Benjamin Moore Balboa Mist (OC-27): Undertones, LRV, & Best Uses
Benjamin Moore Balboa Mist has been a hot shade for years. While it was strongest during the gray trend, its approach to warmth, depth, and undertones has it holding its own even in today’s updated, warmer interior.
Walls, cabinets, exteriors, Balboa Mist is showing up all over the place, but does this mean it’s the best color for your home? Let’s find out how its undertones, LRV, and temperature might affect exactly how and where you use it…
Updated with fresh images and new content for 2026
WHAT TYPE OF COLOR IS BALBOA MIST – IS IT WARM OR COOL?
Balboa Mist is a warm gray paint color bordering on the edge of taupe. What makes it warm? This gorgeous shade of gray contains a subtle bit of beige, helping to cut back on any traditional cool gray tendencies it could have.
And being gray, Balboa Mist can lean that bit grayer (without looking cold) if you have north-facing light. However, with south-facing or warm afternoon western light, it can still look gray while picking up a taupe-like warmth. This flexibility leaves it ‘open to perception’ as to what type of color it is!
THE LRV (DEPTH) OF BALBOA MIST
Balboa Mist has an LRV of 65.53, so it’s FIRMLY planted in the light range. This particular depth means that it’s bordering on the off-white range, but doesn’t come close to the light-medium range – it’s more or less in the middle. The 62-74 range is a great place to start if you’re not sure which depth you want on your walls.
Benjamin Moore’s Best Warm White Paint Colors
B. Mist in the bathroom
WHAT ARE BALBOA MIST’S UNDERTONES?
Every gray has undertones. Like death, taxes, and empty wine bottles, there’s no avoiding them, and Balboa Mist can definitely appear with a purple undertone (warm purple).
WILL IT EVER LOOK PINK?
Being a warm gray with a wink at purple, Balboa Mist can look a bit purple-pink; however, the focus is most often on the ‘purple’. While the odd time it looks passive (below), more often than not, the purple is visible, and the pink is more of an undercurrent.
FUN FACT: All the photos in my blog are from my Online Color Consulting clients, readers, and friends— because real homes deserve to be celebrated (dirty laundry and all!) While not magazine-perfect, they’re packed with ideas and proven color choices to help you create a home you’ll love.
WILL IT EVER LOOK GREEN?
It sure as heck shouldn’t! If Balboa Mist appears green in your space, it could be due to several factors…
- the color/temperature of your light bulbs
- reflection from the outside (trees/grass/shrubs)
- glaze on your windows (often has a greenish tint)
- you didn’t get it mixed at Benjamin Moore, or it’s a mistint
- extreme afternoon western sunshine
Here’s your Peel & Stick sample of Balboa Mist…
THE BEST WHITE TRIM PAIRINGS WITH BALBOA MIST
When it comes to choosing the perfect white for trims, ceilings, and doors, I lean towards…
- Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace for a simple, clean contrast
- Benjamin Moore White Dove provides a softer contrast with Balboa Mist
- I also love Sherwin Williams Pure White (even more than White Dove)
The 8 Best White Paint Colors from Benjamin Moore
WHERE BALBOA MIST DOES (& DOESN’T) WORK BEST
While it’s gorgeous on many surfaces, it’s not suited to every job. Let’s see where it does its best work, starting with a quick summary, and then some more gratuitous details…
- As a whole home color, assuming it suits each room’s finishes and lighting. It also suits single rooms and open-concept spaces, humoring a range of colors for any adjoining rooms.
- With a range of wood stains
- It’s best for walls and less popular on cabinets, trims, or exteriors
AS AN EXTERIOR PAINT COLOR…
Balboa Mist is okay for exteriors, but several other colors do the same… but better. Don’t get me wrong, while it can be beautiful, it can also be a bit too passive – not committing to being an off-white, but not strong enough to hold up to decent natural light.
You also need to check that its undertones don’t come up too much in exterior lighting.
When sampling it for your exterior, also compare it with BM Nimbus, Classic Gray, Collingwood, and Pale Oak.
WITH WOOD STAINS…
Whether you have wood cabinets, trims, flooring, or furniture, Balboa Mist can be a pretty partner. Red, yellow, or orange stains? It’s worth sampling.
