Benjamin Moore November Rain is a complicated little neutral that should be green but is more cream! This off-white is very on trend, but how it looks may surprise you!
Photo credit: @miishajones
Today we will talk about November Rain’s true undertones, see it in a color palette, look at real homes, compare it to similar shades, and finally: Get some dupes!
What Color is Benjamin Moore November Rain?
November Rain is a very interesting color, because at face value it presents fairly gray…especially in comparison to a white background:
In reality, it can look fairly gray, but it also has a stronger creamy look than you might expect. Let’s talk about it!
What Are the Undertones of Benjamin Moore November Rain?
November Rain’s undertones range from cool silver to very sunny. Benjamin Moore describes November Rain as “A comforting off-white misted with a touch of green,” and I don’t personally agree with that assessment.
Don’t get me wrong, the undertones of November Rain should be green. Here is the rest of the color strip:
However these colors are very warm greens with a lot of yellow in them, and I find that the green gets lost in November Rain. This isn’t a super popular color, so there’s always room to be surprised, but I have almost never seen the green undertone.
This is about as close as we get, and I would still say there’s more warmth than green here:
All this to say, that I find the undertone of November Rain to be quite yellow, even though I don’t see anyone else saying it.
Here’s a quick little graphic of both the cooler and warmer side of November Rain:
November Rain LRV
The LRV of November Rain is 71.03.
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.
At 71.03, November Rain is exactly where we expect to find an off-white on the LRV scale. I find the undertone of this color makes it a little less likely to read true white, where a more neutral off white sometimes can.
Benjamin Moore November Rain in a Color Palette
Here are the coordinating colors that I recommend using with November Rain.
Coordinating White Paint Color for November Rain
My first choice for a white paint to use with November Rain, is…November Rain itself! A true white is likely to ephasize those warm yellow undertones, and I prefer things a little more neutral. Using this same off-white on walls and trim, will help November Rain look its most reserved (and lightest!).
If you like at least some contrast, use Benjamin Moore Icicle, which is one shade lighter on the same color strip, and is a true white. This shade goes seamlessly with November Rain.
For more contrast, you might also like the bright white of Benjamin Moore Simply White. This white is a true bright white, but it has an obviously creamy undertone, which will help November Rain not go as yellow as it would with cooler or more neutral whites.
Try November Rain with Sherwin Williams Basil
Basil is a mid-toned green that lands somewhere between sage and moss. It’s a bit of a bolder choice, but it works great with the underlying green in November Rain (whether or not it’s visible).
If you like this green, you will also love Benjamin Moore Backwoods or Vintage Vogue.
Neutral Paint Color to Use with November Rain
Sherwin Williams Bateau Brown is a luxurious brown paint color with an undertone that ranges from auburn to berry. You could use almost any neutral with November Rain, but the purpley undertone is complementary, and I wanted to pick something a little bit interesting.
Benjamin Moore Creekbed perfectly splits the difference between November Rain and Bateau Brown, so it makes for another great neutral option in places that you need a lighter solution.
Benjamin Moore November Rain for Your Home’s Interior
November Rain is surprisingly hard to find, but luckily we have some beautiful images from Miisha (@miishajones)!
Here we see November Rain looking quite warm and creamy, but I would not say uncharacteristically so. I have seen this look in other homes as well.
You can see that the color looks pretty close to white, because it is the same shade on walls and trim.
Here is the cooler more gray side of November Rain:
That is definitely as gray as the color ever looks! Here is one more, with a little of both looks:
You can see that it doesn’t really look green in any of these photos. Here is one other home where the owners chose November Rain and the team at @word_of_mouth_painting got the job done!
The dining room (lower photo) is the only room where the color looks maybe a little green, as I pointed out earlier.
How Will November Rain Look on Kitchen Cabinets?
I really dug through my archives to try and show you at least something that looks like November Rain on kitchen cabinets, and we did pretty good! Here is one example that comes close:
This kitchen by Prodigious Painting (@prodigiouspainting) is actually Sherwin Williams Pure White, but it looks much darker and creamier than normal because of the bright blue-white backsplash. If you take it at face value, it looks a lot like November Rain.
Here is a kitchen by Bethany (@reclaimed_cottage) that also looks quite like November Rain:
This is honestly almost perfect. The color is actually Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter, but it looks much lighter than normal. I hope that gives you an idea at least.
November Rain on an Exterior
Again we will have to use our imaginations a little bit, but I did find an exterior that looks like November Rain:
Jeanna’s (@very_vintageknox) exterior is actually Sherwin Williams Dover White, but that color is normally very warm and creamy. Here it looks unusually neutral and slightly green.
I would expect November Rain to look its most green outside, so this is a fantastic example.
Benjamin Moore November Rain Compared to Other Off White Paint Colors
Here is how November Rain compares to some similar Benjamin Moore colors that you may also be considering:
(click to expand)
Despite looking nearly identical on paper, Benjamin Moore Halo tends to look like a true light greige.
In my opinion, Halo usually looks equal parts gray and beige, and it doesn’t have a strong undertone. It can range from slightly cool and silver looking, to slightly warm, but it never looks as warm and creamy as November Rain does.
Benjamin Moore Morning Dew is very similar to November Rain:
Morning Dew is a hair cooler and a whisper darker than November Rain. There is a LOT of overlap here in terms of appearance, but Morning Dew is slightly more likely to look gray or green than November Rain is. It can however, look almost as warm too!
Pale Oak is technically a tiny bit darker than an off-white, and therefore darker than November Rain. The major difference between these colors is undertone:
Pale Oak has a taupey mushroom undertone, and while it can look silvery, it never looks like a true cream color, where November Rain does.
Paris Rain is darker than November Rain, and it has a more distinct green undertone.
Paris Rain is also much more of a chameleon than November Rain is. It ranges in appearance from quite gray, to a sand color, to an almost spring green.
Dupes for Benjamin Moore November Rain from Other Brands
You know me! I always manually scour through hundreds of paint colors to bring you the very best dupes from other brands, and this is what I have for November Rain:
November Rain in Sherwin Williams
Even though Sherwin Williams has a million and one off-whites, getting the perfect dupe for November Rain was challenging. There are a lot of options that were close, but the tone was just too “off.” I finally settled on Sherwin Williams Sagey as the best alternative:
You can see that Sagey is a little bit lighter than November Rain. In general, I would say that these colors look very much the same, but Sagey is a touch more likely to actually have a green undertone.
If you’re not set on this choice, Sherwin Williams Ethereal White is similar to November Rain, but more gray. Sherwin Williams Oyster White is also very similar, but it is more neutral/beige.
November Rain Equivalent in Valspar (Lowe’s)
Over at Lowe’s, the best alternative to November Rain is the shade Valspar Ancient Olive:
Ancient Olive is a tiny bit darker and warmer than November Rain, but very very close!
Best Behr Color Match for November Rain (Home Depot)
Moving on to Home Depot, the best dupe for November Rain is Behr Hazy Trail.
Hazy Trail is a little bit more gray than November Rain, but from what I’ve seen it looks almost identical. It does still have that quite warm undertone, which surprised me!
Here is another look at each of the dupes:
Thank you so much for reading until the end! That really helps my blog. I hope this post helped you decide if November Rain is the perfect shade for you, but if not, off-white is kind of my jam!:
