Nocturnal Gray vs Van Buren Brown
Both from Benjamin Moore's palette. Hue-wise, Nocturnal Gray belongs to the blue-grey family and Van Buren Brown to the beige-greige family. Nocturnal Gray (LRV 14) reflects noticeably more light than Van Buren Brown (LRV 10), a difference of 4 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Nocturnal Gray runs blue while Van Buren Brown is decidedly red, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 17.7, 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.
Nocturnal Gray vs Van Buren Brown in Real Spaces
1 real room side by side. Seeing Nocturnal Gray and Van Buren Brown in actual rooms makes the difference concrete; browse the spaces below to get a feel for how each color lives on a wall.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Nocturnal Gray reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Color Details
Nocturnal Gray vs Van Buren Brown Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Nocturnal Gray on one side and Van Buren Brown 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 Nocturnal Gray comparisons
See how Nocturnal Gray stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
At LRV 69 vs 14, Ammonite is decisively the brighter choice.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 14), opening up a space where Nocturnal Gray encloses it.
Nocturnal Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 14 vs 6), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 52 vs 14, Purbeck Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 30 vs 14, Evergreen Fog is decisively the brighter choice.
Mizzle reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 14), opening up a space where Nocturnal Gray encloses it.
At LRV 60 vs 14, Agreeable Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Accessible Beige reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 14), opening up a space where Nocturnal Gray encloses it.
Denim Drift reflects far more light (LRV 27 vs 14), opening up a space where Nocturnal Gray encloses it.
At LRV 43 vs 14, French Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
A 9-point LRV gap (14 vs 4) makes Nocturnal Gray the marginally brighter of the two.
Tranquil Dawn reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 14), opening up a space where Nocturnal Gray encloses it.
With LRVs of 14 and 13, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Hardwick White reflects far more light (LRV 44 vs 14), opening up a space where Nocturnal Gray encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 14, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
A 8-point LRV gap (21 vs 14) makes Artichoke the marginally brighter of the two.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 14), opening up a space where Nocturnal Gray encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 14), opening up a space where Nocturnal Gray encloses it.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 14), opening up a space where Nocturnal Gray encloses it.
At LRV 51 vs 14, Pigeon is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 14 and 12, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Nocturnal Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 14 vs 8), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 14), opening up a space where Nocturnal Gray encloses it.
At LRV 41 vs 14, Dix Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
With LRVs of 14 and 12, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Saybrook Sage reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 14), opening up a space where Nocturnal Gray encloses it.
At LRV 31 vs 14, Pale Green is decisively the brighter choice.