Benjamin Moore Overcast / 1515 / Natural Elements / OC-43

Contents

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What are Benjamin Moore Overcast undertones?
Is Overcast OC-43 cool or warm?
How light temperature affects on Overcast
Monochromatic color scheme
Complementary color scheme
Color comparison and matching
LRV of Overcast OC-43
Color codes
Color equivalents

Official page:	Overcast OC-43
Code:	OC-43
Name:	Overcast
Brand:	Benjamin Moore

What color is Benjamin Moore Overcast?

Benjamin Moore Overcast OC-43 is a pale, muted off-white with a soft gray-beige cast and a subtle yellowed undertone. Its light value keeps walls bright without reading as stark white, while the low saturation gives it a gently weathered, natural look. In north-facing rooms, Overcast may appear more gray and subdued; warmer daylight and evening lamps tend to bring out its creamy, khaki-like warmth. It suits living rooms, bedrooms, and hallways where crisp white would feel too sharp, and it also makes a quiet backdrop for oak, linen, aged brass, and matte black details. Pair this shade with warm whites, dusty greens, or deeper mushroom-brown accents for a layered neutral scheme.

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What are Benjamin Moore Overcast undertones?

Overcast is a light, very muted straw beige. The HEX sample has a subtle yellow bias, but its low chroma turns that hue into a neutral-looking color rather than a clear yellow. Warm bulbs can make it look creamier or more golden, while cool daylight may mute that warmth and pull it closer to beige or greige.

HEX value:

#DEDBC7

RGB code:

222, 219, 199

Is Benjamin Moore Overcast cool or warm?

warm

cool

With a hue of 52°, this Grey reads warm on the HSL color wheel.

OC-43 Overcast HSL code: 52, 26%, 83%

Hue - degree on a color wheel from 0 to 360. 0 is red, 120 is green, and 240 is blue.
Saturation is expressed as a percentage. At 0%, it appears as a shade of grey, and at 100%, it is in full color.
Lightness is also a percentage value. 0% is black, and 100% is white.

How light temperature affects Overcast

Natural Lighting. During the day, natural light shifts from about 2000 K at sunrise/sunset to 5500–6500 K at noon.

Sunrise

Morning

Noon

Afternoon

Sunset

In addition, natural-light temperature depends on its direction:

Direction of sunlight	Visible temp.	Hue	Duration
North	Cool	Bluish	All day
East	Warm	Yellow	Before noon
West	Warm	Orange-red	After noon
South	Warm	Orange-yellow	All day

Artificial Lighting. When choosing bulbs, pay attention to their color temperature in Kelvins.
Use the slider to see how this Grey shade looks under different lighting:

4000K

2000K

3000K

4000K

5000K

6000K

7000K

Coordinating colors.
Colors that go with Benjamin Moore Overcast:

Monochromatic color scheme

This scheme consists of various shades, tints, and tones of a single color. While it offers a perfect combination of hues, without accent décor it may become monotonous.

Lighter shades

OC-43
Overcast

Darker shades

OC-43
Overcast

Complementary color scheme

This color scheme is a combination of two shades that are opposite each other on the color wheel. The high contrast between these colors creates a vibrant and dynamic visual effect. For the color Overcast with a orange hue, complementary colors are those with a blue hue close to 232, such as Benjamin Moore Approaching Storm and Evening Dove.

OC-43
Overcast

Compare
Benjamin Moore
Overcast OC-43
to any other colors

Benjamin Moore
Overcast OC-43
color equivalents

LRV of Overcast

Overcast has an LRV of 68.93% and refers to Light colors that reflect most of the incident light. Why LRV is important?

Light Reflectance Value scale illustration

Light Reflectance Value measures the amount of visible and usable light that reflects from a painted surface.
Simply put, the higher the LRV of a paint color, the brighter the room you will get.
The scale goes from 0% (absolute black, absorbing all light) to 100% (pure white, reflecting all light).

Act like a pro: When choosing paint with an LRV of 68.93%, pay attention to your bulbs' brightness. Light brightness is measured in lumens. The lower the paint's LRV, the higher lumen level you need. Every square foot of room needs at least 40 lumens. That means for a 200 ft² living room you'll need about 8000 lumens of light – e.g., eight 1000 lm bulbs.

Color codes

We have collected almost every possible color code you could ever need.
Not sure what the difference between HEX and RGB is? We break down color models in plain language. Understanding color models

Format	Code
HEX	#DEDBC7
RGB Decimal	222, 219, 199
RGB Percent	87.06%, 85.88%, 78.04%
HSV	Hue: 52° Saturation: 10.36% Value: 87.06%
HSL	hsl(52, 26, 83)
CMYK	Cyan: 0.0 Magenta: 1.35 Yellow: 10.36 Key: 12.94
YIQ	Y: 217.617 I: 8.215 Q: -5.589
XYZ	X: 65.763 Y: 70.317 Z: 64.125
CIE Lab	L:87.152 a:-2.389 b:10.205
CIE Luv	L:87.152 u:2.855 v:15.513
Decimal	14605255
Hunter Lab	83.855, -6.759, 13.358