Boothbay Gray

HC-165 · Benjamin Moore

Benjamin Moore

Boothbay Gray

HC-165

Hex code

#AAB2B0

Light reflectance value (LRV)

43.3Light-medium, light with some depth

0 black100 white

Undertone

Faint blue-leaning green, a true neutral

Color family: Neutral
Sold for: Interior and exterior

Try it on your walls Get a sample

Benjamin Moore Boothbay Gray HC-165 is a mid-depth gray with a faint blue-green cast, the color of weathered shingle under a flat sky. Its LRV of 43 sits in the light-medium band, comfortable in a room with real windows and moody in a small one. Our method reads the lean as blue-leaning green but very slight, which is why it passes for a plain gray on a chip and shows its color on a whole wall.

Is Boothbay Gray warm or cool? Undertones by the numbers

too close to gray to lean

Undertone

Faint blue-leaning green

graysaturated

Barely off gray.

Measured, Boothbay Gray carries a trace of green pulled toward blue and almost nothing else, which puts it at the cool edge of neutral without ever becoming a colored wall. Against clean white trim the blue-green surfaces and the wall reads as soft slate. Against a cream trim it looks heavier and slightly muddy. Warm oak floors settle it down, which is why they are the usual pairing, while cool porcelain and stainless push it further toward blue. Its nearest relatives split the difference: Silver Mink 1586 is a hair grayer, Marina Gray 1599 a hair bluer, and Beach Glass 1564 clearly greener.

Boothbay Gray in north, south, east and west light

For a north-facing room this is one of the easier mid-tones: the cool light deepens it by a shade and brings the blue forward, but there is too little pigment in it to turn on you. South light lifts it and takes the edge off the blue. East and west rooms move it least of all, which is part of why it turns up in hallways and stairwells that face two ways. Bulb color shifts it more than the sun does: 2700K warms it toward gray-green, 4000K makes it colder and bluer, and 3000K holds it where the chip is.

Watch for

Reads a full shade darker on a wall than it does on the chip
Turns noticeably blue under 4000K bulbs and daylight lamps
Looks heavy beside cream trim; a clean white keeps it crisp

Best rooms and surfaces for Boothbay Gray

Bedrooms draw the most searches for Boothbay Gray, and at this depth it makes a quiet room without going dark, particularly with white bedding and a wood floor. A living room with good windows takes it on all four walls; a living room with one north window will read closer to storm gray, which some people are after. It is a strong stairwell color, since the changing light through the day keeps it from looking static. On a ceiling it is too heavy unless the room is tall. As an accent wall it works behind a bed, though in an open plan the color needs to wrap a corner to make sense.

Boothbay Gray on an exterior

Benjamin Moore sells Boothbay Gray for exterior use, and shingle-style and coastal houses are where it turns up. Full sun lightens it by a good margin and pulls the blue-green forward, so a house that looked gray on the sample can read blue on the south face; judge it on a shaded elevation as well. In shade it goes deeper and quieter. White trim, either White Wisp OC-54 or Chantilly Lace OC-65, keeps the lines crisp, and a black or deep green front door finishes it.

Try Boothbay Gray on your own walls

Upload a photo of your room, or the outside of your house, and TryMyHome renders Boothbay Gray onto the walls so you can judge it in your light, with your floors and furniture. Your first five renders are free.

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Boothbay Gray vs Stardew, Beach Glass and Sea Salt

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Stardew SW 9138, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Boothbay Gray vs Stardew SW 9138

Boothbay Gray is a touch lighter; undertone faint blue-leaning green vs subtle blue.

Stardew SW 9138 lands at the same lightness as Boothbay Gray, so the choice between them is purely about the lean: Stardew measures a subtle blue, this one a green pulled toward blue. Put them together and Stardew looks like sky while Boothbay Gray looks like stone. In a room with warm wood the greener one settles better. In a room of cool tile and glass, Stardew is the easier fit.

Living room walls rendered in Benjamin Moore Beach Glass 1564, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Boothbay Gray vs Beach Glass 1564

Boothbay Gray is noticeably darker; undertone faint blue-leaning green vs subtle green.

Beach Glass 1564 measures six points lighter and clearly greener, which is the difference between a gray that hints at the sea and a soft green that admits it. Boothbay Gray is the one to use where a room already has plenty of color and needs a neutral to hold it. Beach Glass is for walls meant to be the color. On cabinets Beach Glass stays soft where Boothbay Gray reads as a real gray.

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Sea Salt SW 6204, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Boothbay Gray vs Sea Salt SW 6204

Boothbay Gray is much darker; undertone faint blue-leaning green vs subtle green.

Twenty points of lightness separate these two, and that is the whole story: Sea Salt SW 6204 is a pale wash of green-gray, while Boothbay Gray is a color you can see from the doorway. People cross-shop them because both get called coastal. Use Sea Salt in a small bathroom or a low-light bedroom that needs the light back, and Boothbay Gray where there is enough daylight to carry a mid-tone.

Questions about Boothbay Gray

Does Boothbay Gray look blue or green?

Both, in small amounts, and the light decides which one shows. The measured lean is green pulled toward blue, so under cool bulbs and north light the blue wins and the wall reads slate; in warm afternoon sun the green comes forward and it looks closer to sage-gray. On a chip it just looks gray, which is why a large sample matters here.

Is Boothbay Gray a good kitchen cabinet color?

Yes, and it is one of the more common uses. At this depth doors read as a definite color without going dark, and the blue-green lean keeps them from looking like a plain gray box. It sits well with white oak, brass and honed marble. Against bright white quartz it looks cooler than it does on a wall, so hold a painted door against the counter.

Will Boothbay Gray be too dark for a small bathroom?

That depends on the window. With daylight it works, and the color deepens attractively in the evening. In a windowless bathroom it goes heavy and can feel closed in, and cool vanity bulbs will push it blue. If the room has no window at all, something two rungs lighter will serve you better than trying to light this one.

What colors go with Boothbay Gray?

Benjamin Moore's own picks are Stonington Gray HC-170, White Wisp OC-54, Chantilly Lace OC-65 and the pale pink Frosted Petal 2089-70. In practice it takes white oak, brass, black metal and navy without argument, and deep green looks right beside it. Warm cream and yellow-beige are the pairings to avoid, since they turn the walls muddy.

What is one shade lighter than Boothbay Gray?

Silver Lake 1598, eleven points lighter and the next rung up in Benjamin Moore's own set. Puritan Gray HC-164 is the step down, nine points darker and greener. For a smaller move, Marina Gray 1599 measures a hair lighter and a hair bluer, near enough that most people would not name the difference.

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 Boothbay Gray, checked in morning and evening light, is the last step before a gallon.