Comfort Gray (SW 6205) vs Oyster Bay (SW 6206)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Comfort Gray, LRV 54 vs 44.
- Warmer
- Oyster Bay, both green-gray (Lab b* 4.5 vs 3.4).
- North rooms
- Comfort Gray: keeps more brightness (L* 74.2 vs 68.3 in north light) and drifts less gray (chroma drop 0.3 vs 1.1).
- Trim that works
- Green Glimpse SW 9676, #E7EAE3, LRV 82: the Sherwin-Williams white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 4.4, noticeably different. At 4.4, test both: on a full wall the difference will show.
See each color
Comfort Gray (SW 6205) is lighter than Oyster Bay (SW 6206) and slightly cooler: LRV 54 vs 44, deltaE 4.4 (noticeably different).
Side by side
| Measure | Comfort Gray | Oyster Bay | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | SW 6205 | SW 6206 | |
| Hex | #BEC3BB | #AEB3A9 | |
| RGB | 190, 195, 187 | 174, 179, 169 | |
| HSL | 97°, 6%, 75% | 90°, 6%, 68% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 54 | 44 | +10 |
| Lab L* | 78.2 | 72.3 | +5.9 |
| Lab a* | -3.2 | -3.6 | +0.4 |
| Lab b* | 3.4 | 4.5 | −1.1 |
| Undertone | Neutral | Neutral | |
| Temperature | neutral | neutral | |
| Color family | Gray | Gray |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Comfort Gray (SW 6205), published as #BEC3BB
#ADB9B9
#D0CDBB
Oyster Bay (SW 6206), published as #AEB3A9
#9DA9A7
#BFBDA9
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 Comfort Gray (SW 6205) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 10 LRV points lighter (54 vs 44), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Comfort Gray (SW 6205) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 3.4 against 4.5, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Oyster Bay (SW 6206) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 4.5), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Comfort Gray in other brands
Closest matches to Oyster Bay in other brands
Common questions
- Is Comfort Gray the same color as Oyster Bay?
- They are noticeably different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 4.4. Most people can see the difference between Comfort Gray and Oyster Bay side by side.
- Which is lighter, Comfort Gray or Oyster Bay?
- Comfort Gray, with an LRV of 54 against 44.
Full pages
Related comparisons
Sources: 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.