Benjamin Moore Steam AF-15

Contents

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Steam for living room (1 photo)
Benjamin Moore Steam reviews (9 photos)
What are Benjamin Moore Steam undertones?
Is Steam AF-15 cool or warm?
How light temperature affects on Steam
Monochromatic color scheme
Complementary color scheme
Color comparison and matching
LRV of Steam AF-15
Color codes
Color equivalents

Official page:	Steam AF-15
Code:	AF-15
Name:	Steam
Brand:	Benjamin Moore

What color is Benjamin Moore Steam?

Benjamin Moore Steam AF-15 is a very light off-white with a soft creamy-yellow cast rather than a stark, blue-white appearance. Its high brightness keeps walls looking open, while the subtle warmth prevents the color from feeling clinical. In daylight, Steam reads as a pale, lightly softened white; under warm evening lighting, its ivory note becomes more noticeable. It suits living rooms, bedrooms, hallways, and whole-home walls, especially alongside natural oak, linen, woven textures, and warm stone. For contrast, pair this shade with muted charcoal, deep olive, or blackened bronze details.

Steam for living room

Check out this stunning light color used in real living rooms. Explore how this grey shade can create a unique space

@herbertpainting

Benjamin Moore Steam reviews (9 photos)

View the photos of real spaces painted with this grey that were not included in specific categories. Close-ups, painted furniture, storages and dressers, hallways, stairs and ceilings.

Benjamin Moore Steam dining room interior

@jackpowers84

Benjamin Moore Steam dining room paint review

@jackpowers84

@jackpowers84

@hardinginteriors

@theanissaroberts

Benjamin Moore Steam painted furniture photo

@_pinchofpaint_

@lbddesign

@lbddesign

@cottageonthemeadows

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What are Benjamin Moore Steam undertones?

Steam AF-15 reads as a very light, low-saturation off-white with a soft, near-neutral overall character. In the supplied digital sample, the slight color direction leans yellow, but it is subtle enough that no strong undertone call is reliable from the HEX alone. Benjamin Moore describes it as a white with a “clean yet soft look,” which fits its visibly gentle, softened white appearance rather than a stark bright white. Warm artificial lighting may bring out its faint creamy side, while cool daylight can make it appear cleaner and more neutral.

Manufacturer information used in this description: official color page.

HEX value:

#F0EFE6

RGB code:

240, 239, 230

Is Benjamin Moore Steam cool or warm?

warm

cool

With a hue of 54°, this Grey reads warm on the HSL color wheel.

AF-15 Steam HSL code: 54, 25%, 92%

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 Steam

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 Steam:

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

AF-15
Steam

OC-17
White Dove

Darker shades

AF-15
Steam

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 Steam with a orange hue, complementary colors are those with a blue hue close to 234, such as Benjamin Moore Approaching Storm and Luxe.

AF-15
Steam

Compare
Benjamin Moore
Steam AF-15
to any other colors

Benjamin Moore
Steam AF-15
color equivalents

LRV of Steam

Steam has an LRV of 84.2% and refers to White colors that reflect almost all 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 84.2%, 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	#F0EFE6
RGB Decimal	240, 239, 230
RGB Percent	94.12%, 93.73%, 90.20%
HSV	Hue: 54° Saturation: 4.17% Value: 94.12%
HSL	hsl(54, 25, 92)
CMYK	Cyan: 0.0 Magenta: 0.42 Yellow: 4.17 Key: 5.88
YIQ	Y: 238.273 I: 3.488 Q: -2.589
XYZ	X: 81.081 Y: 85.972 Z: 87.164
CIE Lab	L:94.3 a:-1.229 b:4.468
CIE Luv	L:94.3 u:1.068 v:7.023
Decimal	15790054
Hunter Lab	92.721, -6.169, 9.168