Paint colors · Benjamin Moore, as published by the brand

Benjamin Moore Smoke Embers 1466: hex #C1BFBA, LRV and undertone

Smoke Embers (1466) from Benjamin Moore is #C1BFBA with an LRV of 51.4. It measures as a true neutral gray, and black text on it reaches 11.42:1.

By Paul Gunder. Every value is computed from published standards; see how ColorPlum works.

Updated November 11, 2026

Benjamin MooreSmoke Embers1466

Hex: #C1BFBA
RGB: 193, 191, 186
LRV: 51.44
Undertone: True neutral

LRV 51.44. Mid-tone: noticeably colored; best in rooms with good daylight.

Almost no undertone (chroma 0.007): it reads as a clean gray in most light.

Coordinating colors Benjamin Moore suggests

Cloud White967
Westchester Tan246
White DoveOC-17
Newburyport BlueHC-155

Closest colors from other brands

ΔE is the CIEDE2000 difference between the published values: under 2 is hard to tell apart on a wall, 2 to 5 is a visible but related shade. Always compare real chips before you buy.

Name, code, LRV and color value as published by Benjamin Moore on its color page (checked 2026-11-11). A screen can only approximate paint: sheen, lighting and the screen itself all change it, so check a physical sample. ColorPlum is not affiliated with Benjamin Moore.

ColorPlum swatchSmoke Emberslight gray

HEX: #C1BFBA
RGB: rgb(193, 191, 186)
HSL: hsl(43, 5%, 74%)

Best text on it: black at 11.42:1

Build a palette Make a gradient Check contrast Wallpaper

Smoke Embers#C1BFBA

Every code for Smoke Embers

HEX#C1BFBA
RGBrgb(193, 191, 186)
HSLhsl(43, 5%, 74%)
HSV43°, 4%, 76%
CMYK0%, 1%, 4%, 24%
Lablab(77.4% 0 2.8)
OKLCHoklch(80.5% 0.007 88.7)
Decimal12697530

Tints, shades and tones

From white to black in 10% steps, with Smoke Embers in the middle. Tap a code to copy it.

90%#F9F9F8
80%#F3F2F1
70%#ECECEA
60%#E6E5E3
50%#E0DFDD
40%#DAD9D6
30%#D4D2CF
20%#CDCCC8
10%#C7C5C1
Base#C1BFBA
10%#AEACA7
20%#9A9995
30%#878682
40%#747370
50%#61605D
60%#4D4C4A
70%#3A3938
80%#272625
90%#131313

Tones (mixed with gray)

10%#BBB9B4
20%#B4B2AE
30%#AEACA9
40%#A7A6A3
50%#A1A09D
60%#9A9997
70%#949391
80%#8D8D8C
90%#878686

Matching colors

Complementary

#C1BFBA
#BABCC1

Analogous

#C1BCBA
#C1BFBA
#C0C1BA

Triadic

#C1BFBA
#BAC1BF
#BFBAC1

Split complementary

#C1BFBA
#BAC0C1
#BCBAC1

Tetradic (square)

#C1BFBA
#BAC1BC
#BABCC1
#C1BAC0

Monochromatic

#77746B
#9D9A92
#C1BFBA
#E5E4E2
#F5F5F4

Smoke Embers in 3D color space

OKLab, the space ColorPlum does its math in: lightness runs up the pole, hue goes around it and saturation grows outward. The faint shell is every color a screen can show (saturation is drawn wider than lightness so hues separate). Drag to turn it.

Smoke Embers with its complement, its triad and its tint and shade

Smoke Embers
Triad #BAC1BF
Triad #BFBAC1
Complement
50% tint
50% shade

Smoke Embers in use

New collectionAutumn edit

Card body text stays dark for reading; smoke embers carries the header and the button.

Shop nowTag

Headline in Smoke Embers

A paragraph with a link in dark text, because this color is too light for text on white; use it for fills instead.

How it looks with color-vision deficiency

A simulation (Machado and colleagues, 2009) of how the color and its complement read without one type of cone.

Typical color vision#C1BFBA
Protanopia (no red cones)#C0BFBA
Deuteranopia (no green cones)#C1BFBA
Tritanopia (no blue cones)#C2BEBE

Contrast and readability

Pairing	Ratio	WCAG 2.2
as text on white	1.83:1	AA AA large AAA
as text on black	11.42:1	AA AA large AAA
white text on it	1.83:1	AA AA large AAA
black text on it	11.42:1	AA AA large AAA
on your background	1.60:1	AA AA large AAA

Try a background

Export

:root {
  --smoke-embers: #c1bfba;
  --smoke-embers-rgb: 193 191 186;
  --smoke-embers-on: #000000;
}

On this page

Smoke Embers is Benjamin Moore 1466, a light-to-middle gray with hex #C1BFBA and RGB 193, 191, 186. Despite the name, the measurements show nothing smoky or ember-warm; it is a calm, balanced gray with only a trace of warmth.

The measured profile

The LRV is 51.4, a mid-tone: noticeably colored and best in rooms with good daylight. Lab is lab(77.4% 0 2.8), HSL is hsl(43, 5%, 74%) and OKLCH is oklch(80.5% 0.007 88.7). With chroma at only 0.007 the reading is a true neutral, a clean gray in most light. In a room with little natural light, a mid-tone like this slides toward a flat, dim gray, so it asks for brighter bulbs.

A color other brands have nearly duplicated

This is a color with unusually tight matches. Sherwin-Williams Light French Gray (SW 0055) is only ΔE 0.3 away, and Behr Natural Gray (PPU18-10) is 1.1; a wall would hide either difference. Behr Silver Bullet (N520-2) is 2.3 and Sherwin-Williams Repose Gray (SW 7015) is 3.1, which puts them in the related-but-visible range. Inside Benjamin Moore, Coventry Gray (HC-169) is 2.6, Wish (AF-680) is 3.4 and Revere Pewter (HC-172) is 4.4. A near-zero ΔE is encouraging if you need to touch up with another brand, but only a drawdown of each can confirm it.

Worked example

Imagine a hall with doors on both sides and a skylight at the far end. You want one gray that survives both bright skylight and shadowed corners. Smoke Embers on the walls, with Cloud White (967, #F2F1E6) on the trim, gives a soft contrast. Benjamin Moore lists four coordinating colors: Cloud White (967), Westchester Tan (246), White Dove (OC-17, #EFEEE5) and Newburyport Blue (HC-155). White Dove is a slightly gentler trim choice, while Newburyport Blue could work on a front door at the end of the hall. Westchester Tan and Newburyport Blue have no pages here, so look them up by code.

Under the skylight the walls will look lighter than the chip, and in the shaded corners noticeably deeper. That spread is what mid-tone grays do.

Text contrast

Black text on #C1BFBA measures 11.42:1; white text measures 1.83:1. Choose dark type for any label or interface panel on this gray.

Matching across brands is a practical concern with grays this neutral, since a touch-up in a different line can show as a patch. Even at a ΔE of 0.3, the finish, base and tint formula can change how a dried patch looks, so if you intend to repair a wall with a substitute, paint a trial strip in an out-of-the-way spot and let it dry fully before you judge.