Benjamin Moore Balboa Mist Color Review

Learn all about Benjamin Moore Balboa Mist in this color review (Sample Here) .  This light greige color has just enough warmth to be magical.  It is a versatile neutral that looks great in a bright or dark room. Soft violet undertones let it pair well with just about any type of light.  Violet grays are the ones that look like the color of elephants.

This color can look like a soft white in a bright room.  In darker rooms or rooms with cooler light it looks like a greige color, and I prefer to contrast with clean white ceilings and trim.

Balboa Mist is really lovely with warm wood, and if you have lots of foliage outside, its warmth will neutralize the greenery colors so that they don’t wash out your walls.

Whites are still popular as a trend, but warmer and more pigmented colors are still popular.  This greige paint color definitely leans toward the warm.  It looks great in cool North facing light, or any light at all.  Balboa Mist is warm and friendly and sometimes it can flash a green undertone in the warm sunshine.

All the photos in this post are Color Concierge projects.  None of the photos are color edited.

 

What is the LRV of Balboa Mist?

The LRV of Balboa Mist is 67, which makes it very light greige, leaning toward white.  A darker version would be BM Collingwood, and a lighter version is BM Silver Satin.  The scale goes from 1 (pure black) to 100 (pure white) and indicates how dark or light a color is.

When should I use Balboa Mist?

Use Balboa Mist when you have North facing light, warm wood finishes and when you have crisp whites and matching stone or quartz countertops.  Balboa Mist violet undertones pair well with many of the quartz veins which are violet gray.  This color is so versatile that it can also work well with granite countertops and earthy finishes as long as they have the same undertones.

This house was one of our early projects.  In the initial consultation we had specified a gray with blue undertones even with the North facing light.  When we tested the color in the room it looked very blue.  We shifted to Balboa Mist, and the color looked amazing.  It is paired with Chantilly Lace trim (Satin sheen) and a Chantilly Lace ceiling (Ultra Flat).  the room below has both North and South facing light.

This room in the same house has North facing light.  We painted the fireplace tile Benjamin Moore Kendall Charcoal.  It saved the homeowners a fortune during this extensive renovation.  They also painted the gold trim on the black fireplace insert with a high temperature rated black spray paint for a clean modern look.

The before photos show the total transformation!

We used Balboa Mist for the bathroom walls below.  The color looks amazing with gray tile with violet undertones.  It’s a monochromatic textural look that looks calm and serene.

Which Paint Colors Look Best with Balboa Mist?

Pair Balboa Mist with saturated blue colors, blue-grays and saturated greens.  Yellow paint colors or creamy yellowish whites can look dingy.

Here is Balboa Mist on the walls with BM Wolf Gray as an interior door paint color.  It looks so good with blue!

These Balboa Mist cabinets looks great with saturated green colors and an earthy countertop.  The contrast makes each color glow.

This photo shows the gorgeous kitchen.  The wall above the window is Balboa Mist with Chantilly Lace ceilings and upper cabinets.  The lower cabinets are BM Wolf Gray, a gray with blue undertones.

When should I avoid Balboa Mist?

Don’t pair Balboa Mist with green-gray paint colors such as BM Revere Pewter, BM Edgecomb Gray or SW Agreeable Gray.  That neutral combination of green-grays and violet-grays sucks the life out of each other. I don’t recommend this paint color for a monochromatic paint scheme because it might end up looking dingy.

Can I use Balboa Mist as an Interior “White” Trim Color?

Balboa Mist is usually too dark to use as a “white” trim color, although there are exceptions.

What are the Best Trim and Ceiling Colors For Balboa Mist?

I prefer to use this paint color with clean or bright off-whites such as Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace, BM Oxford White or SW Pure White.  Blue-whites such as SW Extra White or BM Decorator’s White are ok but not my first choice because they can look harsh.  Warmer off-whites and creams such as BM Swiss Coffee won’t have enough contrast to bring this color to light.  Whites with strong yellow undertones such as BM Simply White or BM Snowfall White are not my favorites with this color because the yellow can look funky with this undertone.

What is the easiest way to Sample Balboa Mist?

We always recommend that you test paint colors in your house because lighting can change a color completely. 

In the old days, this meant we painted a large poster board with sample pots and a huge mess.

Now we have SAMPLIZE, 9X14″ Pre-Painted peel-and-stick paint samples.  Check out the SAMPLIZE website HERE.

Can I use Balboa Mist for Cabinets?

