Pashmina

Benjamin Moore describes Pashmina as 'perfectly balanced between warm and cool, light and dark', and on a wall it is a warm greige-taupe with a green undertone so subtle that, as The Heathered Nest puts it, it is 'a very mild green undertone that will peek through every now and then'.

In north-facing light, or in flat eastern afternoon light, The Paint Color Project expects it to 'appear less warm and more gray, but it will still keep a bit of its warmth'. In a south-facing room or under western afternoon sun, 'Pashmina leans warmer and more beige'.

Its LRV of 44.2 puts it, in The Heathered Nest's words, 'on the darker side of the medium depth range'. It is not a pale neutral, and in a small or poorly lit room, as the same review warns, 'it can look dark and dingy'.

Pashmina is a wall color for a single room or a well-lit open-plan space. At an LRV in the mid-40s it sits, as BY Design And Viz notes, 'well below the light, airy neutrals most homeowners default to', so it is a heavier choice than the usual whole-house greige. It also works on kitchen cabinets and islands, on bathroom vanities and, outdoors, on painted siding and stucco.

On cabinetry it is a warm, grounded alternative to white or gray, and its slight green keeps it from reading as a flat brown. It is not used as a trim color.

Benjamin Moore's coordinating colors for Pashmina are White Dove OC-17, Deep in Thought AF-30, Cinder AF-705 and Providence Blue 1636. White Dove is also the trim white every reviewer reaches for first — BY Design And Viz calls it 'the trim colour I reach for most consistently', The Paint Color Project lists it first among its favorites, and Suite Minded adds Cloud White OC-130 as a softer second option for walls or trim.

It suits warm woods, brass, muted blues and greens. What to avoid, says The Paint Color Project, is 'any light grays, pinks, or purples, as the undertones can clash', and The Heathered Nest notes the green undertone 'tends to show up most when Pashmina is paired with pink or purple'.

Benjamin Moore lists Plymouth Rock 1543, Baja Dunes 997, Stone Hearth 984 and Northern Cliffs 1536 as similar colors. Revere Pewter HC-172 is the lighter, grayer greige it is most often compared with.

It fails in poor light. BY Design And Viz warns that in north-facing or low-light rooms the gray-green undercurrent 'can surface and read flat, muddy, or faintly olive rather than warm taupe', and The Heathered Nest says it 'can look dark and dingy' without ample light. A small north-facing room with little daylight is where that happens.

It fails as a whole-house color. At LRV 44 it is too deep to run through every room; it wants to be the one grounded room in a lighter house.

And its green side can show. The Heathered Nest says the green undertone 'tends to show up most when Pashmina is paired with pink or purple', so if the wall looks off, check the surrounding finishes first — the problem is usually a pink- or purple-toned floor, sofa or fabric bringing out the green, rather than the paint.