Benjamin Moore Smoky Ash 986
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| Official page: | Smoky Ash 986 |
| Code: | 986 |
| Name: | Smoky Ash |
| Brand: | Benjamin Moore |
What color is Benjamin Moore Smoky Ash?
Benjamin Moore Smoky Ash 986 is a muted mid-tone taupe with warm brown and soft gray notes. Its low-saturation character keeps it grounded rather than yellow or overly beige, while the #998B75 value can show a faint khaki cast in daylight. In brighter rooms, Smoky Ash reads as an earthy neutral; under warmer lamps, it deepens toward a weathered brown-gray. It suits living room walls, entryways, and cabinetry where a medium-depth neutral can add definition without making the surface feel heavy. Pair it with creamy off-whites, charcoal accents, aged brass, natural oak, and stone or linen textures.
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What are Benjamin Moore Smoky Ash undertones?
Smoky Ash is a midtone, muted caramel tan. The HEX sample leans yellow-orange; this describes its measurable digital hue direction, not a hidden paint pigment. 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:
RGB code:
153, 139, 117
Is Benjamin Moore Smoky Ash cool or warm?
warm
cool
With a hue of 37°, this Beige reads warm on the HSL color wheel.
986 Smoky Ash HSL code: 37, 15%, 53%
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 Smoky Ash
Natural Lighting. During the day, natural light shifts from about 2000 K at sunrise/sunset to 5500–6500 K at noon.
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 Beige shade looks under different lighting:
4000K
Coordinating colors.
Colors that go with Benjamin Moore Smoky Ash:
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
Darker shades
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 Smoky Ash with a orange hue, complementary colors are those with a blue hue close to 217, such as Benjamin Moore Normandy and Feather Gray.
LRV of Smoky Ash
Smoky Ash has an LRV of 26.8% and refers to Medium colors that reflect a lot of light. Why LRV is important?
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 26.8%, 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 | #998B75 |
| RGB Decimal | 153, 139, 117 |
| RGB Percent | 60.00%, 54.51%, 45.88% |
| HSV | Hue: 37° Saturation: 23.53% Value: 60.0% |
| HSL | hsl(37, 15, 53) |
| CMYK | Cyan: 0.0 Magenta: 9.15 Yellow: 23.53 Key: 40.0 |
| YIQ | Y: 140.678 I: 15.412 Q: -3.885 |
| XYZ | X: 25.58 Y: 26.523 Z: 20.597 |
| CIE Lab | L:58.53 a:1.569 b:13.691 |
| CIE Luv | L:58.53 u:9.922 v:17.975 |
| Decimal | 10062709 |
| Hunter Lab | 51.5, -1.464, 12.338 |
Color equivalents
N310-5
Weathered Fossil
Behr
SW 6158
Sawdust
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MQ6-29
Lost Canyon
Behr
CC-576
Nordic Gray
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SW 0024
Curio Gray
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CSP-135
Worn Leather Shoes
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SW 9534
River Reed
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978
Raccoon Hollow
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PPU8-03
Dry Pasture
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SW 9607
Tanglewood
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HC-86
Kingsport Gray
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SW 9618
Woodbridge
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SW 2845
Bunglehouse Gray
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SW 9123
Barro Verde
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SW 7535
Sandy Ridge
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SW 7744
Zeus
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HC-77
Alexandria Beige
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998
Cabot Trail
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HDC-AC-14
Bristol Beige
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1007
Beigewood
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