See Benjamin Moore Pale Oak in Real Homes (Plus Coordinating Colors and Dupes!)

Pale Oak is a color that has truly stood the test of time. You could have used this greige shade in the throws of “millennial gray,” and you can still use it in the warmer palettes of today!

Benjamin Moore Pale Oak swatched over a photo of the color on wall in an entrance with Cinnamon Slate — Background photo: @denisegodbout

Here we will take a look at Pale Oak in real life, talk about undertones, go over some coordinating color ideas, compare it to other light neutrals, and of course – see some dupes!

This post has been written and illustrated entirely without the use of AI.

What Color is Benjamin Moore Pale Oak?

Pale Oak is a very light greige paint color. It ranges in appearance from creamy off-white to light mushroom, with a stop off at silver in between.

(You should know that Pale Oak is the same color as Benjamin Moore Athena 858.)

Swatch of Pale Oak over the color on a wall with Cinnamon Slate — Background photo: @denisegodbout

The LRV of Pale Oak is 68.64

What’s an LRV?

The LRV (Light Reflectance Value) of a color indicates on a scale of 0 – 100 how much light a color reflects (or doesn’t reflect). True black has an LRV of 0 and pure white has an LRV of 100.

In the paint world, we are working in a range of about 3 – 93 because no paint color is purely black or completely white.

Pale Oak swatched at 68.64 on an LRV chart of other white and off white paint colors — Background photo: @heritagecabs

At 68.64, Pale Oak is technically just outside of off-white and into light neutral territory. Generally, off-white paint colors have LRVs in the 70 – 80 range.

That being said, it is close enough, especially because it is so neutral. You may find that it looks off-white in rooms that have a lot of bright natural light, and in spaces where there is little true white for context (or there are a lot of darker colors).

Rendering of a black kitchen on one half and white kitchen on the other half, with Pale Oak on the walls for both

I tried to illustrate this here. The background is all one piece, but with the different materials over top – and the dark line – Pale Oak looks quite different on each half.

I have personally used Benjamin Moore Shoreline in my previous home, which has an LRV of 68.82, and I can tell you that sometimes you could only see it was a color by looking at the ceiling or trim.

What Are the Undertones of Benjamin Moore Pale Oak?

For the most part, Pale Oak looks how you would expect from the swatch. It is a very even tempered neutral that reads equal parts gray and beige.

I’m going to point out its different undertones, but they are pretty subtle, so you may or may not see (or agree with) what I am talking about.

Swatches show green and pink undertones in different pictures of Pale Oak — L: @word_of_mouth_painting R: @thriveallprojects

The most common undertones for Pale Oak that people notice are pink and purple, followed by green.

In this first picture we get a combination of both pink and purple:

Pale oak walls serve as the backdrop for a distressed white bench with a white studded pillow and a matching ornate mirror in an entryway, where a white front door and a striped rug are also visible. — Photo credit: @thriveallprojects

There is definitely a brightening filter on this photo, so the color looks a little cooler than in real life, but you can still get the idea.

This next picture is a pretty typical look for Pale Oak, but in my opinion it still has a purpley pink undertone:

Pale oak cabinets around a stainless-steel stove with a marble backsplash, glass-front upper cupboards, and a bright, modern kitchen setup. — Photo credit: @heritagecabs

I don’t personally have a problem with a taupey undertone like this. I normally prefer it to a sunnier yellow beige.

Green is less typical for Pale Oak, but it does happen. We can see it a little bit above the vanity lighting in this bathroom:

Pale Oak on the walls behind a modern bathroom vanity with a white countertop, a round decorative mirror, a toilet, a window, and a towel hanging on the right side. — Photo credit: @word_of_mouth_painting

This is more likely to be an issue in rooms with big windows, because Pale Oak is very reflective and you may find it picks up a green cast from trees and grass outside.

If you really don’t like a green undertone, and the windows are a concern, you might prefer Sherwin Williams Taupe of the Morning. It is a little bit darker, and has a stronger undertone which will cancel the green.

Sherwin Williams Taupe of the Morning on one half of a living room wall and Benjamin Moore Pale Oak on the other half behind a wood console table and a small wood chair with a blue seat and back cushion.

The difference here is fairly obvious, but from one room to another, these colors look very similar.

Pale Oak in the Benjamin Moore Color Strip

Benjamin Moore places Pale Oak into the same white and off-white color strip as Seapearl, Dove Wing, and White Dove:

Pale Oak white and off white color strip from Benjamin Moore features Pale Oak, Seapearl, Dove Wing, and White Dove. The color strip sits over white tile on a canvas background.

