Balboa Mist
OC-27 · Benjamin Moore
Benjamin Moore
Balboa Mist
OC-27
Subtle yellow-beige, a warm color
- Color family
- White
- Sold for
- Interior and exterior
Benjamin Moore Balboa Mist OC-27 is a pale warm gray with a restrained beige cast. Its LRV of 66 puts it in the light band, light enough for connected living spaces while remaining distinct from bright white trim. Consider it for bedrooms and living rooms where a stronger beige would compete with the furnishings.
Source: Benjamin Moore's color data. Undertone labels describe our calculation, not the paint formula or a test in your room. How we assess colors.
Is Balboa Mist warm or cool? Undertones by the numbers
leans yellow
Undertone
Subtle yellow-beige
A gentle lean, quiet on the wall.
Balboa Mist sits close to gray in our digital-swatch calculation, with a small warm lean. On a wall it may read warm gray, greige or faintly lilac depending on the light and surrounding finishes. The swatch coordinates cannot explain away a pink or violet appearance. Compare it beside both your flooring and your intended trim white, with particular attention to cool stone and blue-gray textiles.
Balboa Mist in different lighting
In a north-facing room Balboa Mist may look cooler and grayer than its swatch suggests. South light can bring its warmer side forward, while bright direct sun may reduce its contrast with white trim. East-facing rooms deserve a check after the morning sun has gone; west-facing rooms deserve one before the afternoon sun arrives. If the room is mainly used after dark, choose with the actual lamps on.
Watch for
- Loses its warmth entirely in a north room lit at 4000K or higher
- Turns lilac beside blue-gray carpet, cool tile or a lavender-toned fabric
- Reads near white on a bright south wall, so judge it in the darkest corner
Best rooms and surfaces for Balboa Mist
Balboa Mist is worth sampling in a living room or bedroom where you want a light neutral with more contrast than white. In a bathroom, compare it directly with tile and grout rather than assuming its warmth will balance them. On kitchen cabinets it can give a soft gray-beige alternative to white; test the intended cabinet finish beside the countertop. A dim room with gray flooring needs particular care because the combination can feel cooler than expected.
Balboa Mist on an exterior
Benjamin Moore lists Balboa Mist for exterior use. On siding it goes lighter than most people expect, and a sunlit elevation can lose the gray altogether and read as a warm white, so it suits a house meant to look pale rather than clearly gray. Shaded and north-facing walls keep more of the color. It sits well with white trim and a dark roof; against cool gray shingles it can look washed out, so warm stone or brick is better company.
Try Balboa Mist on your own walls
Upload a photo of your room, or the outside of your house, and TryMyHome renders Balboa Mist onto the walls for an illustrative preview beside your floors and furniture. Confirm the color with a physical sample. Your first 3 renders are free.
Balboa Mist vs Pale Oak, Agreeable Gray, Edgecomb Gray, Classic Gray and Collingwood
Pale OakBalboa MistBalboa Mist vs Pale Oak OC-20
Balboa Mist is noticeably darker; both fall in our subtle yellow-beige category. Based on published LRV and our swatch classification.
Pale Oak OC-20 is three points lighter and slightly warmer, and Benjamin Moore's own similar-color list points from one to the other, which is how most people end up comparing them. The practical difference is what happens in a bright room: Pale Oak can wash out to a white where Balboa Mist keeps a visible gray. In a dim room the order reverses and Pale Oak is the one that stays airy. Room brightness, not undertone, should pick the winner.
Agreeable GrayBalboa MistBalboa Mist vs Agreeable Gray SW 7029
Balboa Mist is noticeably lighter; both fall in our subtle yellow-beige category. Based on published LRV and our swatch classification.
Agreeable Gray SW 7029 reflects about 60 against this color's 66, so it is the darker and the more definite of the two, with more beige in the mix. A room painted Agreeable Gray looks intentionally greige; the same room in Balboa Mist looks like a soft neutral someone chose not to notice. Go with Agreeable Gray for a large open plan that needs a wall color with some body, and with Balboa Mist for rooms where the furniture should do the talking.
