Strand of Pearls®

This sits close to white on the light meter but keeps its yellow undertone clearly enough to be picked out of a lineup of whites. Benjamin Moore lists it as Strand of Pearls® (CSP-395).

72.2 on the light-reflectance scale puts it in the middle third, which is the part of the scale with the fewest surprises. At chroma 7.5 the yellow undertone is clear in daylight and softer under lamps.

In a room that gets little direct sun, this color's warmth does some of the work daylight would otherwise be doing. A dependable choice where a room gets good natural light and a pure white would feel sterile. If a second wall color is wanted in the same room, Dunn-Edwards Lighthouse keeps the jump obvious rather than muddy (roughly 18.1 LRV points from this one).

By the numbers, Sherwin-Williams Natural Choice (SW 7011) and this color are indistinguishable - delta-E 0, well under what the eye can separate. Matte or low-sheen suits it on walls; higher gloss will exaggerate the undertone.

It is lighter than 84 percent of the Benjamin Moore range. It is one of the quietest tans in the catalog, which is why it reads as a neutral on a large wall. Benjamin Moore lists it in the CSP codes, alongside 239 other colors.