The Color Digest · Compare
Settled, side by side
Creekbed
Benjamin Moore · 1006
The taupe that makes marble look expensive
Spoonful of Sugar
Benjamin Moore · 041
Terracotta with the lights on
In real rooms
Every room, each colorCreekbed
1 roomThe difference
Read from the numbersCreekbed is the lighter of the two at LRV 33.34, 12.4 points above Spoonful of Sugar at LRV 20.98. Both read warm. Creekbed is a neutrals, Spoonful of Sugar a oranges. For a whole room, Creekbed is the safer, more forgiving choice thanks to its higher LRV, while Spoonful of Sugar is the bolder pick.
How they read
In their own wordsCreekbed is a true taupe — grey and brown balanced so evenly that it reads as neither, with a faint pink warmth underneath. At LRV 33 it is a mid-tone, dark enough to feel like a color and light enough to keep a small room from closing in. It is the shade of wet river stone.
Do not let the name fool you — Spoonful of Sugar is a deep, saturated caramel-terracotta, not a pastel. With an LRV of 21 it is a real color with real weight, and in a high-gloss lacquer it becomes something else entirely: a warm, glowing envelope that turns a library or dining room into a jewel box.