Benjamin Moore has also slotted Pale Oak into a light to dark color strip of shades that aren’t actually sequential, but it works well:

The Pale Oak color strip from Benjamin Moore — Background photo: @bayberrymoon

The other shades in this color strip are:

Seapearl (OC-19)
Pale Oak aka Athena (OC-20 or 858)
Collingwood (859)
Shale (861)
Plymouth Rock (1543)
Waynesboro Taupe (1544)
Eagle Rock (1469)

Pale Oak in a Color Palette

Make no mistake, Pale Oak can be paired with just about anything! I decided to go with a mix of warmer and cool tones for this color palette:

Coordinating White Paint Color for Pale Oak

I decided to pair Pale Oak with a mid-toned white paint color that has an undertone somewhere in between Pale Oak’s, and a traditional cream.

Benjamin Moore Moonlight White ended up being the winner:

Benjamin Moore Pale Oak alongside coordinating color Moonlight White

Try Pale Oak with Benjamin Moore Blue Note

Blue Note is a luxurious blue-green navy with loads of depth.

Benjamin Moore Pale Oak alongside coordinating color Blue Note.

This color makes a statement, and since Pale Oak isn’t getting cast in that role, these two work well together! Blue is also a complementary color for Pale Oak.

Neutral Paint Color to Use with Pale Oak

Benjamin Moore Creekbed is a saturated taupey brown that is almost like a more intense version of Pale Oak.

Benjamin Moore Pale Oak alongside coordinating color Creekbed

If you like this color, you are sure to like some of my favorite brown paint colors.

Pair Pale Oak and Misted Green

Benjamin Moore Misted Green is a sparkling sage that contrasts nicely against Pale Oak, while maintaining lots of light.

Benjamin Moore Pale Oak alongside coordinating color Misted Green

I like Misted Green because it is pretty light as far as sage goes, but manages not to look minty.

Benjamin Moore Pale Oak in a color palette with Misted Green, Blue Note, moonlight White, and Creekbed, over a spread of prints and paper materials in similar colors.

Benjamin Moore Pale Oak for Your Home’s Interior

Now time to see Pale Oak in real life! Let’s start with the kitchen:

Pale Oak on Kitchen Cabinets

We saw a sneak peek of this kitchen by @Heritagecabs earlier when we talking about undertones, but here is the rest of it:

Pale oak cabinets in a bright, modern kitchen with a large marble island, rattan bar stools, gold pendant lights, and wide-plank wood flooring. — Photo credit: @heritagecabs

You can see that the cabinets do look almost off white. You can catch the depth a little better where the cabinets meet the ceiling.

Pale Oak oon cabinets warms the walls of this bright, contemporary kitchen, complementing the white shaker cabinetry, marble countertops, and the long runner centered between the dual islands. Gold geometric pendant lights hang above, adding elegance, while stainless-steel appliances, glass-front upper cabinets, and natural wood floors complete the clean, airy look. — Photo credit: @heritagecabs

This is a great color for cabinets if you are torn between white and something like beige or mushroom. It’s dark enough to look interesting, but still pretty classic.

Pale Oak on cabinets surround a bright, spacious kitchen featuring white cabinetry, marble countertops, a large central island with wicker barstools, and three gold geometric pendant lights overhead. The room includes open wooden shelves, a farmhouse-style sink beneath a wide window, warm wood flooring, and a secondary prep area visible in the background. — Photo credit: @heritagecabs

Pale Oak in an Entrance Hall

The most interesting use of Pale Oak that I found, was in this entrance hall at Denise’s (@denisegodbout) home:

Benjamin Moore Pale Oak on the top 1/3 of a wall and Cinnamon Slate on the lower 2/3. — Photo credit: @denisegodbout

She paired Pale Oak with Benjamin Moore Cinnamon Slate, which is a former color of the year. I’m actually so glad that I found her, because I have been pretty ho-hum on Cinnamon Slate, but here it looks amazing!

Benjamin Moore Pale Oak on the top 1/3 of a wall and Cinnamon Slate on the lower 2/3 in warm night lighting. — Photo credit: @denisegodbout

Denise also used Pale Oak in other areas of her home. Here it is with a door in Amherst Gray:

Amherst Gray on a door and Pale Oak on the walls — Photo credit: @denisegodbout

The color looks pretty typical here!

Pale Oak in the Bedroom

The team at ThriveAll Projects (@thriveallprojects) used Pale Oak on the walls in this bedroom, with a feature wall in Benjamin Moore Marblehead Gold.