You can use Balboa Mist for Cabinets, especially if you have alot of grays with violet undertones in your decor.  See how beautiful the Balboa Mist cabinets look with the earthy finishes.  Balboa Mist is a great color when white or off-white colors are too bright and creamier whites are too yellow.  Just magic!

Balboa Mist cabinets look EPIC with green backsplash.  Since it has the perfect undertones to pair with the granite countertop, it looks like a white, even though it’s a light greige.

Below is the “before” photo.  The cabinets look yellow.  Balboa Mist was the perfect color for a darker option to pair with granite without shifting to yellow.  You can also see in the photo below that the earthy gray countertops had violet undertones.

Can I use Balboa Mist for Exteriors?

Balboa Mist is a FANTASTIC color for white trim for exteriors.  It will look like a bright white without harshness.  It also makes a great whole-house white paint color, especially in a heavily wooded lot.  The warmth in this greige color will neutralize the green tones from foliage.

Comparisons With Other Greige Colors

Agreeable Gray vs. Balboa Mist

Balboa Mist is lighter, crisper and cleaner than Agreeable Gray.  It shows how Agreeable Gray can go fleshy in cool light.  Balboa Mist is the strong winner for rooms with very cool light.

Gray Heron vs. Balboa Mist

SW Gray Heron is a gorgeous color, and part of the Sherwin-Williams Emerald Designer Edition Collection.  Paint colors in the Emerald Designer Collection start with a white base vs a gray base like the rest of the Sherwin-Williams paint colors.  It is THE closest Sherwin paint color to Balboa Mist, except ever-so slightly darker.

City Loft vs. Balboa Mist

I would consider City Loft the next closest Sherwin-Williams counterpart of Balboa Mist.  Since it is part of the regular Sherwin-Williams collection, it won’t be as expensive as Gray Heron, but also not as perfect a match.  Even though City Loft is slightly lighter, it will still have a similar look and feel to Balboa Mist.

Classic Gray vs. Balboa Mist

These are two iconic colors, with similar functions.  Classic gray is much lighter and brighter, and has warmer green undertones than Balboa Mist.  These are both beautiful colors.  Use the one that pairs the best with your hard finishes.  They are both versatile and flexible.  They look great with both crisp finishes and earthy granite countertops.

Collingwood vs. Balboa Mist

If you want a darker version of Balboa Mist, Collingwood is your color.  It has identical undertones and a lower LRV.

Edgecomb Gray vs. Balboa Mist

When we place these two colors next to each other you can see how different they are.  Edgecomb Gray is much warmer with strong green undertones.  In some settings and lighting Edgecomb can look like a beige color.

Pale Oak vs. Balboa Mist

Pale Oak has a taupe undertone, and is warmer than Balboa Mist.  it is slightly lighter, but can be used in similar situations.  

Which Sherwin-Williams Colors are like Benjamin Moore Balboa Mist?

As mentioned above, the very closest is Sherwin-Williams Gray Heron from the Emerald Designer Edition Collection, though it is slightly darker.  The next closest at a lower price point is City Loft, but they are not exactly the same and City Loft is slightly lighter.  We never recommend paint matching, especially with light neutrals or white paint colors.  They can shift to green which wouldn’t be noticeable until you painted your walls.   City Loft will give you the same look and feel as Balboa Mist, even though they are not identical.

Learn more about matching paint colors here.

The Verdict

Benjamin Moore Balboa Mist is a gorgeous light greige with soft violet undertones.  It is most commonly used as a wall color, and sometimes as a cabinet color.  As you can see in the photo below, the gray looks cooler lower on the wall in the shadows.

No matter what, don’t forget to test your paint colors. Check out the SAMPLIZE website HERE.

NEVER, EVER use paint matches from a different brand than the one specified.  Results are poor and there are no standards for the sheens.  Even though your painter may truly believe it can be done, don’t do it. See results from paint matching Here.

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About the Author

Hi, I’m Michelle Marceny, founder, owner, and Principal Color Designer at The Color Concierge. I believe a fresh coat of paint can completely transform a space. The Color Concierge was born out of my drive to help clients fall back in love with their homes. My clients trust me to help them find the perfect paint color for their home – whether it’s a whole-house paint color scheme or ideas for a single room. 

Since The Color Concierge was founded in 2017, we have completed over 3000 color consultations, both online and in-person.  I am a Certified Color Expert with 7 years of experience creating interior and exterior color palettes throughout North America.

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