Notice how soft and subtle it is in this kitchen with early 2000s maple cabinets, oak flooring, and trim…
It’s important to note that there aren’t interior lights on, and it’s still doing quite well!
The beams and blinds in this next living room have a red-orange hue, and the walls look gorgeous, as the paint color picks up some of the colors in the rocks. HOWEVER, this is also a great example of its undertone potential (I say potential like it’s a good thing…in this case, it might not be)…
Pay close attention to the wall space to the right of the fireplace – there’s that purple hue popping up, and it ain’t subtle about it. That said, it could likely be softened by playing around with the Kelvins of the light bulbs, since this wall gets a ton of interior light and less natural light.
The Best Paint Colors with Red Stained Woods
DOES BALBOA MIST GO WITH CREAM CABINETS OR TRIMS?
That’s a hard no. In fact, it’s so hard, I’m getting a little excited. The combination of its depth, undertones, and temperature makes it a pretty darn terrible partner to cream cabinets and trims, due to its yellow base.
WHICH PAINT COLORS ARE SIMILAR?
When trying to find the best paint color for your space, it’s important to COMPARE COMPARE COMPARE. Let’s compare Balboa Mist to other popular warm gray paint colors.
BENJAMIN MOORE BALBOA MIST vs. CLASSIC GRAY
These are 2 great comparisons. Balboa Mist and Classic Gray have similar intentions, as both are warm grays that can look quite taupe. However, the big difference lies in their LRVs: Balboa Mist is 65.53, while Classic Gray is 73.67. This difference means Classic Gray offers a softer, less obvious contrast with trim. That said, it’s more likely to wash out in good natural lighting.
- You might also find that Balboa Mist’s undertones can show up at the party a wink more
- Classic Gray can settle a bit warmer, making it look gentler
Color Review of Benjamin Moore Classic Gray
BENJAMIN MOORE BALBOA MIST vs SHERWIN WILLIAMS EGRET WHITE
I’m obsessed with Egret White and often suggest it to my Color Consulting clients alongside Balboa Mist. And while they’re very similar, Egret White is about 25% lighter than Balboa Mist and often comes across a bit more muted, with less obvious (and slightly warmer) undertones.
Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Egret White
BENJAMIN MOORE BALBOA MIST vs COLLINGWOOD
Is Balboa Mist the lighter version of Collingwood? Oh, the rumor would have it! However, while these two are similar, they’re only kissin’ cousins.
Balboa Mist is a bit lighter than Collingwood, due to Collingwood’s LRV of 61.52. Along with this shift in LRV, Balboa Mist can also look a bit warmer and sliiiiightly more purple-pink in comparison. This is why they’re awesome colors to compare!
Color Review of Benjamin Moore Collingwood
Let’s look at a few more and notice how pretty they are with this orange-stained wood flooring…
SW Egret White | SW Modern Gray | SW Aesthetic White (not as comparable, but still pretty).
WHICH PAINT COLORS GO WELL WITH BALBOA MIST?
You don’t have to look far to find colors that look good with Balboa Mist, such as some of the following…
- GRAYS: gray paint colors with similar undertones that are lighter and darker than it
- OFF-WHITES: For a subtle flow from room to room, pair B. Mist with a range of subtle off-white paint colors
- GREENS: Ooooh, the glory of greens! There are so many that can look gorgeous, including subtle sage greens and some light-medium to medium greens
- GRAY-BLUE: A ton of gray-blue blends look amazeballs with B.Mist, from light to medium shades to darker, moodier hues
- WARM WHITES: For a gentle look, pair it with soft and subtle warm white paint colors
WHAT DARK PAINT COLORS (ACCENTS) WORK WITH IT?
Balboa Mist has a ton of moody friends that are great for cabinets, front doors, or feature walls.
- DARK GRAY-TAUPE: Darker warm gray paint colors (with a violet undertone) like Benjamin Moore’s Metropolis can be gorgeous for accent walls and kitchen islands
- DARK GREENS: Greens are beautiful accents, especially the more muted ones found here and here (Sherwin Williams).
- GREEN-GRAYS: Heavy green-gray blends, as well as blue-gray-greens can be pretty – maybe for the inside of your front door!