Pale Oak Wall and a Marblehead Gold accent wall. The room features two tall windows with golden curtains, a bed with yellow and white bedding, a white dresser with plants and decor, a standing mirror, and a modern black-and-gold ceiling light. Sunlight fills the space, creating a fresh and cozy atmosphere. — Photo credit: @thriveallprojects

In that first photo you can see that the walls almost look like a creamy white color, but when we get closer you can see the contrast:

Pale Oak–painted wall, two tall windows with mustard-gold curtains, a leaning mirror beside a white dresser topped with plants and decor, and natural light filling the room. Snowy scenery is visible through the windows, creating a warm contrast with the cozy interior. — Photo credit: @thriveallprojects

The trim and ceiling color here are not a bright white, so it is a little hard to tell still.

The team at ThriveAll is the same one that brought us the entryway we saw earlier when discussing undertones. Here is one more shot of that:

Pale oak walls surround a white front door in an entryway, which is accented by a striped rug and a white distressed bench with pillows. — Photo credit: @thriveallprojects

Here Pale Oak looks its coolest and most gray on the right side of the photo, and more typical on the left side.

Pale Oak in the Bathroom

Finally we will take a look at Pale Oak in a bathroom:

Pale Oak on the walls behind a glass shower enclosure, a white door, a long vanity with a white countertop, and a Matt Charcoal cabinet mounted above the counter. — Photo credit: @word_of_mouth_painting

Again, we saw this project by @word_of_mouth_painting when we were talking undertones, but in the rest of the photos I would say that the color looks pretty typical.

Pale Oak on the walls behind a white door, a towel bar, and a long vanity with a white countertop and a Matt Charcoal cabinet. — Photo credit: @word_of_mouth_painting

Should You Use Pale Oak for Your Exterior?

While you could use Pale Oak for your exterior, you should know what to expect…and what you should expect, is for your house to look white.

Every color looks lighter outside, so there is a huge range of white, off white, and light neutral paint colors that all look pretty white on exteriors. For example, here is the difference between Pale Oak and Sherwin Williams Accesible Beige:

Pale Oak on half of a gallery wall of black and white pictures, and Sherwin Williams Accessible Beige on the other half.

…And even Accessible Beige can look off-white outside:

Accessible Beige stucco on an exterior with Sherwin Williams Black Bean on the trim — Photo Credit: @headwaters_painting_llc

Although lighting definitely plays a big part! Here it does look beige:

side view of a 60's home exterior with stucco painted in Sherwin Williams Accessible Beige with Black Bean trim. — Photo Credit: @headwaters_painting_llc

You can expect Pale Oak to consistently look much lighter than this. I would only choose Pale Oak if you are seeking a creamy, off-white look, with a neutral undertone.

For a closer example, Sherwin Williams Shoji White is a pretty popular exterior choice. It is little lighter and cleaner than Pale Oak:

Sherwin Williams Shoji White on half of a wall and Pale Oak on the other half behind a round mirror and wood vanity.

Here is how Shoji White looks on an exterior:

Sherwin Williams Shoji White on a large brick exterior with a double car garage with wood doors. — Photo credit: @prodigiouspainting

This is its creamiest and darkest look due to the overcast day. You should expect Pale Oak to actually look a little more white, because it is more gray and neutral than Shoji, despite being a touch darker. The undertone of Pale Oak won’t be quite as obvious.

Although it isn’t outside, here is an example of Pale Oak at its lightest, and how you can expect it to look on an exterior:

Pale oak cabinets on a white sideboard with brass knobs, decorated with framed art and small décor pieces in a bright room with wood flooring. — Photo credit: @bayberrymoon

(If you weren’t sure, it is the color on the dresser, and not the wall.)

Pale Oak Compared to Other Light Neutral Paint Colors

It’s no surprise that Pale Oak is often compared to other popular neutrals. Take a look at how this shade stacks up against other favorites.

Besides being darker, Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray is more similar to Pale Oak than I expected:

Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray on half of a wall and Pale Oak on the other half behind a wood console table and a wood chair with a blue back and seat cushion.

The undertone of Agreeable Gray is a little bit deeper into taupe/mushroom than Pale Oak’s is. Because it is darker, Agreeable Gray doesn’t ever look white or off-white, where Pale Oak can.

Benjamin Moore Balboa Mist is very similar to Pale Oak:

Benjamin Moore Balboa Mist on half of a wall and Pale Oak on the other half behind a beige sofa and a wood chair.

