Benjamin Moore Stone Hearth (984): Undertones, LRV, & Best Uses
Benjamin Moore Stone Hearth is a warm, light-medium, taupe-leaning beige. It works well on interior walls, accent walls, and kitchen cabinets.
Like many flexible beiges, Stone Hearth’s appearance can change based on lighting and surrounding finishes.
But, generally, when it comes to gorgeous warm beige paint colors, they’re a dime a dozen. So what makes Stone Hearth a better option than the rest? Let’s find out in its color review…
WHAT TYPE OF PAINT COLOR IS STONE HEARTH?
Ahhhhh, now THAT is a good question. Stone Hearth is a chameleon. With beige roots, you’d think this bad boy was beige through and through. Nope. Instead, Stone Hearth has a reasonable degree of gray calming it down, offering a more dusky, muted approach to what’s traditionally a rich, warm paint color.
Does this mean Stone Hearth is a greige or taupe? Noooooo, but it winks at taupe thanks to its versatile undertones, which we’ll get into shortly.
Given Stone Hearth’s gray undercurrent, it can look more muted and slightly taupe-greige in north-facing light and eastern afternoon/western morning light. However, you can paint a south-facing room Stone Hearth and enjoy its passive warmth without feeling like you’re living in an easy-bake oven (which can happen when you have a south-facing room painted a rich, golden beige).
North, East, South, West – Which Paint Color is the Best?
WHAT’S STONE HEARTH’S LRV?
Stone Hearth has an LRV of 48.45, meaning it’s in the light-medium range. It has more depth and body than the average paint color (the average home has colors with LRVs between 60 and 70), but it’s not so dark that it weighs down a reasonably well-lit room.
This LRV and its organic, earthy look give Stone Hearth a really grounded vibe.
Not sure what LRV is? It could save your paint-lovin’ life – read all about it HERE.
How to Make a Dark Room Look Brighter – and it ain’t with paint!
The Best Paint NUMBER for Your Home – 62
WHAT UNDERTONES DOES STONE HEARTH HAVE?
This is where Stone Hearth is a real chameleon. Traditional beige paint colors cater to an orange undertone, with the most popular ones leaning toward orange-pink (strange but true). While Stone Hearth certainly has a beige-based warmth, it has been known to pick up wee winks of taupe (purple-pink) depending on your room’s exposure and the finishes it’s partnered with. This said, its commitment is very…very small.
What does this mean?
The less a color commits to an undertone (like green or purple-pink), the more likely it is to flash into the other. For example, if you have a color committed to taupe (purple-pink), it’s unlikely to pick up a green undertone. Stone Hearth isn’t this color, meaning it has the potential to grab either. In my experience, it lightly favors taupe (although its roots suggest it wouldn’t).
Sometimes, a comparison is just what you need. Put Stone Hearth next to Benjamin Moore Dufferin Terrace. There’s a bare shift between the two, with Dufferin catering more to taupe. But on the other hand, it can be paired with Coastal Fog, and Stone Hearth looks tauper (is tauper a word?) than ever!
The Ultimate Guide to Paint Colors & Undertones
WHAT WHITE TRIM COLOR GOES WITH STONE HEARTH?
Stone Hearth is somewhat flexible, although, unlike me drinking my favorite wine, it has its limits…
- Benjamin Moore White Dove is gorgeous with Stone Hearth
- Sherwin Williams Pure White
- Sherwin Williams White Snow
The 8 Best Benjamin Moore White Paint Colors
DOES STONE HEARTH GO WITH CREAM TRIM & CABINETS?
Generally speaking, no. Or maybe, but it depends on your comfort zone/tolerance level. For me, it often falls a bit flat, especially with stronger cream paint colors. You can sample it and see, but it’s a 50/50 chance at best.
Check out this next image…
The creamy trim was already in place and not going anywhere – I had to work with it while creating a kitchen palette that still worked. We landed on Stone Hearth as a happy medium between the cream trim and the darker taupe cabinet color we chose. It works as there isn’t a ton of wall space, but it could push Stone Hearth’s comfort zone if it were on a large scale.
The Best Modern Paint Colors for Cream Cabinets & Trim
DOES STONE HEARTH GO WITH WOOD TRIMS & CABINETS?