Edgecomb GrayBalboa MistBalboa Mist vs Edgecomb Gray HC-173
Balboa Mist is a touch lighter; undertone subtle yellow-beige vs noticeable yellow-beige. Based on published LRV and our swatch classification.
Edgecomb Gray HC-173 sits three points darker and carries clearly more beige, enough that the two look like different colors once they are both on a wall. Put simply, one leans gray and the other leans tan. Edgecomb Gray suits rooms with oak floors, cream cabinets and warm stone, where Balboa Mist would go colorless. Balboa Mist suits rooms with cooler flooring or black metal, where Edgecomb Gray would start to look yellow.
Classic GrayBalboa MistBalboa Mist vs Classic Gray OC-23
Balboa Mist is noticeably darker; both fall in our subtle yellow-beige category. Based on published LRV and our swatch classification.
Classic Gray OC-23 is eight points lighter, an off-white where this one is a light gray, and its swatch is a little more muted. In a dark hallway Classic Gray keeps things bright while Balboa Mist can close the space down. In a room with big windows Classic Gray tends to disappear into the trim, which is exactly where Balboa Mist earns its keep. Contrast against the woodwork is the thing to decide first.
CollingwoodBalboa MistBalboa Mist vs Collingwood OC-28
Balboa Mist is noticeably lighter; both fall in our subtle yellow-beige category. Based on published LRV and our swatch classification.
Collingwood OC-28 is the darker relative by four points and reads a little more solid on a wall, with the same quiet warmth. The two are cross-shopped by people who want a greige that does not look beige. Collingwood is the choice when the walls need to hold their own against white cabinetry or a lot of glass; Balboa Mist is the choice when a room is already busy and the walls should stay in the background.
Questions about Balboa Mist
Does Balboa Mist look gray or beige?
Balboa Mist can read gray or greige. Its subtle warm lean may be more or less visible beside white trim, cream cabinetry or wood floors. The result also depends on the light. Compare a large sample with those fixed finishes throughout a day before committing to a whole room.
Is Balboa Mist the same color as 1549?
Yes. Benjamin Moore sells this color under two numbers, OC-27 in the Off White collection and 1549 in the numbered deck, and the paint is identical. Either code at the counter gets you the same can. The Off White code is the one printed on most fan decks, which is why it is the one used here and in most published palettes.
What colors go with Balboa Mist?
Benjamin Moore's own scheme sets it with Cloud Cover OC-25 for the light notes, then Rock Gray 1615, Flint AF-560 and Barista AF-175 as it steps down. In a real room it takes warm wood, brass, black metal and cream upholstery without argument. Keep strong yellow-beiges off the same wall plane, because they will make it look like an undecided gray.
Is Balboa Mist good in a bathroom?
It can work in a bathroom, but its warm lean does not prevent an unwanted cast beside cool tile. Place a sample against the tile and vanity, then check it under your actual lighting. A wood vanity or brass fixture can add warmth to the scheme without guaranteeing how the wall color will read.
Is Balboa Mist a good cabinet color?
It works for a soft, low-contrast kitchen, particularly on perimeter cabinets under a white or lightly veined counter. Because it is so light, it does not read as a gray kitchen so much as a warm off-white one. On a full wall of tall cabinets it can look bland, so most kitchens using it put a darker color on the island or the lowers.
Get a sample before you paint
Use the visualizer to narrow your shortlist, then confirm the finalist on your actual wall. A peel-and-stick sample of Balboa Mist, checked in morning and evening light, is the last step before a gallon.
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Trim, ceiling and coordinating colors for Balboa Mist
For a more distinct warm-wall, cool-trim contrast, sample Decorator's White OC-149 beside Balboa Mist. White Dove OC-17 is an option for a softer pairing. Benjamin Moore lists Cloud Cover OC-25 among its coordinating colors, with Rock Gray 1615, Flint AF-560 and Barista AF-175 as darker partners. These are starting points: compare the whites against your cabinets and ceiling before selecting one.
Colors similar to Balboa Mist
Closest matches for Balboa Mist in other brands
These are the closest digital colors in our catalog, not equivalent paint formulas or touch-up substitutes. Compare physical samples in the same finish before choosing. See the comparison method.