Barren Plain vs Mineral Alloy
Both from Benjamin Moore's palette. Barren Plain reads as greige-grey, while Mineral Alloy reads as blue-grey — two distinct hue families, not close cousins. Barren Plain (LRV 62) reflects noticeably more light than Mineral Alloy (LRV 28), a difference of 34 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Barren Plain runs red while Mineral Alloy is decidedly blue, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 27.3, 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 3 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Barren Plain vs Mineral Alloy in Real Spaces
3 real rooms side by side. Seeing Barren Plain and Mineral Alloy in actual rooms makes the difference concrete; browse the spaces below to get a feel for how each color lives on a wall.
Living Room
In a living room, color works across both daylight and evening light — the same wall can read very differently at noon and at 8pm. The LRV gap is large enough that Barren Plain will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Mineral Alloy would.
Dining Room
A dining room lit by a dimmed pendant or candles is one of the most forgiving environments for paint — warm light softens almost everything. Barren Plain returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Bathroom
Bathrooms are one of the few spaces where you're genuinely enclosed by the paint color, which makes the choice between these two more consequential. Barren Plain reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Mineral Alloy.
Color Details
Barren Plain vs Mineral Alloy Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Barren Plain on one side and Mineral Alloy 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 Barren Plain comparisons
See how Barren Plain stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
