Benjamin Moore Smoke
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Benjamin Moore Smoke is the prettiest soft blue gray paint color. It’s a spectacular cool blue tone that reflects outdoor elements like sky and water, and helps lighten and brighten any space.
It’s subtle, muted and yet bold enough to make a statement on your walls, cabinets, furniture and more. Read on to find out if Benjamin Moore Smoke is a good fit for your home!
Paint is one of my favorite ways to customize a room – lightening and brightening every space along the way.
We’ve had so many paint projects lately! From our basement bathroom to painting our new nightstands, the decisions feel endless but oh-so-exciting. In fact, the whole lake house interior was just repainted in Chantilly Lace.
One of the frequently asked questions I receive is about blue gray paint colors. I tested the prettiest options available and decided to use Benjamin Moore Smoke for this space because it leans blue while feeling soft.
Find all my favorite paint colors and the best paint tutorials to help you create the home of your dreams in a color scheme you’ll be proud to share with friends. I’ve included Smoke in my favorite Blue Gray Paint Colors, and it’s easy to see why.
Table of Contents
Benjamin Moore Smoke
We have decorated our lake cottage in a Coastal Modern style. A combination of timeless blues and whites throughout this home have turned it into the calming retreat we’ve always dreamt about.
One of my favorite things about this home is the indoor/outdoor access. We use our garage for so much more than car storage, of course! This space holds countless pairs of flip flops, lake toys big and small, and it even gives us direct access to our new vinyl deck.
With that in mind, we wanted to create a little mudroom style area that would blend the inside of our home with the outside. We’ve added storage with a peg rail system and a dose of charm with the prettiest blue color on the new beadboard.
While it’s technically considered a gray on the Benjamin Moore paint chart, it blends well with deeper blues like Hale Navy, warm cream tones like Soft Chamois, and even mushroom and greige-toned neutrals like Pale Oak.
Why You’ll Love this Color
- Cool and Calm
- Subtle, but can still make a sophisticated statement
- Pairs beautifully with a variety of whites, creams and deeper blues
- Brings the outdoors in
- Beautiful with white oak floors, and even wall to wall carpeting
Benjamin Moore Smoke Details
Smoke by Benjamin Moore (2122-40) is a striking, soft blue gray with cool undertones.
Works Well For
- Furniture
- Interior Walls
- Cabinets (Consider this color for a mud room or laundry room cabinet color)
- Exterior accents like shutters, front doors or outdoor furniture
Feels
- day – warmer, often reading more of a truer blue
- evening – a touch more gray tones tend to show up under LED light bulbs
BM Smoke LRV
Benjamin Moore Smoke has an LRV of 56.49.
As a reminder, LRV (Light Reflectance Value) measures the percentage of light that is reflected from a surface. This measurement system is commonly used by design professionals and helps to show the light and bright level of a color.
The higher the number, the more light that paint color reflects. So the more “white” a paint color is, the higher the number on a scale of 0-100. The LRV of Smoke from Benjamin Moore is somewhere in the middle of the charts. For example, Hale Navy (a much darker color) has an LRV of 8, and White Dove has an LRV of 85.
Styles it Fits
- traditional
- country
- modern
- contemporary
- transitional
Similar to
- Benjamin Moore Wales Gray
- Benjamin Moore Silver Gray
- Sherwin Williams Krypton
- Benjamin Moore Boothbay Gray
Undertones
- Blue
- Slight Green (the colors next to Smoke on the chart are Palest Pistachio and Cloudy Sky)
Trim and Ceiling Paint to Pair it With
Un-tinted white, Benjamin Moore White Dove, Sherwin Williams Everyday White, Simply White, Benjamin Moore Decorator’s White, or tone on tone trim (same color, just use a higher sheen for trim) or a hint of a soft cream.
To create a monochromatic paint scheme, paint the walls in eggshell and use semi-gloss for the trim in the same color. It looks and feels rich! You can learn more about trim paint here.
We paired this pretty color with Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace on the wall above the beadboard and surrounding areas.
Tips
- Don’t confuse this color with Benjamin Moore Pale Smoke (1584), which is much more of a pale greenish gray.
- In a North facing room, this color might feel a touch more cold.
- In these photos, you can see that the color reads lighter as you’re looking straight on. But the angled photos show more of the true color – it’s a real chameleon!
- Begin with a paint sample (or several) on the wall and look at it at several times of day, in different lighting.
- Try it on at least two walls in the same room or different sides of your exterior.
- Test it with any trim or accent colors you are considering.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Benjamin Moore Smoke gray or blue?
It’s actually both colors! This is a mid-tone gray color with blue and slight green undertones.
Is Smoke by Benjamin Moore cool or warm?
While this blue gray color technically reads more cool, it works beautifully for a warm and cozy home by creating a soft, calm, spa-inspired feeling.
Find the art pictured in this post here, and find a similar frame here. This is a 16 x 20.
You can also find my complimentary paint color chart here to keep all your paint colors organized!
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Maria Blatnick says
Hi. Love this! Could you share which white you used above the beadboard please? Thanks! 😊
Julie Blanner says
Hi Maria,
We paired this pretty color with Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace on the wall above the beadboard and surrounding areas.
Thank you, and have a wonderful week!
Julie
Cathy says
I was thinking of painting my island with BM smoke, and am not sure which white to use on rest of cabinets. I’m a little worried that Chantilly lace or Ice mist are too bright. Do you think White Dove with pair nicely? I think it should be a softer white. Do not have a lot of natural light. What are your thought? Not a huge kitchen either, but island a good size. living on the coast. Thank you.
Julie Blanner says
Hi Cathy,
I am not able to help with specific paint questions and consultations at this time! However, you might find my guide to paint samples helpful! My best advice is to buy some paint samples and test the colors next to your ceiling paint, trim paint and cabinetry, and study it throughout the day in different lighting situations. Check out my guide to paint samples here!
Good luck, and have a beautiful week!
Julie
Kim Tran says
I just painted a crystalline AF 485 in my MS. bedroom, and it looks great.
Now I ‘m looking for a color that can be paired well with that soft light green with a hint of gray in it, as an ascent wall. I had already got my walnut dark wood floor & same color for my furniture.
I need to find a soft color for that ascent wall to create a romantic feeling in that room. I got several samples to try on from a hint of violet 2114 60 reverse pewter to light pink or even French lilac. And I just don’t see it paired really well with that crystalline AF 485. So I just use white heroin OC 57 for now.
It seems to be alright but no romantic feeling. I have read several articles on your website and I really interest in your ideas & suggestion for my modern farm house style that I can really apply to my next project on renovation on my laundry room & mud room. My question here is whether you have any suggestions in that ascent wall regard. Thank you very much for your time & effort.
Deb says
I just painted an attic bedroom smoke and find it’s a little bold. Should I try lightening it and if so by how much
Julie Blanner says
50%
Guadalupe Fuentes says
I love Benjamin Moore paints that is all I ever buy for my homes