First Light

2102-70 · Benjamin Moore

Benjamin Moore

First Light

2102-70

Hex code

#EFE2DE

Light reflectance value (LRV)

75.9Off-white, light and airy

0 black100 white

Undertone

Subtle peach, a warm color

Color family: Red
Sold for: Interior and exterior

Try it on your walls Get a sample

Benjamin Moore First Light 2102-70 is a pale pink that behaves like an off-white, and it was the brand's Color of the Year for 2020. Its LRV of 76 keeps a room bright while leaving enough color for the walls to read warm instead of white. Our method reads it as a subtle peach, so the pink has a little yellow behind it and never turns cold or candy-colored.

Is First Light warm or cool? Undertones by the numbers

leans peach

Undertone

Subtle peach

graysaturated

A gentle lean, quiet on the wall.

Measured, First Light is a red with a small amount of yellow behind it, and that yellow is what makes it a peach-pink rather than a cool one. In most rooms it reads as a warm white with a blush in it, and the pink only becomes obvious against true white trim or in late sun. It sits easily with oak, rattan and cream, and it can look faintly orange against pink-beige tile. Silky Smooth 1373 and Tropical Sand 2101-70 are so close that a chip will not separate them, Proposal AF-260 is a shade deeper and warmer, and Pink Bliss 2093-70 is lighter and cooler in its pink.

First Light in north, south, east and west light

A north-facing room is the exposure that suits it best, because the cool light cancels most of the peach and leaves a soft warm off-white that never goes gray the way a true white would there. South light does the opposite and brings the pink out, which in a bright afternoon room can read as a definite blush. East rooms show it warmest at breakfast. West rooms hold it quiet until late, when an hour of low sun pushes it toward apricot. Warm bulbs at 2700K keep it soft, while 4000K strips the color out and leaves a plain white behind.

Watch for

Turns visibly pink on a sunny south wall through the afternoon
Reads as a plain white under 4000K bulbs, so the color disappears at night
Against a cream trim the pink is invisible; against a bright white it is obvious

Best rooms and surfaces for First Light

First Light works as a whole-house color in a home with warm floors, and it is quieter than it sounds: from the doorway most people read it as a soft white. It is good on a ceiling above white walls, where it warms the light without ever showing as a color. On kitchen cabinets it is unusual but not difficult, closer to a warm ivory than to a pink, and it needs a warm counter to make sense of it. It is at its worst in a room with cool gray tile or a blue-gray floor, where the peach turns muddy against them.

First Light on an exterior

First Light is sold for exterior use, though it is a subtle choice outdoors. In full sun the pink burns away and siding reads as a warm white, so the color only shows on the shaded elevations and under the eaves. That makes it a soft option for a stucco or shingled house where a plain white would glare. On trim it is too close to a white to give any contrast, so pair it with a deeper trim rather than using it as one.

Try First Light on your own walls

Upload a photo of your room, or the outside of your house, and TryMyHome renders First Light 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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First Light vs Intimate White, Snowbound, Pale Oak and Alabaster

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Intimate White SW 6322, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

First Light vs Intimate White SW 6322

First Light is a touch darker; undertone subtle peach vs subtle orange.

Intimate White SW 6322 is the closest Sherwin-Williams color to First Light with a page here, a point brighter at 77 and pushed further toward orange. On a wall Intimate White reads as a warm cream with a blush, while First Light keeps more pink and less yellow in it. In a north room they are hard to tell apart; in south sun Intimate White goes peachy and First Light goes rosy.

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Snowbound SW 7004, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

First Light vs Snowbound SW 7004

First Light is noticeably darker; undertone subtle peach vs faint yellow-beige.

Snowbound SW 7004 is seven points brighter at 83 and reads as a white where First Light reads as a color. Snowbound also has a cool gray thread that First Light does not, so a room in Snowbound feels crisp and a room in First Light feels soft. Used together, with Snowbound on the trim and First Light on the walls, each one does its own job well.

Living room walls rendered in Benjamin Moore Pale Oak OC-20, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

First Light vs Pale Oak OC-20

First Light is noticeably lighter; undertone subtle peach vs subtle yellow-beige.

Pale Oak OC-20 is Benjamin Moore's greige answer to the same brief, seven points darker at 69 and beige where First Light is pink. Both pass for warm whites from a distance and both show their color across a large wall. Pale Oak is the safer pick beside gray floors and cool tile; First Light is the one that keeps a room from feeling gray at all.

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Alabaster SW 7008, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

First Light vs Alabaster SW 7008

First Light is noticeably darker; undertone subtle peach vs subtle yellow-beige.

Alabaster SW 7008 is the warm white most people weigh against First Light, six points brighter at 82 and creamy rather than pink. Alabaster is the choice when the walls should read as white; First Light is the choice when they should read as the softest possible color. Seen side by side, Alabaster looks yellow and First Light looks rose, and that contrast is the whole decision.

Questions about First Light

Was First Light a Benjamin Moore Color of the Year?

Yes, for 2020, and it was the first pink the brand had picked in a long run of whites and grays. That is why it shows up in so many palettes from that year. The label is not a reason to choose it, but it does mean stores keep it in stock.

Does First Light look pink?

It depends on the neighbor and the hour. Against bright white trim, and on a south wall in the afternoon, the pink is plain to see. Against a cream, in a north room or under cool bulbs, it reads as a warm off-white and most visitors would not name it as a color at all.

Is First Light a good bedroom or nursery color?

Yes, and those are the rooms it is searched for most. It gives a bedroom warmth without the yellow of a cream, and in a nursery it reads soft rather than sugary, which is why people choose it over stronger pinks. It suits white furniture, natural wood and unbleached linen best.

Is First Light too pink for a bathroom?

Not usually, though the tile decides it. With white or warm marble tile it stays a soft blush and flatters skin in the mirror. With cool gray tile or a blue-white vanity light the peach turns muddy and the walls can look dirty, so keep the bulbs at 2700K to 3000K.

What colors go with First Light?

Benjamin Moore pairs it with White Heron OC-57 and Chantilly Lace OC-65 as the whites, Normandy 2129-40 as a cool mid-tone and Amherst Gray HC-167 as the darker accent. In materials it takes oak, rattan, brass and unbleached linen, and it sits poorly beside cool gray stone.

What is the Sherwin-Williams version of First Light?

Intimate White SW 6322 is the closest with a page here, near enough to pass on a wall though slightly more orange. Smart White SW 6007 and Hush White SW 6042 are the next nearest and both run cooler and grayer. Order two samples, since colors this pale change more with the room than with the can.

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 First Light, checked in morning and evening light, is the last step before a gallon.