Millstone Gray vs Bancha
Where Millstone Gray belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, Bancha is a Farrow & Ball color. Hue-wise, Millstone Gray belongs to the grey family and Bancha to the beige-greige family. Millstone Gray (LRV 17) reflects noticeably more light than Bancha (LRV 13), a difference of 4 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Millstone Gray runs green while Bancha is decidedly warm, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 17.0, 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 4 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Millstone Gray vs Bancha in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. Seeing Millstone Gray and Bancha 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 brightness difference is modest but present — Millstone Gray gives the walls a little more lift.
Bedroom
The context that matters most in a bedroom is how a color reads under a bedside lamp at night, not under noon daylight. Millstone Gray reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
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. Millstone Gray reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Millstone Gray reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Color Details
Millstone Gray vs Bancha Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Millstone Gray on one side and Bancha 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 Millstone Gray comparisons
See how Millstone Gray stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 83 vs 17, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
Ammonite reflects far more light (LRV 69 vs 17), opening up a space where Millstone Gray encloses it.
A 11-point LRV gap (17 vs 6) makes Millstone Gray the marginally brighter of the two.
Purbeck Stone reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 17), opening up a space where Millstone Gray encloses it.
Evergreen Fog reflects far more light (LRV 30 vs 17), opening up a space where Millstone Gray encloses it.
At LRV 52 vs 17, Mizzle is decisively the brighter choice.
Agreeable Gray reflects far more light (LRV 60 vs 17), opening up a space where Millstone Gray encloses it.
At LRV 58 vs 17, Accessible Beige is decisively the brighter choice.
A 10-point LRV gap (27 vs 17) makes Denim Drift the marginally brighter of the two.
French Gray reflects far more light (LRV 43 vs 17), opening up a space where Millstone Gray encloses it.
Millstone Gray reflects far more light (LRV 17 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
At LRV 55 vs 17, Tranquil Dawn is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 44 vs 17, Hardwick White is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 17), opening up a space where Millstone Gray encloses it.
Artichoke reads slightly lighter (LRV 21 vs 17), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 66 vs 17, Balboa Mist is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 74 vs 17, Shoji White is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 83 vs 17, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
A 5-point LRV gap (17 vs 12) makes Millstone Gray the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 68 vs 17, Skimming Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
Dix Blue reflects far more light (LRV 41 vs 17), opening up a space where Millstone Gray encloses it.
Calamine reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 17), opening up a space where Millstone Gray encloses it.
Treron reads slightly lighter (LRV 25 vs 17), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
A 5-point LRV gap (17 vs 12) makes Millstone Gray the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 45 vs 17, Saybrook Sage is decisively the brighter choice.
Pale Green reflects far more light (LRV 31 vs 17), opening up a space where Millstone Gray encloses it.
Millstone Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 17 vs 7), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Cement grey reads slightly lighter (LRV 24 vs 17), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Guilford Green reflects far more light (LRV 57 vs 17), opening up a space where Millstone Gray encloses it.
Just Walnut reflects far more light (LRV 72 vs 17), opening up a space where Millstone Gray encloses it.