Balboa Mist is a hair darker than Pale Oak, with an LRV of 65.53. It is also a little bit more gray, and not as beige.

Despite the name, Classic Gray typically looks more like a creamy white than a gray.

Benjamin Moore Classic Gray on half of a wall and Pale Oak on the other half behind a wood hall table with a half moon mirror

Pale Oak is very close to a darker version of Classic Gray, although on paper, Classic Gray is just a sliver more gray.

Benjamin Moore Collingwood is darker than Pale Oak. It also has a stronger purple undertone, and it is more gray and less beige.

Benjamin Moore Collingwood on half of a wall and Pale Oak on the other half behind a creamy white sofa

Despite the differences, Collingwood would still be classified as a greige.

Revere Pewter is probably Benjamin Moore’s most popular greige. The most obvious difference between Pale Oak and Revere Pewter, is that Revere Pewter is darker:

Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter on half of a wall and Pale Oak on the other half behind a gallery wall

Revere Pewter tends to be a little bit more of a chameleon than Pale Oak. It is more likely to have a green undertone, or even a slightly buttery one, but it can also look purpley.

I would not say that Revere Pewter ever looks pink.

Dupes for Pale Oak from Other Brands

Let’s take a look at all of the best alternatives for Pale Oak from other brands:

Swatches of dupes for Pale Oak beside a swatch of pale oak over a photo of the color in an entrance with cinnamon slate — Background photo: @denisegodbout

Just so you know, I manually sift through hundreds of colors to choose the very best color matches. I’m not relying on any online tools to tell me, and that’s how you know these are true dupes!

Sherwin Williams Version of Pale Oak

Sherwin Williams actually has several great alternatives to Pale Oak, so it was hard to figure out which one is truly the best match:

Sherwin Williams alternatives for Pale Oak swatched down the side of a graphic with Pale Oak as the background. Alternatives are top to bottom: Oat Milk, Windfresh White, City Loft, and Egret White.

The top 4 color matches are:

Oat Milk
Windfresh White
City Loft
Egret White

Despite there being a couple of imperceptible options, Sherwin Williams City Loft is the best overall color match for Pale Oak:

Sherwin Williams version of Pale Oak, City Loft, alongside Pale Oak on a wall behind an oatmeal colored sofa.

Now City Loft is just a whisper lighter than Pale Oak, but it was the closest in tone from all of the options. Technically City Loft is from a slightly warmer color family, but it is also a hair more gray, so it cancels out.

Any of those options would be great substitutes, and if I hadn’t done a deep dive, I probably would have gone with Oat Milk.

Valspar Equivalent for Pale Oak (Lowe’s)

The best dupe for Pale Oak over at Lowe’s, is Valspar Slush.

pale Oak dupe from Valspar - Slush - on half of a wall and Pale Oak on the other half behind a white sofa.

Just like City Loft, Slush is technically a little bit warmer than Pale Oak, but since it is also more gray, it cancels out.

You might also like Warm Putty if you are looking for a popular Valspar greige:

Valspar Warm Putty on half of a wall and Benjamin moore pale oak on the other half.

Behr Color Match for Pale Oak (Home Depot)

From Home Depot, the equivalent shade to Pale Oak is Behr Campfire Ash.

Pale oak on half of a wall and Behr dupe Campfire Ash on the other half behind a white sofa and tree.

Campfire Ash actually claims to be the exact same color as Pale Oak on paper. They have the same hex code and RGB value. (There might still be ever so slight variations due to the manufacturer’s different paint.)

Another very solid alternative to Pale Oak is the shade Behr Silver Drop, which I have covered before.

Pale Oak on half of a wall and Silver Drop on the other half.

It’s almost impossible to see the difference here, but Silver Drop does tend to look a touch cooler, and it has a silver or green undertone more often than purple/pink.

Here’s a recap of all the best dupes:

The best dupes from other brands: Slush, Campfire Ash, and City Loft swatched down the side of a graphic of oak leaves and acorns on a background of Pale Oak.

Thank you so much for reading until the end! That really helps my blog.

Not sold on Pale Oak? Check out these other awesome colors:

Benjamin Moore Dove Wing swatched over a photo of Dove Wing on walls with beige Wind's Breath trim and black 9 pane windows.

Photo shows yellow and peach undertones of White Duck in a photo of the color on a wall.

Oyster White paint swipe over a photo of an Oyster White living room with a mid century chair and a cat curled up on it in front of a mustard throw pillow