Ballet White (BM OC-9) vs Shoji White (SW 7042)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Shoji White, LRV 74 vs 72.
- Warmer
- Ballet White, both warm white (Lab b* 8.4 vs 6.7).
- North rooms
- About the same: both keep their brightness and color about equally (L* 85.3 vs 85.2 in north light).
- Trim that works
- White Blush BM 904, #F6F0E1, LRV 84.7: the Benjamin Moore white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 2.2, very close. At 2.2, test both side by side if the room is dim or north-facing.
See each color
More comparisons with Ballet White
Ballet White (BM OC-9) is slightly darker than Shoji White (SW 7042) and slightly warmer: LRV 72 vs 74, deltaE 2.2 (very close).
Side by side
| Measure | Ballet White | Shoji White | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Benjamin Moore | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | OC-9 | SW 7042 | |
| Hex | #E5E0D0 | #E6DFD3 | |
| RGB | 229, 224, 208 | 230, 223, 211 | |
| HSL | 46°, 29%, 86% | 38°, 28%, 86% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 72 | 74 | −2 |
| Lab L* | 89.2 | 89.1 | +0.1 |
| Lab a* | -1.0 | 0.3 | −1.4 |
| Lab b* | 8.4 | 6.7 | +1.7 |
| Undertone | Neutral | Warm | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | Off-white | Off-white |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Ballet White (BM OC-9), published as #E5E0D0
#D4D6CE
#F7EAD0
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 2 LRV points lighter (74 vs 72), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Shoji White (SW 7042) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 6.7 against 8.4, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Ballet White (BM OC-9) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 8.4), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Ballet White in other brands
Closest matches to Shoji White in other brands
Common questions
- Is Ballet White the same color as Shoji White?
- They are very close: a CIEDE2000 difference of 2.2. Side by side you may see a slight difference between Ballet White and Shoji White.
- Which is lighter, Ballet White or Shoji White?
- Shoji White, with an LRV of 74 against 72.
Full pages
Related comparisons
Sources: Ballet White: 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.