Pale Oak (BM OC-20) vs City Loft (SW 7631)
Quick decision
- Lighter
- City Loft, LRV 70 vs 68.6.
- Warmer
- About the same, both greige (Lab b* 5.9 vs 5.0).
- North rooms
- About the same: both keep their brightness and color about equally (L* 83.3 vs 82.8 in north light).
- Trim that works
- Seapearl BM 961, #E7E4D9, LRV 76.4: the Benjamin Moore white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 1.2, very close. At 1.2, test both side by side if the room is dim or north-facing.
See each color
Pale Oak (BM OC-20) is about as light as City Loft (SW 7631) and about as warm: LRV 68.6 vs 70, deltaE 1.2 (very close).
Side by side
| Measure | Pale Oak | City Loft | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Benjamin Moore | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | OC-20 | SW 7631 | |
| Hex | #DDD9CE | #DFDAD1 | |
| RGB | 221, 217, 206 | 223, 218, 209 | |
| HSL | 44°, 18%, 84% | 39°, 18%, 85% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 68.6 | 70 | −1.4 |
| Lab L* | 86.7 | 87.2 | −0.5 |
| Lab a* | -0.5 | 0.1 | −0.7 |
| Lab b* | 5.9 | 5.0 | +0.9 |
| Undertone | Warm Greige | Warm | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | Greige | Greige |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Pale Oak (BM OC-20), published as #DDD9CE
#CCCFCC
#EFE3CE
City Loft (SW 7631), published as #DFDAD1
#CED0CF
#F1E4D1
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 City Loft (SW 7631) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 1.4 LRV points lighter (70 vs 68.6), so it bounces back more of the limited light
Closest matches to Pale Oak in other brands
Closest matches to City Loft in other brands
Common questions
- Is Pale Oak the same color as City Loft?
- They are very close: a CIEDE2000 difference of 1.2. Side by side you may see a slight difference between Pale Oak and City Loft.
- Which is lighter, Pale Oak or City Loft?
- City Loft, with an LRV of 70 against 68.6.
Full pages
Related comparisons
Sources: Pale Oak: LRV and hex from Benjamin Moore technical data (verified 2026-10-02); City Loft: 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.