The closest widely recommended Benjamin Moore match for Sherwin-Williams Morning Fog (SW 6255, LRV 42) is Coventry Gray (HC-169), at roughly LRV 48, the same cool, near-neutral gray with a quiet blue cast, reading a few points lighter and a touch less violet. The most popular online alternative is Stonington Gray (HC-170), near LRV 59, which is clearly lighter and airier and leans a soft blue with a faint green ghost.
On the Behr deck, the closest match by color distance is Tin Foil (N500-3), at roughly LRV 42, which lands almost exactly on Morning Fog's value, though it can read a hair greener and less violet.
None of these are official equivalents, and Morning Fog's blue-violet cast is one of the harder undertones to copy across brands, so the reliable move is to confirm the match on your own wall before you buy a gallon.
Morning Fog (SW 6255) is one of Sherwin-Williams' quietest cool grays: a soft blue-violet neutral with a published LRV of 42 that keeps it right in the mid-tone zone, present without going dark or heavy. If you have fallen for it but your painter stocks Benjamin Moore or Behr, you are asking a fair question: what is the closest equivalent? The honest answer starts with how cross-brand paint matching works. No manufacturer publishes official equivalents to a competitor's color, so matching really means finding the paint with the closest LRV and the closest undertone. Get both close and your eye reads them as the same color. Here are the matches we reach for, and exactly how far each one sits from Morning Fog.
The closest matches, side by side
| Color | Brand + code | Approx LRV | Undertone vs Morning Fog | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning Fog | Sherwin-Williams SW 6255 | 42 | Reference (cool gray with a blue-violet cast) | The color we are matching |
| Coventry Gray | Benjamin Moore HC-169 | ~48 | Same cool near-neutral gray, a few points lighter and less violet | Closest BM match |
| Stonington Gray | Benjamin Moore HC-170 | ~59 | Clearly lighter and airier, soft blue with a green ghost | Popular BM alternative (runs lighter) |
| Tin Foil | Behr N500-3 | ~42 | Almost the same value, a touch greener and less violet | Closest Behr match |
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The LRVs above are published-figure approximations (Morning Fog's LRV of 42 comes from Sherwin-Williams' own color data) and can drift with batch, sheen, and lighting. The hex values we cite (Morning Fog approx #A8AEB1, Coventry Gray approx #B9BAB5, Stonington Gray approx #C5C7C2, Tin Foil approx #AAAEAF) are digital renderings only. A physical paint chip is the authoritative reference, and a screen never quite tells the truth about a blue-violet gray.
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Why there is no exact Morning Fog equivalent
Every brand builds its colors on its own tint bases and its own colorant set, then measures LRV in its own lab. Two colors that look like twins on a fan deck can still land several points apart on paper, because the recipes underneath are different. Morning Fog is a Sherwin-Williams formula and Coventry Gray is a Benjamin Moore formula, so even when they read as the same cool gray in a room, the pigments getting there are not identical. That is why we talk in deltas rather than in absolutes. It is also worth saying plainly: Morning Fog sits at a true mid-tone LRV of 42, and Benjamin Moore's nearest near-neutral grays tend to sit a few points lighter, so most of the drift here is toward a little more brightness, not less.
Undertone is where the small differences show up most, and Morning Fog is a tricky case because its cast is blue-violet rather than the plain blue or blue-green most cool grays carry. That violet is exactly what makes the color feel soft and a little moody, and it is also the part that is hardest to copy across brands. Coventry Gray leans a quiet, near-neutral blue that can flash green in some light, and Behr Tin Foil does much the same, so both land close on value while giving up a touch of Morning Fog's lavender warmth. A color-matching machine can get the base gray impressively close, but it cannot promise the undertone will behave the same way across brands. Sheen adds one more variable: Morning Fog in a flat finish reads softer and grayer than the same color in a satin or eggshell, which bounces more light and pulls the blue forward, so compare your candidates in the same sheen or you are testing two things at once. The reliable path is old-fashioned: paint a poster board or a peel-and-stick sample of each option, tape them to the actual wall, and watch them at 9 a.m., at 3 p.m., and under your evening lamps, where a six-point LRV gap either disappears into the room or reveals itself as the wrong color.
When the Benjamin Moore match works (and when to stay Sherwin-Williams)
- Your painter or contractor already carries Benjamin Moore, and reordering within one line keeps sheen, coverage, and touch-ups consistent across the whole job.
- You want the room to read a hair lighter and airier: Coventry Gray, and especially Stonington Gray, open up a dim space a little more than Morning Fog does. If you love Morning Fog's exact blue-violet balance, read the Morning Fog undertones and best rooms breakdown first, then decide how much shift you can live with.
- You are matching chips across brands and want a method that holds up under your own light: our guide to comparing paint colors the right way walks through LRV, undertone, and the sample test, so a close match does not surprise you later.
- Stay Sherwin-Williams when the rest of your palette (trim, cabinets, adjacent rooms) is already specified in SW colors. Matching within one deck removes guesswork, and Morning Fog itself is easy to source nationwide.
Related matches
If you are matching a whole palette across brands, you are probably juggling more than one Sherwin-Williams color. We use the same closest-match method, with the same honesty about the deltas, for two others people cross-shop constantly: the Benjamin Moore match for Riverway and the Benjamin Moore match for Colonnade Gray. Same approach, same numbers-first honesty, so you can plan the trim and the walls with confidence.
Frequently asked questions
What is the closest Benjamin Moore equivalent of Morning Fog?
The closest widely recommended Benjamin Moore match is Coventry Gray (HC-169), at roughly LRV 48 against Morning Fog's LRV 42. It is the same cool, near-neutral gray with a quiet blue cast, reading a few points lighter and a touch less violet. Stonington Gray (HC-170), near LRV 59, is the more popular online pick, but it runs clearly lighter and airier. Neither is an official equivalent, so the safe move is to test both on your own wall before you commit.
Is there a Behr version of Morning Fog?
Behr does not publish an official Morning Fog match, but Tin Foil (N500-3) is the closest by color distance, a soft cool gray at roughly LRV 42 that lands almost exactly on Morning Fog's value. It can read a hair greener and less violet depending on your light, so treat it as the closest Behr match rather than an exact copy, and confirm it with a sample on your wall.
Why do the LRV numbers differ slightly between brands?
Each brand mixes color on its own tint base and publishes LRV from its own measurements, so two colors that look like twins on a fan deck can differ by a few points. A gap like Morning Fog at 42 versus Coventry Gray at 48 is small enough to read as the same family in most rooms, though the Benjamin Moore option will look a little airier in low light. That is why we always say to test.
Will the Benjamin Moore match look exactly like Morning Fog on my wall?
Probably close, but not identical. Undertone, sheen, and your room's light all nudge the final result, and hex or RGB previews are only digital approximations of a physical chip. The only way to be sure is to sample the Benjamin Moore match and Morning Fog side by side on the actual wall, in daylight and at night, before you buy the gallon.
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Trademark notice. Sherwin-Williams and Morning Fog, 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.
