Pale Oak By Benjamin Moore: A Favourite

Adding a neutral colour to your home’s colour scheme can be a great way to create a versatile, timeless, and sophisticated backdrop that enhances all the beautiful features of your space. Whether you choose a white, beige, grey, taupe, or greige, neutral tones provide a calming and cohesive foundation. Their adaptability and versatility make neutrals the perfect shades for creating serene, peaceful, and tranquil atmospheres and ensuring the space feels inviting and balanced.

With many different hues each with its own undertones, choosing the perfect neutral paint colour for your home can be overwhelming. Enter Pale Oak by Benjamin Moore! Pale Oak is a stunning balanced colour that combines the warmth of beige with the coolness of grey to create inviting spaces that are both serene and stylish. Whether you’re refreshing your living room, brightening up your kitchen, or creating a calming bedroom retreat, Pale Oak is an ideal backdrop that adapts to many different design styles and colour schemes.

In this article, we explore everything you need to know about Pale Oak, from its LRV and how it looks under different lighting conditions, to the best trim colours and coordinating hues.

Pale Oak’s LRV

LRV (or Light Reflectance Value) helps determine how much light is absorbed or reflected by a paint colour. It is measured on a scale from 0% to 100%, 0% being absolute black and absorbing all light, and 100% being pure white and reflecting all light. The higher the LRV, the lighter and brighter the paint colour. The LRV of a paint colour is an important factor to consider, especially if you're concerned about brightness or creating a specific ambience. Colours with higher LRVs tend to make a room feel brighter and more spacious, while colours with lower LRVs can create a more intimate or cosy atmosphere.

Pale Oak has an LRV of 68.64, which means it’s a rather light warm greige. It’s a great shade to consider if you want to brighten up a space but don’t want a white colour. Pale Oak will add some depth, earthiness, and warmth to provide a cosy and inviting feel.

Pale Oak in different lighting conditions

Lighting greatly impacts how a paint colour is perceived within a space, whether it be natural or artificial light. Natural light varies throughout the day making colours look slightly different in the morning and the evening, which is why it’s essential to use samples before fully committing to a paint colour so you can see how colours look at various times of the day and you can decide if a paint colour is the right one for your space.

In a cool light such as in a north-facing room or an afternoon eastern light, Pale Oak’s grey tones will appear stronger and more prominent but its warm tones will help balance out the cool light. In a warm bright light such as in a south-facing room or an afternoon western light, Pale Oak will look even warmer creating a fresh, inviting, and cosy atmosphere. Using Pale Oak in a space with cool light or limited natural light can result in a balanced look with a subtle warm touch.

Photo via A Thoughtful Place

Where can I use Pale Oak?

Pale Oak is such a versatile and beautiful colour, you can use it in virtually any room of your house. Its subtle blend of warm beige and cool grey makes it an ideal choice for creating a serene, stylish, and inviting look.

Living Room

In a living room, Pale Oak is perfect to create a space that is warm, elegant, and comfortable. It will make your family and guests feel at ease and welcome in your home. Pair it with rich textures like warm wood finishes and contrasting colours in furniture and decor to add depth and interest to the space.

Kitchen

In the kitchen, Pale Oak works wonderfully on walls or cabinetry, offering a clean and sophisticated look. It pairs beautifully with white or off-white granite or quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, and natural wood accents. This colour helps maintain a bright and airy feel, making your kitchen a place you will love to cook in and gather.

Bedroom

Adding Pale Oak to a bedroom can help you create a peaceful retreat thanks to its soft and soothing tones. Consider using it on the walls and complementing it with darker or lighter trim for contrast and a cohesive look.

Bathroom

Pale Oak works beautifully in bathrooms as well to transform your space into a spa-like oasis. It pairs well with marble tiles and chrome or brushed nickel fixtures. Pale Oak is light enough to reflect light and help smaller bathrooms feel more spacious and luxurious.

Hallways and Entryways

Using Pale Oak in hallways and entryways helps create a cohesive flow throughout your home. Its neutral tone is welcoming and versatile, setting the tone for the rest of the house. It can be beautifully paired with bolder colours in adjacent rooms to add visual interest, character, and personality.

What about trim colours?

If you choose to apply Pale Oak on your walls, there are various white paint colours you can consider for your trims. A bright white with barely any undertones is ideal with Pale Oak to create a beautiful contrast. Consider whites like Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace, Benjamin Moore Oxford White, Benjamin Moore Simply White or Sherwin Williams Pure White. These whites are bright but have a very subtle warmth that pairs well with Pale Oak. I would avoid a white that is too bright and crisp like Sherwin Williams High Reflective White as the contrast would be too stark.

If you prefer a softer contrast, use a slightly warmer white like Benjamin Moore White Dove. It has more yellow undertone than the other whites and would complement beautifully the warm tones of Pale Oak. However, I wouldn't go with a white that is more yellow than that as Pale Oak could look washed and disappear in contrast.

What coordinating colours work best with Pale Oak?

Pale Oak pairs beautifully with warm shades of greens and blues, as well as darker greige colours. For a darker greige or taupe colour, consider Revere Pewter or Chelsea Gray. For a blue hue, consider a navy blue like Hale Navy, or a lighter shade like Wedgewood Gray or Newburg Green. For a green colour, consider a light serene shade such as Healing Aloe or Smoky Green. For more contrast and moodier look, consider a darker grey like Wrought Iron or Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze which is a beautiful colour to pair with Pale Oak.

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Overall, Pale Oak by Benjamin Moore is a beautiful light greige to use throughout your home for an inviting, stylish, and warm look.

Not sure about Pale Oak? Have a look at my whole house colour palettes! Ready to download, comprehensive, detailed, budget-friendly, and expertly put-together, you are one click away from transforming your home.

If you find choosing the right colour for your home too stressful and overwhelming, I also provide a Custom Interior Colour Palette service. I would love to make this process easier for you and help you create your dream home. And if you need more information about my services or simply want to get in touch with me, click here.

Thank you for reading and happy decorating,  

Manon xx