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How it reads
Gray Owl OC-52 is Benjamin Moore's "use-anywhere light gray with a cool, crisp cast". It is in the Off-White Collection, and the same colour also appears in the brand's Color Preview range as 2137-60. Its LRV is 64.51.
It is famous for changing with its surroundings. Designer Leigha Heydt, in Homes & Gardens, notes it may read softly green in one room and warmer, almost taupe, in another.
What Gray Owl is
Gray Owl is one of Benjamin Moore's best-known light grays. The brand calls it a use-anywhere light gray with a cool, crisp cast, and gives it an LRV of 64.51.
It is listed both as OC-52 in the Off-White Collection and as 2137-60, with identical values.
Its undertone
Gray Owl is not a neutral gray. Designer Alison Arrington, in Homes & Gardens, describes a subtle green-blue undertone that is softened.
Leigha Heydt of Heydt Designs, also in Homes & Gardens, says it may read softly green in one room and warmer, almost taupe, in another. That variability is the main thing to plan for.
How it behaves in light
Its green-blue undertone means cool northern light tends to push it bluer, and in a dim room a light gray like this can feel flat. Sample it on the darkest wall before committing.
In the Morgan Harrison Home living rooms on this page, with big windows and white trim, it reads as a soft, light gray that lets art and upholstery carry the colour.
What it sits next to
Benjamin Moore pairs it with Super White trim and with Hale Navy, Silver Satin and Kendall Charcoal.
Stonington Gray is the usual comparison: a little deeper and bluer. Silver Satin is the softer, warmer step lighter.
Compare
Settled, side by side
Questions
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