If you’re down for a more moody, organic look, Stone Hearth can be a beautiful partner for wood finishes. But, of course, it can depend on your wood’s undertones. For example, a wood stain with a lighter, strong pink undertone might not look healthy with Stone Hearth. On the other hand, give Stone Hearth a moderate oak or ‘brownish’ wood stain, and the combo can be stunning.
Here’s your Peel & Stick sample of Stone Hearth…
IS STONE HEARTH A GOOD COLOR FOR THE EXTERIOR OF A HOME?
Absolutely, Stone Hearth can be beautiful on an exterior as it taps into the needs of MANY brick exteriors (their mortar often loves Stone Hearth’s depth and undertones). It’s also reasonably flexible with a range of fiberglass roofs.
5 Tips for Choosing an Exterior Paint Color
Does Your Exposure REALLY MATTER When Choosing EXTERIOR Paint Colors?
IS STONE HEARTH A GOOD COLOR FOR KITCHEN CABINETS?
For the love of everything beautiful, YES, Stone Hearth can be next-level stunning on cabinets, as long as it suits your countertop and backsplash. Often, we focus on what WE love or what suits our wall color, when it’s the backsplash (#1) and the countertop (#2) that call the shots!
The Best Off-White & Light-Depth Cabinet Colors
WHAT COLORS ARE SIMILAR TO STONE HEARTH?
Look at you—you’re so smart! You know that sampling and comparing similar colors is the BEST way to find your perfect shade! So, to help you on your journey, take a look at…
- Sherwin Williams Balanced Beige, for sure.
- Benjamin Moore Annapolis Gray makes a good run at Stone Hearth in the beauty department, offering a touch more beige-taupe warmth.
- Benjamin Moore Smokey Taupe has a similar approach to Stone Hearth but is a bit lighter with tweaked undertones.
Smokey Taupe | Pavilion Beige | Perfect Greige (review) | Versatile Gray (review) | Smokey Taupe
Here’s Sherwin Williams Balanced Beige in action…
WHICH PAINT COLORS GO WITH STONE HEARTH?
When creating a palette around Stone Hearth, it has some interesting partners. Some work in a room with Stone Hearth, whereas others are better in adjoining rooms as part of a larger palette.
- Medium to dark shades of green can be friggin’ gorgeous with Stone Hearth.
- Stone Hearth enjoys the odd, subtle warmth of off-whites, as long as they aren’t too yellowed.
- Check out some light, muted beige paint colors to see how they sit with Stone Hearth in your home.
- Medium-depth or darker taupe paint colors can be pretty in a palette with Stone Hearth.
- This said, Stone Hearth loves being partnered with DARKER shades of greige.
- Stone Hearth doesn’t want to be partnered with colors that are cooler AND lighter than it, even the same depth is touch and go in the same room.
READ MORE
The Best Medium, Stone-Inspired Beige, Taupe, & Greige Paint Colors
Benjamin Moore’s Best (Slightly Darker) Beige Paint Colors
The 10 Best Slightly Darker Beiges from Sherwin Williams
NEED HELP?
Check out my Online Paint Color Consulting – I’d love to help!
Great post! I love Stone Hearth. Had it on all my walls in my open concept main floor living space for about 15 years. It’s definitely a beauty!
I love hearing this! It’s been around for a while and it’s SUCH a timeless beauty.
I loved this post. You have such a good eye for color. I may try in my yoga room!!
Thank you – it is a lovely shade!
Great post! Can Stone Hearth be paired with grey-ish pink (in an adjacent room?) And how about super golden oak floors :I
If it’s darker than Stone Hearth, quite possible. It’s hard to say without knowing/seeing the color. As for super golden oak floors, it can be pretty!
Thoughts on a color drenched living room In Stone hearth?
Mmmm, I think it could be lovely!
Stone Hearth came out great in rest of house but in my living and dining rooms it is the strangest color, even painters didn’t like it. Those rooms were painted in matte from my color consultant’s suggestion, while elsewhere it is in eggshell, painters said that is why it is different. Colorist called it dolphin color now. My only hope is new window treatments will darken it.