- NAVY BLUE: Navy blue paint colors, including Sherwin Williams Cyberspace and Benjamin Moore Anchor Gray
PROS & CONS: SUMMARY OF BALBOA MIST
While the above blog post gives you the full details on this top-selling neutral from Benjamin Moore, let’s hit the basics…
- Balboa Mist is a warm gray that can look warm enough to appear taupe. This makes it great for homes that demand grayish paint colors but whose homeowners want to squeeze in a little warmth.
- For those who care, paint color trends have shifted away from grays. This means you may want to think twice before painting your whole home this color. You might compare it with some warmer whole-home shades.
- It has undertones that can appear more obviously than not. This is most commonly purple, but it can look purple-pink. This is a pro, as many common interior finishes cater to these undertones (more so than green or blue).
- Balboa Mist’s LRV of 65.56 puts it in my favorite LRV range. This is great for those who are unsure what depth suits their room. Start here, and you can adjust lighter/darker from there as/if needed.
- It looks awesome with a ton of wood stains, including yellow, orange, and red stains. It can also work with many graywashed and whitewashed wood finishes.
- Suits bright whites, as well as slightly warm white paint colors for trims and cabinets.
- It’s not at all well-suited to cream cabinets or trims – check out these colors instead.
READ MORE
The Best WHOLE HOME Taupe & Greige Paint Colors
Paint Color Review of Sherwin Williams Popular Gray
Benjamin Moore Pale Oak: Paint Color Review
Get the best paint color advice with Kylie M’s Online Color Consulting – I’d love to help!
Hi Kylie,
I am putting in a Chantilly Lace and Hale Navy kitchen. My kitchen faces east with a lot of windows. So I get plenty of light. I do not have a lot of visible walls but it opens up to a sunken family room that has a large orange brick fireplace on one wall (not visible from the kitchen). I wanted to paint both areas a nice grey and thought Stonington Grey would work because of it’s undertones. The other thought was to paint the few visible walls in the kitchen chantilly lace then find something complimentary for the family room. What do you think?
Oooo, i LOOOVE the sounds of these together. I mean, I can’t say for sure without seeing the colors in your countertop/tile/fireplace/those kinds of things, but off the top – it SOUNDS good. I also love SW Big Chill which has a similar approach to Stonington Gray.
I have wood toned trim – I would say closer to orange stain (house built in 2000 – original trim) I’m thinking of Balboa Mist to lighten up my walls. Currently they are in the light coffee colors circa 2004? Would this color look good with my wood trim?
From the sounds of it, yes!
My son is currently building a home ( he’s single, so I am helping) and all walls have been painted balboa mist, cabinets are black in kitchen and all bathrooms/flooring will be medium color wood (not real dark or too light). I ordered black doors and was thinking about black trim around doors,windows and baseboard. There will be no crown molding. Please tell me what you think?
Hey Jennnifer! You know…it sounds like a lot of black. Black is STUNNING…in moderation. Black cabinets can be gorgeous, but black cabinets and doors can be reeeally overwhelming – and then to add trim in, feels like too much. PERSONALLY, if he loves the black cabinets, keep those. Then paint the inside of the front door black and add some black light fixtures so the metal picks it up. I worry that it will be very…goth and drastic otherwise!
Hi Kylie,
I recently added wainscoting to my hallway, foyer and painted above it in Edgecomb gray. While I like the color, it is very light against the white wainscoting. I was hoping for something that had a tad bit more gray. I would like to repaint it with Balboa Mist, the only issue is in part of the room I have a traditional striped wallpaper, that has a beige background. The stripe is like a metallic, probably lending itself more towards a warm beige. Will this work with Balboa Mist?
Oooo, from the sounds of it, Balboa Mist will be too gray. If the COLOR of Edgecomb Gray works, how about trying it 25% or 50% darkened?
Kylie, I love your posts and they have been very helpful to me narrowing down my paint choices. I am redoing my house in an open floor concept. My kitchen cabinets are going to be Transulent Monument Gray by Kraftmaid with Champagne Brinze fixtures throughout including chandelier , faucets etc.. I would like a paint color that will be subtle and bring out the golden undertone in the cabinets but do not like Yellow or Green. I was toying between BM Balboa Mist, Edgecomb Gray or Seapearl with a crisp white trim. I am wondering what your thoughts are. Thank you.
I did balboa mist kitchen walls and looking for a light gray for cabinets.
