Swiss Coffee (BM OC-45) vs Natural Linen (SW 9109)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Swiss Coffee, LRV 81.9 vs 66.
- Warmer
- Natural Linen (Lab b* 9.4 vs 5.6). Swiss Coffee reads warm white; Natural Linen reads greige.
- North rooms
- Swiss Coffee: keeps more brightness (L* 89.4 vs 81.2 in north light) and drifts less gray (chroma drop 3.0 vs 4.9).
- Trim that works
- Woodland Snow BM 2161-70, #F7EFE1, LRV 85.6: the Benjamin Moore white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 7.0, clearly different. At 7.0, treat them as different colors.
See each color
More comparisons with Natural Linen
Swiss Coffee (BM OC-45) is much lighter than Natural Linen (SW 9109) and cooler: LRV 81.9 vs 66, deltaE 7.0 (clearly different).
Side by side
| Measure | Swiss Coffee | Natural Linen | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Benjamin Moore | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | OC-45 | SW 9109 | |
| Hex | #EEECE1 | #DFD3C3 | |
| RGB | 238, 236, 225 | 223, 211, 195 | |
| HSL | 51°, 28%, 91% | 34°, 30%, 82% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 81.9 | 66 | +15.9 |
| Lab L* | 93.3 | 85.1 | +8.2 |
| Lab a* | -1.2 | 1.5 | −2.7 |
| Lab b* | 5.6 | 9.4 | −3.8 |
| Undertone | Neutral | Warm | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | White | Beige |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Swiss Coffee (BM OC-45), published as #EEECE1
#DCE2DF
#FFF6E1
Natural Linen (SW 9109), published as #DFD3C3
#CEC9C1
#F1DDC3
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 Swiss Coffee (BM OC-45) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 15.9 LRV points lighter (81.9 vs 66), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Swiss Coffee (BM OC-45) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 5.6 against 9.4, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Natural Linen (SW 9109) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 9.4), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Swiss Coffee in other brands
Closest matches to Natural Linen in other brands
Common questions
- Is Swiss Coffee the same color as Natural Linen?
- They are clearly different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 7.0. Swiss Coffee and Natural Linen are different colors.
- Which is lighter, Swiss Coffee or Natural Linen?
- Swiss Coffee, with an LRV of 81.9 against 66.
Full pages
Related comparisons
Sources: Swiss Coffee: LRV and hex from Benjamin Moore technical data (verified 2026-10-02); Natural Linen: 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.