Gray Owl
OC-52 · Benjamin Moore
Benjamin Moore
Gray Owl
OC-52
Subtle yellow-leaning green, a green color
- Color family
- White
- Sold for
- Interior and exterior
Benjamin Moore Gray Owl OC-52 is a light gray with a green cast, the only real green-gray among the brand's popular off-whites. Its LRV of 65 sits in the light band, enough to keep a room bright while the walls still read as gray rather than white. It is used most in bedrooms, kitchens and bathrooms, and it is the color people choose when a warm greige has come out too beige for them.
Is Gray Owl warm or cool? Undertones by the numbers
leans yellow-green
Undertone
Subtle yellow-leaning green
A gentle lean, quiet on the wall.
Gray Owl measures as a soft yellow-green, and the green is the part that surprises people. It is faint on a chip and clear on four walls, particularly on the wall opposite a window. Against a bright white trim the green shows plainly. Against warm oak or a cream carpet it turns quieter and closer to a plain gray, and against blue-gray tile it can slide toward sage. There is no blue in the measurement at all, so a room that reads cold is getting that from cool bulbs or from the flooring, not from the paint.
Gray Owl in north, south, east and west light
A north-facing room is where the green shows most: cool light strips out what little yellow the color has and the walls settle into a soft sage-gray, which is either the reason to use it or the reason to skip it. Warm wood, a warm white trim or 2700K bulbs keep that room from going flat. South light softens it and can make it read almost sage by afternoon. East rooms swing widely, warm in the morning and gray-green later, and west light turns it a shade olive in the last hour of sun.
Watch for
- Reads clearly sage in a north room, not the neutral gray the chip suggests
- Goes olive late in the day on a west-facing wall
- Cool 4000K bulbs push the green toward gray and drain the softness out of it
Best rooms and surfaces for Gray Owl
Bedrooms are the most common use, since the green keeps the walls from feeling cold the way a blue-gray would, and it sits well with linen, oak and unbleached fabrics. In a kitchen it works better on cabinets than on walls: on door fronts the green reads as a considered color, while a whole kitchen of it can look washed. Bathrooms suit it when the tile is white or warm stone; against gray porcelain the walls will look greener than the tile. It is not the pick for a room with strong yellow oak floors, where the green and the orange in the floor argue with each other.
Gray Owl on an exterior
Benjamin Moore sells Gray Owl for exterior use, and outside it behaves more like a gray than it does indoors, because full sun flattens the green almost completely. On a shaded elevation or under a deep porch the sage comes back, so the two sides of a house can differ. It works as siding with white trim and a dark roof, and it takes a black or navy front door well. Judge it against the roof shingles before committing, since a brown roof will push the walls green.
Try Gray Owl on your own walls
Upload a photo of your room, or the outside of your house, and TryMyHome renders Gray Owl 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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Gray Owl vs Stonington Gray, Repose Gray, Agreeable Gray and Sea Salt
Stonington GrayGray OwlGray Owl vs Stonington Gray HC-170
Gray Owl is noticeably lighter; undertone subtle yellow-leaning green vs faint yellow-leaning green.
Stonington Gray HC-170 is five points darker and much closer to a true gray, with only a faint green in it. Both get shortlisted for the same rooms, and the deciding factor is usually how much color you want on the wall. Stonington Gray keeps things cool and neutral, which suits a bathroom with gray tile. Gray Owl brings a soft sage that reads warmer in daylight and is easier to live with in a bedroom.
Repose GrayGray OwlGray Owl vs Repose Gray SW 7015
Gray Owl is noticeably lighter; undertone subtle yellow-leaning green vs subtle yellow-beige.
Repose Gray SW 7015 is six points darker and leans beige where this one leans green, so the two head in opposite directions from a similar starting point. On the same wall Repose Gray looks warmer and slightly heavier, Gray Owl cleaner and cooler. Rooms with oak floors and cream trim usually go better with Repose Gray; rooms with white oak, black metal or gray-washed floors are where Gray Owl looks right.
Agreeable GrayGray OwlGray Owl vs Agreeable Gray SW 7029
Gray Owl is noticeably lighter; undertone subtle yellow-leaning green vs subtle yellow-beige.
Agreeable Gray SW 7029 is four points darker and the best-known greige in the country, which is why it turns up in this comparison. It is a warm color and Gray Owl is not: put them side by side and Agreeable Gray reads tan while Gray Owl reads sage. Anyone who tried Agreeable Gray and found it too yellow is usually looking for something like Gray Owl, and the reverse is true for anyone who found Gray Owl too green.
Sea SaltGray OwlGray Owl vs Sea Salt SW 6204
Gray Owl is a touch lighter; undertone subtle yellow-leaning green vs subtle green.
Sea Salt SW 6204 is about the same lightness but carries far more color, a green you can name rather than a green you notice on second look. In a bathroom Sea Salt makes the room a color; Gray Owl keeps it a neutral with a green tilt. Take Sea Salt when you want the walls to be part of the scheme, and Gray Owl when you want them to hold the background and let tile and wood lead.
Questions about Gray Owl
Does Gray Owl look green or blue?
Green, and never blue. Its measurement puts the color on the yellow-green side with no blue in it at all, so a wall that looks blue is picking that up from cool bulbs, a blue rug or gray tile in the same room. In north light the green is at its strongest, and in bright afternoon sun it is at its quietest.
What colors go with Gray Owl?
Benjamin Moore's own scheme runs it with Super White OC-152 for the bright notes, Silver Satin OC-26 as the softer companion, then Hale Navy HC-154 and Kendall Charcoal HC-166 for depth. In a room it takes white oak, linen, black metal and both warm and cool stone. Strong yellow woods are the one pairing to test carefully, because they exaggerate the green.
Is Gray Owl a good color for kitchen cabinets?
It is one of its better uses. On door fronts the green reads as an intentional soft color rather than an accident, and it does not yellow the way a warm greige can next to white counters. Pair it with a bright white ceiling and trim so the cabinets are clearly the color in the room. Perimeter cabinets in Gray Owl with a darker island is the arrangement that shows up most.
What is one shade lighter than Gray Owl?
Moonshine OC-56 is the usual step up, two points lighter and slightly cleaner, and it is the color most often tested against this one. Going down, Vapor Trails 1556 is three points darker with the same green lean, and Stonington Gray HC-170 is five points darker and more neutral. The color is not on a fan-deck strip, so these steps come from its nearest relatives.
Is Gray Owl the same color as 2137-60?
Yes. Benjamin Moore carries it under the Off White code OC-52 and under the numbered code 2137-60, and both mix the same paint. You will also see the name written Grey Owl, and people search for it as owl gray, but there is only one color behind all three. Quote the code rather than the spelling when you order.
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 Gray Owl, checked in morning and evening light, is the last step before a gallon.
- Made with real paint
- Delivered next day
- Peels off clean
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