Stonington Gray
HC-170 · Benjamin Moore
Benjamin Moore
Stonington Gray
HC-170
Faint yellow-leaning green, a true neutral
- Color family
- Neutral
- Sold for
- Interior and exterior
Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray HC-170 is a light gray with the faintest green-yellow lean, one of the grays that stays gray instead of turning beige. Its LRV of 59 sits in the light band, bright enough to run through a whole floor and dark enough to leave white trim visible. Our method reads the lean as barely there, which is why it holds up in rooms where a warmer gray would argue with the floors.
Is Stonington Gray warm or cool? Undertones by the numbers
too close to gray to lean
Undertone
Faint yellow-leaning green
Barely off gray.
Measured, Stonington Gray has almost nothing pulling it in any direction: a whisper of green with a little yellow behind it, and that is the whole story. In practice it behaves like a true gray with the cold taken off. It is what people reach for when a greige looked too beige and a plain gray looked too blue. Against white trim it reads clean, and against a cream trim it can look faintly green. Blue-gray tile and stainless bring out a blue that is not in the measurement at all, while oak and brass leave it plainly gray. Silver Chain 1472, its nearest relative, is the same idea a shade darker.
Stonington Gray in north, south, east and west light
Stonington Gray is one of the steadier grays in a north-facing room: cool light darkens it by a shade and can suggest a blue it does not really have, but it never turns on you. South light warms it slightly and lifts it. East and west rooms barely move it, which is why it survives an open plan that faces two ways. Bulbs decide more than the sun does here: 2700K leaves it reading a touch warm and putty-like, 4000K makes it cold and blue, and 3000K holds it where the chip is.
Watch for
- Picks up a blue cast in a north room lit by cool bulbs
- Can look faintly green beside a cream or yellow-toned white trim
- Reads darker than the chip on the wall opposite a single window
Best rooms and surfaces for Stonington Gray
Stonington Gray is a whole-floor gray: hallways, stairwells, living rooms and open kitchens can take the same color, with white trim carrying the joins. It behaves behind white cabinets, where a warmer gray would fight a cool countertop, and it holds a north-facing family room without going dull. Where it struggles is a room with strong yellow-toned oak or orange brick, which leaves the walls looking faintly green by comparison. It is also too light to carry a large room on its own if the trim is the same white, so give it a darker floor, a dark rug or one heavy piece of furniture to push against.
Stonington Gray on an exterior
Benjamin Moore sells Stonington Gray for exterior use, and it is a common siding color on houses where a warm gray would look yellow beside a gray roof. Sun lightens it considerably, so a whole elevation can read almost white at midday and settle back to gray in the evening. It suits shingles, clapboard and stucco alike. Chantilly Lace OC-65 or Decorator's White OC-149 on the trim gives a crisp line, and Puritan Gray HC-164, one of Benjamin Moore's own picks with it, makes a good shutter color.
Try Stonington Gray on your own walls
Upload a photo of your room, or the outside of your house, and TryMyHome renders Stonington 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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Stonington Gray vs Coventry Gray, Wickham Gray, Gray Owl and Agreeable Gray
Stonington Gray vs Coventry Gray HC-169
Stonington Gray is much lighter; both have a faint yellow-leaning green undertone.
Coventry Gray HC-169 is the pair searched most against this one, and the gap is depth rather than color: it measures eleven points darker with the same near-absent lean. On a wall Coventry Gray reads as a proper mid-gray while Stonington Gray reads as a light one. A room with plenty of daylight can take Coventry Gray on all four walls. A room with one window usually wants Stonington Gray.
Stonington Gray vs Wickham Gray HC-171
Stonington Gray is noticeably darker; undertone faint yellow-leaning green vs faint green.
Wickham Gray HC-171 goes the other way, nine points lighter, with a cooler green in it that shows as a soft blue-green in daylight. Stonington Gray is the more neutral of the two and the easier one to place against existing floors. Wickham Gray is the pick for a small bathroom or a bedroom that needs its light back, where Stonington Gray would look flat.
Gray OwlStonington GrayStonington Gray vs Gray Owl OC-52
Stonington Gray is noticeably darker; undertone faint yellow-leaning green vs subtle yellow-leaning green.
Gray Owl OC-52 measures five points lighter and carries a touch more yellow-green, which shows on the wall as a hint of warmth. These two get shortlisted together constantly and the gap between them is small: Gray Owl is the safer choice in a dim room, and Stonington Gray the one that stays gray under warm bulbs. Neither is a beige, which is how people who dislike greige end up choosing between them.
Agreeable GrayStonington GrayStonington Gray vs Agreeable Gray SW 7029
Stonington Gray is a touch darker; undertone faint yellow-leaning green vs subtle yellow-beige.
Agreeable Gray SW 7029 matches Stonington Gray almost exactly for lightness and differs entirely in lean: the Sherwin-Williams color measures a subtle yellow-beige and reads as a greige. Put them side by side and Agreeable Gray looks tan. Pick Agreeable Gray when the room has warm wood and cream in it, and Stonington Gray when the floors, counters or tile run cool.
Questions about Stonington Gray
Does Stonington Gray look blue?
It can, though there is no blue in its measurement. The lean is a faint green with some yellow, and what makes it read blue is context: north light, cool bulbs, or a room with a great deal of white in it. In warm light and beside wood it reads as a plain gray. If the blue worries you, sample it on the wall that gets the least sun.
What colors go with Stonington Gray?
Benjamin Moore's own picks are Chantilly Lace OC-65 and Decorator's White OC-149 for the whites, Puritan Gray HC-164 as the deeper partner and the cream Lychee AF-40. In practice it takes navy, black, white oak and cool stone. Warm orange and strong yellow-beige are the pairings that make it look green, so keep those to accessories.
Is Stonington Gray a good bedroom color?
Yes, and it is one of the more common uses for it. The neutral lean means the room does not tint warm or cool as the light changes, so it looks much the same at breakfast and at bedtime. It sits well with white bedding, wood furniture and both black and brass hardware. In a bedroom with no morning sun, use 3000K bulbs so it does not read blue.
What is one shade darker than Stonington Gray?
Sea Haze 2137-50 is the next rung down in Benjamin Moore's own set, fourteen points darker and a little greener, which is a bigger step than most people want. For a small move, Silver Chain 1472 measures about three points darker with the same lean. Going up, Garlic Bulb 2112-70 is fifteen points lighter and nearly a white.
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 Stonington Gray, 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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