Benjamin Moore Affinity Collection: Gray, Greige, Beige & Taupe

Looking for a gorgeous neutral paint colour with a bit of body and personality? Benjamin Moore’s Affinity line makes it EASY to find a paint colour that will light up your life – and your walls! By honing in on some of today’s TOP neutral paint colours, they have provided designers and homeowners with a handful of exquisite colours to choose from that are a step beyond the safer, more standard neutral paint colours.

I love to show RELATEABLE & REAL homes, so ONLY use photos from my Online Colour Consulting clients. This means I don’t always have the quality or range of pics I need, but DEFINITELY have some SUPER helpful info to help you on your way!

So, for those who can’t find satisfaction (reminds me of a song) in the standard line of colours, let’s dive in…

1. Benjamin Moore Metropolitan AF-690

Metropolitan is a light-medium depth gray paint colour with a stormy softness to it. And because Metropolitan is a COOL paint colour, you can expect to see undertones, in particular, a blue that can lean sliiiiightly blue-green the odd time.

Being a cool gray, Metropolitan CAN look a bit chilly, however, the DEPTH of it and smooth look makes it comes across as fresh, yet intimate.

More about Metropolitan

• While Metropolitan favours a very minor blue undertone, it can often flash slightly blue-green
• Metropolitan ‘might’ could look a wink cool for a north-facing room, but would balance out the warmth of a south-facing room nicely
• For a similar look, check out Benjamin Moore Coventry Gray
• With an LRV of 50.5 Metropolitan sits right in the middle of light/dark, so it will handle itself well in a reasonably well-lit room, but might be a touch heavy in a dark room

Read More: The 9 Best Gray and Charcoal Paint Colours by Benjamin Moore

2. Benjamin Moore Pashmina AF-100

Pashmina is a greige paint colour, however, it leans MUCH harder into beige than gray. And while it does favour warmth, it can look quite well-balanced between gray and beige given the right environment (ie: a north-facing or east-facing room). 

Pashmina is a rich earth-toned greige that offers a neutral backdrop to a room. with a bit more body than today’s popular gray and greige paint colours. 

More about Pashmina

• Looks great with chocolate brown OR charcoal gray, not as good with lighter gray or greige paint colours
• Can look a bit heavy in a darker, north-facing room
• Pashmina has an LRV of 43, so it’s got some meat on its bones

FULL Paint Colour Review of Benjamin Moore Pashmina

Read more: All About LRV and Choosing Paint Colour

Click HERE or on the above image for available packages

3. Benjamin Moore Thunder AF-685

Thunder is a sultry, stormy gray that sits in the medium-depths. And not only is it stormy, but it’s ALSO slightly warm.

Now, that doesn’t mean Thunder would be considered a greige, but it’s definitely a warm-toned gray. And like many warm-toned gray and greige paint colours, it can pick up a very slight purple undertone and sometimes even nod at green. If you are looking for a slightly crisper and fresher gray, you might prefer Metropolitan. But if you love grays that are on the soft, earthy side of things, then Thunder might be the colour for you!

More about Thunder

• It’s loud and comes after lighting. Anyways…
• In comparison to Metropolitan, you’ll see how much warmer Thunder looks
• Thunder is similar to Revere Pewter in its general approach but has more depth than and a slightly lower chance of flashing green
• Thunder has an LRV of 48

Read more: Paint Colour Review: Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter

4. Benjamin Moore Kangaroo AF-145

Kangaroo is a warm beige paint colour but doesn’t have a GOLDEN warmth like some of the more traditional beiges that were popular in the early 2000s. Kangaroo can also pick up a MINOR green undertone (like a wee wink).

More about Kangaroo

• The warmth of it can help balance the cool light of a north-facing room
• While it’s a warm colour, it’s not OVERLY yellow, orange or red-toned
• Kangaroo has an LRV of 43.25 so it’s not too dark, not too light – it’s juuuust right!

Let’s take a quick break to talk about paint samples…

Undoubtedly, you’ll be heading out in the near future to grab paint samples – stop right there! I want you to check out SAMPLIZE. Samplize offers peel and stick paint samples that are more AFFORDABLE, EASIER and more ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY than traditional paint pots. Here are just a FEW reasons why I recommend Samplize to my clients…

• Samples arrive ON YOUR DOORSTEP in 1-3 business days, depending on location
• At $6.99, they’re more affordable than the samples pots/rollers/foam boards that are needing for traditional paint sampling
• If you keep the samples on their white paper, you can move them around the room

CHECK OUT SAMPLIZE HERE

5. Benjamin Moore Storm AF-700

As its name suggests, Storm is a medium-depth gray paint colour with a gorgeous, rich, stormy look to it. And because EVERY gray paint colour has undertones, you can expect to see a cool purple undertone in Storm. 

While it would be a touch heavy for a dark room (unless you’re GOING for that look), as long as your room gets ‘average’ natural light it could be gorgeous. Storm is sneaky with its undertones as on first glance, it looks like a pretty straight-up gray, however, once applied, you’ll notice a kind of storm cloud purple (purple-blue) undertone (hence the name) so be wary if that’s not the look you’re going for!

More about Storm

• If you put it with opposite colours (ie: yellow/orange/green) you will bring out the purple undertones even more (opposites attract – just ask Tim) 
• Storm can look amazing with cherry toned wood, walnut and espresso
• Storm has an LRV of 34.78 so it’s definitely in the medium-depths

Read more: The Best DARK Paint Colours for a DARK Room!

6. Benjamin Moore Weimaraner AF-155

Weimaraner is the PERFECT example of a taupe paint colour with its beautiful, rich undertones. And being a taupe, Weimaraner is a WARM paint colour, known for flashing a subtle WARM purple undertone (which means it’s purple-pink, not purple-blue).

Look how light Weimaraner looks on an exterior – exteriors can be tricky!

Taupe is basically a brown-beige with a good shot of gray and a purple (often purple-pink) undertone tucked inside. And Weimaraner is NOT shy about its undertone!

More about Weimaraner

• Green will bring out the ‘Barney’ in this colour so be careful what you partner it with
• With an LRV of 29.98, Weimaraner is not for the faint of heart as it does have some depth to it, sitting WELL into the medium depths (learn more HERE)

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Chat soon,

READ MORE

• The 8 Best WHOLE HOME Warm Paint Colours
• The 12 Best WHOLE HOME Gray and Greige Paint Colours
• Paint Colour Review of Sherwin Williams Dorian Gray

Originally written in 2017, updated in 2020