Pale Oak (BM OC-20) vs Drift of Mist (SW 9166)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- About the same: LRV 68.6 vs 69.
- Warmer
- Pale Oak, both greige (Lab b* 5.9 vs 4.4).
- North rooms
- Drift of Mist drifts less gray (chroma drop 3.3 vs 4.0); both keep about the same brightness.
- Trim that works
- Dove Wing BM 960, #E9E6DB, LRV 77.5: the Benjamin Moore white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 1.4, very close. At 1.4, test both side by side if the room is dim or north-facing.
See each color
More comparisons with Drift of Mist
Pale Oak (BM OC-20) is about as light as Drift of Mist (SW 9166) and slightly warmer: LRV 68.6 vs 69, deltaE 1.4 (very close).
Side by side
| Measure | Pale Oak | Drift of Mist | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Benjamin Moore | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | OC-20 | SW 9166 | |
| Hex | #DDD9CE | #DCD8D0 | |
| RGB | 221, 217, 206 | 220, 216, 208 | |
| HSL | 44°, 18%, 84% | 40°, 15%, 84% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 68.6 | 69 | −0.4 |
| Lab L* | 86.7 | 86.5 | +0.3 |
| Lab a* | -0.5 | 0.0 | −0.5 |
| Lab b* | 5.9 | 4.4 | +1.5 |
| Undertone | Warm Greige | Neutral | |
| Temperature | warm | neutral | |
| Color family | Greige | Gray |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Pale Oak (BM OC-20), published as #DDD9CE
#CCCFCC
#EFE3CE
Drift of Mist (SW 9166), published as #DCD8D0
#CBCECE
#EEE2D0
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 Drift of Mist (SW 9166) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 0.4 LRV points lighter (69 vs 68.6), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Drift of Mist (SW 9166) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 4.4 against 5.9, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Pale Oak (BM OC-20) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 5.9), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Pale Oak in other brands
Closest matches to Drift of Mist in other brands
Common questions
- Is Pale Oak the same color as Drift of Mist?
- They are very close: a CIEDE2000 difference of 1.4. Side by side you may see a slight difference between Pale Oak and Drift of Mist.
- Which is lighter, Pale Oak or Drift of Mist?
- Drift of Mist, with an LRV of 69 against 68.6.
Full pages
Related comparisons
Sources: Pale Oak: LRV and hex from Benjamin Moore technical data (verified 2026-10-02); Drift of Mist: 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.