My decor will be oranges, reds, yellow and teal blue. What wall color from Benjamin Moore would look best. We want something light gray or “Greige”. We are looking at Balboa Mist, gray owl, moonshine and horizon. Any other suggestions that would or would not go? Thank you
Will Balboa mist work for kitchen island with white countertop and light grey veins? Periphery cabinets are dark coffee brown.
Without seeing it, I can’t say for sure, but it SOUNDS like it should!
new small ranch house: all hallways/living spaces are Smokey Taupe which looks great/I like…except the light yellow kitchen. Should I just continue the Smokey Taupe in there or could I go for Balboa Mist (counters are gray granite, white cabinets)? Open-ish floor plan so often you’d see both walls at the same time…do those colors do nicely together/transition well or would they clash?
Hey Lindsay! I don’t love Balboa Mist with Smokey Taupe, so it sounds like Smokey Taupe might be the better choice 🙂
Kylie, I live in an 1895 brick farmhouse out in the country. We are redoing our living room. The wood floors are honey oak (installed in the 90s) and I have Chantilly Lace tall painted trim. I am searching for a wall color and wonder if Balboa Mist would work. My sectional is off white/cream with a dark gray blue stitching, a 9/12 area rug in navy, mid blue, off white, and gray, and 1 navy chair. The ceiling is extra white by SW. This has been a challenge finding a wall color. The room used to be two rooms so the opposite end of the room probably will have a chair, lamp and bookshelf. My other rooms that adjoin it have a bathroom (tile floor) that is gray blue and a study that has Evening Shadow walls with gray carpeting. I thought that gray walls in the living room wouldn’t look good with the honey colored flooring, so I thought maybe Balboa Mist.
Oh gosh, with so many elements, plus natural lighting, it’s hard to say for sure. I mean, off the top, Honey Oak can look quite lovely with a color like Balboa Mist as it’s that bit warmer! Have you also looked at SW Egret White?
you mention that balboa mist and collingwood both go well with benjamin moores metropolis (eagle rock) ….but does one go with it better than the other?! I can’t decide between the 2=( I’ve already got eagle rock on the wall, along with urbane bronze accent…and yellow/golden oak everywhere, lol. it’s for a hallway/entryway that’s fairly dark. but connected living/kitchen gets large amount of southern and eastern light. please someone end the torture and just tell me which one to do!!!
Thank you so much for the wealth of information you provide in your posts. I’m looking into versatile light colors for a great room update. We live in the forest ( lots of green outside) and have tricky Brazilian hardwood floors. Our walls our currently a sage-y green and a greige on some walls that picks up a strong green undertone in most lights. I love green, but the green undertones in our current color greige are not attractive. I’m looking into versatile light colors and trying to avoid another icky green undertone. Do you think it’s possible to find a light taupe/greige/beige color and avoid a moderate-strong green undertone showing up given our forest setting and cherry floors?
Thanks!
I am in the middle of choosing Balboa Mist or Collingwood. I have an open concept home.
I originally painted it Stonnington Gray when the house was brand new. So I didn’t have any furnishing yet. It’s been about 9 years and I need to paint. The issue is I have 20 foot ceilings in my living room with 3 medium size windows on the top part of the wall. I wanted to warm up my space instead of typical gray color. I want a little warmth to it like a great color that goes with some of my gray furnishing but I also have a warm taupe colors in my fabrics. I do have a dark blue color swivel chair and a gray taupe color modular sofa. The sample paints on my wall now or: Pale Oak, Edgecomb gray 50% and 25% lighter with the other 2 colors Balboa Mist and Collingwood. I would appreciate any of your advice and suggestions. I am freaking out the painter is coming on Monday, March 24th.
Oooo, I’m definitely shootin’ in the dark without seeing your space, but I would LEAN into Balboa Mist. Some find Pale Oak a touch too pink. Edgecomb Gray in any version could be too warm. Short of that, I love SW Modern Gray, too!
canada girly here too. we get alot of clouds and I love balboa mist on a cloudy day. but at night when I have all my recessed lighting on my vaulted ceiling I have them set to 3500k I’m getting blue and purple out of the paint. Do you think 3000k is a better way to go? It’s a big deal to get up the scaffolding and change them so cant just do a simple test without an educated guess lol. thanks