige; Shoji White reads warm white.
- North rooms
- Shoji White keeps more brightness (L* 85.2 vs 82.8 in north light); Pale Oak drifts less gray (chroma drop 4.0 vs 4.6).
- Trim that works
- Collector's Item BM AF-45, #F1EADC, LRV 81.3: the Benjamin Moore white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 2.1, very close. At 2.1, test both side by side if the room is dim or north-facing.
See each color
Pale Oak (BM OC-20) is darker than Shoji White (SW 7042) and about as warm: LRV 68.6 vs 74, deltaE 2.1 (very close).
Side by side
| Measure | Pale Oak | Shoji White | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Benjamin Moore | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | OC-20 | SW 7042 | |
| Hex | #DDD9CE | #E6DFD3 | |
| RGB | 221, 217, 206 | 230, 223, 211 | |
| HSL | 44°, 18%, 84% | 38°, 28%, 86% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 68.6 | 74 | −5.4 |
| Lab L* | 86.7 | 89.1 | −2.3 |
| Lab a* | -0.5 | 0.3 | −0.9 |
| Lab b* | 5.9 | 6.7 | −0.8 |
| Undertone | Warm Greige | Warm | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | Greige | Off-white |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Pale Oak (BM OC-20), published as #DDD9CE
#CCCFCC
#EFE3CE
Shoji White (SW 7042), published as #E6DFD3
#D5D5D1
#F8E9D3
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 Shoji White (SW 7042) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 5.4 LRV points lighter (74 vs 68.6), so it bounces back more of the limited light
Closest matches to Pale Oak in other brands
Closest matches to Shoji White in other brands
Common questions
- Is Pale Oak the same color as Shoji White?
- They are very close: a CIEDE2000 difference of 2.1. Side by side you may see a slight difference between Pale Oak and Shoji White.
- Which is lighter, Pale Oak or Shoji White?
- Shoji White, with an LRV of 74 against 68.6.
Full pages
Related comparisons
Sources: Pale Oak: LRV and hex from Benjamin Moore technical data (verified 2026-10-02); Shoji White: 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.