Pencil Sketch vs Balboa Mist
Where Pencil Sketch belongs to Behr's range, Balboa Mist is a Benjamin Moore color. Pencil Sketch reads as grey, while Balboa Mist reads as beige-greige — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. Balboa Mist (LRV 66) reflects noticeably more light than Pencil Sketch (LRV 33), a difference of 32 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Pencil Sketch runs blue while Balboa Mist is decidedly red, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 22.2, the contrast is hard to miss. These aren't variations on a theme — they're two different answers to the same question. Below you'll find 1 real-room photo comparison where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Pencil Sketch vs Balboa Mist in Real Spaces
1 real room side by side. Seeing Pencil Sketch and Balboa Mist in actual rooms makes the difference concrete; browse the spaces below to get a feel for how each color lives on a wall.
House
Seen across an entire facade, subtle tonal differences become pronounced. What reads as nearly the same on a chip often reads as clearly different at scale. Balboa Mist reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Pencil Sketch.
Color Details
Pencil Sketch vs Balboa Mist Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Pencil Sketch on one side and Balboa Mist on the other.
Digital color is approximate. These simulations are generated from the manufacturer's hex values and overlaid on grayscale room photos — your screen's calibration, brightness, and viewing angle all affect how they render. Before committing to either color, test physical samples in your own space under the light you actually live with.
More Pencil Sketch comparisons
See how Pencil Sketch stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
