The short answer. The closest Benjamin Moore match for Sherwin-Williams Mindful Gray (SW 7016, LRV 48) is Benjamin Moore Rockport Gray HC-105, a warm greige at roughly LRV 45 that reads a touch deeper and slightly greener.
On the Behr deck, the color most people land on is Behr Graceful Gray, a warm gray near LRV 46 that sits within a couple of points of Mindful Gray in depth and reads a hair warmer.
Every one of these deltas is small (about 2 to 4 LRV points), so treat them as a strong starting point and confirm the winner on your own wall before you buy a gallon.
No paint company publishes an official equivalent of a competitor's color, so there is no "exact" Benjamin Moore version of Mindful Gray sitting in a catalog somewhere. Cross-brand matching is really about two numbers: light reflectance value (LRV), which tells you how light or deep a color reads, and undertone, the subtle bias toward green, blue, or violet that gives a gray its personality. When those two line up, the colors look like siblings. When they drift, even a same-LRV pairing can feel warmer or cooler on the wall. For the full method behind this, see how cross-brand paint matching works. Below, we line up the closest Benjamin Moore and Behr candidates against Mindful Gray so you can see exactly where each one lands.
The closest matches, side by side
| Color | Brand + code | Approx LRV | Undertone vs Mindful Gray | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mindful Gray (approx #BFB8AC) | Sherwin-Williams SW 7016 | 48 | Reference: warm gray (greige) with a soft green cast | The color you are matching |
| Rockport Gray (approx #B3AEA1) | Benjamin Moore HC-105 | ~45 | A touch deeper, slightly greener greige | Closest widely recommended BM match |
| Coventry Gray (approx #B2B3AB) | Benjamin Moore HC-169 | ~44 | Deeper and leans a little cooler (light blue-gray) | Strong BM alternative if you want less warmth |
| Graceful Gray (approx #B7B1A6) | Behr N320-3 | ~46 | Very close in depth, a hair warmer | Closest common Behr match |
Try it on your house
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LRV figures are published-value approximations and can vary by a point or two between sources and sheens. The hex codes are approximate digital renderings meant to show relative warmth and depth on screen only. A physical paint chip, viewed in your own room, is the authoritative reference. Do not commit to a color from a monitor.
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Why there is no exact Mindful Gray equivalent
Paint brands build their colors on different tint bases and colorant systems. Mindful Gray was mixed to hit LRV 48 with Sherwin-Williams' own blend of black, raw umber, and a whisper of green that keeps it from going flat. When Benjamin Moore or Behr sit a color in the same neighborhood, they reach that lightness with a different recipe, so the undertone lands a hair off. That is why a match can share an LRV yet still feel a shade warmer or cooler once it is on drywall. It is also why we phrase every recommendation here as "closest match," never "identical."
Two other things move the target. First, sheen: the same formula in matte, eggshell, and satin bounces light differently, which nudges the perceived LRV. Second, your room: north light cools a gray, west light warms it at sunset, and a nearby wood floor or countertop throws its own color back onto the wall. None of that shows on a chip under store lighting. So when we call Rockport Gray the closest Benjamin Moore match, we mean closest on paper (LRV plus undertone family), not guaranteed identical in your hallway. The delta is small enough to trust as a starting point, and small enough that a real-world test settles it fast.
When the Benjamin Moore match works (and when to stay Sherwin-Williams)
- Go Benjamin Moore when your trim, cabinets, or existing palette is already built around BM colors and you want everything tinted at one counter. Rockport Gray keeps the greige feel and saves a special order.
- Stay Sherwin-Williams if Mindful Gray is already somewhere in the house. Even the best match is a touch off, and side by side on the same wall the difference can show. Our profile of Mindful Gray undertones and best rooms shows where the original really shines.
- Choose the cooler BM alternative (Coventry Gray) if your space runs warm, with lots of wood or strong south light, and you want the gray to pull back toward neutral instead of greige.
- Rethink the depth first if you are not fully sold on Mindful Gray. Before you lock in a brand, a related side-by-side comparison with the deeper Dorian Gray shows how much weight you actually want on the wall.
Related matches
Matching one greige is the same exercise across the whole Sherwin-Williams gray family, so if your project uses more than one color, compare notes. Here is the Benjamin Moore match for the lighter, airier Repose Gray, and here is the Benjamin Moore match for the slightly greener Agreeable Gray. Reading all three together makes the undertone differences obvious, which is the whole game in cross-brand matching.
Frequently asked questions
What is the closest Benjamin Moore equivalent of Mindful Gray?
The most widely recommended match is Benjamin Moore Rockport Gray HC-105, a warm greige at about LRV 45 versus Mindful Gray at 48. It reads a touch deeper and slightly greener. Coventry Gray HC-169 is a close alternative that leans a little cooler. Neither is an official equivalent, so we always confirm on the wall.
Is there a Behr version of Mindful Gray?
The closest Behr color most people reach for is Behr Graceful Gray, a warm gray near LRV 46. It sits within a couple of points of Mindful Gray in depth and reads a hair warmer. Behr does not publish an official Mindful Gray equivalent, so sample it in your own light before committing.
Are these Mindful Gray matches exact?
No. No paint brand publishes official cross-brand equivalents, and no match is truly exact. Each company mixes its own tint bases, so undertones shift slightly from deck to deck. The deltas here are small (about 2 to 4 LRV points), but the reliable way to confirm is a physical sample on your own wall.
What LRV is Sherwin-Williams Mindful Gray?
Mindful Gray SW 7016 has a published LRV of 48, which puts it squarely in the medium range. It is light enough to keep a room feeling open but deep enough to read as a true gray rather than an off-white. Any close match should land within a few points of 48.
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Trademark notice. Sherwin-Williams and Mindful Gray, Benjamin Moore, and Behr are trademarks of their respective owners. FacadeColorizer is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by these companies. Brand and color names are used descriptively (nominative fair use). Hex and RGB values are approximate digital renderings; the only authoritative reference is a physical paint chip.
Trademarks mentioned (Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, Behr, Caparol, Brillux, Sto, Alpina, Valspar, PPG, Glidden, Dulux, Crown Trade, Sandtex, Farrow & Ball, Johnstone's, Leyland) are property of their respective owners. FacadeColorizer is independent and not affiliated with any of them. Nominative fair use under Lanham Act §1125.
