Are you wondering what all the fuss about Benjamin Moore’s Gentle Cream, aka Barely Beige color, is? Do you want to know why most interior designers recommend applying this shade to your rooms?
Or do you want to know which neutral color will vibe best with your personality? If you are struggling with the above scenarios, here is a review on Natural Cream Benjamin Moore paint shade.
According to the National Painting Week Color Psychology Study conducted by Harris Poll, it was revealed that the favorite hue of Americans was blue. However, the choice of colors varies greatly from one individual to another, just like our choice for food perhaps.
So, let’s dive deep into this review of Benjamin Moore’s Gentle Cream, aka Barely Beige paint shade.
What is the Uniqueness of Natural Cream Benjamin Moore?
So many of you might be in doubt whether Benjamin Moore’s Gentle Cream is the same shade as Barely Beige. The answer is yes. They are the names of the same paint shade. That’s why they have the same appearance. However, this color is unique compared to all other cream shades in the market, and its USP lies in its uniqueness.
So, if you are wondering what makes it so unique in the crowd, here’s what you need to know.
Benjamin Moore’s Gentle Cream is a natural cream shade. It isn’t soft, faint, or light in appearance. Natural Cream Benjamin Moore is a darker cream color sans the yellowishness of most interior cream-colored paints. This shade of cream has a dense texture. It is not light in appearance, unlike most cream paints but rather has a heavy presence that sets it apart from other cream paints.
It is neither wimpy cream nor the color of fresh cream. The cream color of Benjamin Moore’s Gentle Cream interior paint shade is inviting, has a warm appeal, and has a soft touch. Gentle Cream belongs to the off-white collection and has a code of OC-96. It adds the right amount of warmth and depth to a room.
What is the LRV of Benjamin Moore’s Gentle Cream?
LRV is the acronym for Light Reflectance Value (LRV). It is the measure of the amount of visible light that the color is either capable of reflecting from the painted walls or absorbing into the walls. The LRV value is measured on a scale of 0-100, with 0 being pure black and 100 being pure white. So, generally, the higher the LRV value, the more it will reflect natural light and artificial light rather than absorb it and vice-versa. Paint shades with higher LRV can be used to create an illuminated room.
Thus, the LRV value guides interior designers to understand how light or dark colors would appear when the paint is applied to the walls. Also, it will help them determine how many light fixtures for artificial light would be needed in a room based on the shade applied and the amount of natural light the room already has access to.
Your Natural Cream Benjamin Moore paint shade has an LRV of 71.32. This largely plays a part in making Gentle Cream a heavy cream shade. Most cream paints have an LRV value of 80, making them fall in the off-white range.
When a paint color has an LRV value of around 71, you would expect that natural light will fade out the color, but on the contrary, Gentle Cream settles down on the walls and creates a subtle cream hue.
What is the Undertone of Benjamin Moore’s Gentle Cream?
The undertone of color plays a crucial role whether you are choosing a wall paint or your face foundation. For a color to have a warm undertone, it should have a red, orange, or yellow tint in it, whereas to have a cool undertone, the color needs to have blue, green, or gray tints.
The Natural Cream of Benjamin Moore is a well-balanced mix of yellow and orange undertones. It has more yellow than orange. Further, it uses a base of earth-colored beige. Therefore, this whole combination makes the color subtle and neutral, yet not intense or too bright.
Benefits of Natural Cream of Benjamin Moore
Here are the benefits of going with neutral shades:
1. Freedom of Designing
Applying neutral colors like Natural Cream Benjamin Moore means freedom from limited color schemes. Neutral shades can work with plenty of shades, so designing them in more than one way is absolutely possible. Plus, you can exercise plenty of freedom when it comes to choosing furniture colors.
In a few years, if you want to revamp the space, you can do so without inhibitions and the need to repaint the walls. Buying new furniture and accent pieces is no longer a problem with Gentle Cream paint.
2. Versatile Accent Walls and Warmth
If you are a fan of accent walls, you can color one of the walls in brilliant dark shades and the other walls in neutral colors. Some accent wall colors that will go well with Natural Cream Benjamin Moore are red and plum.
Neutral shades like Benjamin Moore’s Gentle Cream exude a lot of warmth compared to other neutral shades. Therefore, rather than being boring, Gentle Cream is an inviting and appealing color.
4. Soothing Color and Agelessness
As this shade has a yellow undertone, it appears to be a soothing color that is effective in creating the right ambiance from your living room to your bedroom. Besides exuding warmth, it can positively affect your mind and body and help you calm down naturally.
Natural Cream from Benjamin Moore is a shade that can make your walls timeless. Neutral shades never go out of fashion. Whenever you get bored, you can create a new accent wall, revamp the space with some new furniture, add wallpaper, and voila! Your space feels as good as new.
Decoration Tips Using Natural Cream Benjamin Moore’s Paint
- Dark Room: It can go well in dark rooms where you get less or no natural light. As the gentle cream shade has a high LRV value of 71, it automatically reflects white light, thereby making the room appear well-lit or illuminated. It will also reflect artificial light, thereby making the room less dark. Also, the warm undertone will become predominant.
- North or South Facing Room: When a room faces north light, it is generally cool in tone and grayish blue in color. Northern light is analogous to the East’s afternoon light. So, this tends to tone down Gentle Cream naturally a bit, but it will retain the original warmth of the color. So, Gentle Cream is more subtle in northern natural light.
Other than the above tips, you may remember that Gentle Cream resonates well with wood tones like maple and oak. You may also want to stick to metal velvet and wood for accenting this shade by Benjamin Moore.
Final Thoughts
So, we have given you an extensive round-up on Natural Cream Benjamin Moore in this review. You also know the advantages of going with a neutral shade like Benjamin Moore’s Gentle Cream. Gentle Cream can match with dark color accent walls. Furthermore, you can decorate it with any kind of furniture color. With Gentle Cream, you don’t need to worry about repainting the walls again and again.
This color is great for all kinds of rooms, be it your living room walls or your bedroom walls. It has the ideal LRV value of 71, which makes it a reliable choice for most kinds of home interiors. According to the Americans with Disability Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG), a color with 70% LRV is recommended for homes housing people with visual impairment.
So, next time you are thinking of repainting, you can safely choose Gentle Cream as your perfect shade. Some similar colors of Benjamin Moore to Gentle Cream are Vanilla Ice Cream, Simply White, and Golden Straw.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Difference Between Beige Cream and Tan?
The biggest parity between beige and tan is that beige is pale in appearance with a gray undertone, while tan has more of a brownish tinge. Tan lacks a yellow or gray undertone, unlike cream and beige colors. Tan color is also warmer than beige and cream shades.
What is Undertone Cream?
Well, the cream color has a yellow undertone and is a warm-toned color. The cream color is quite popular when it comes to painting rooms because it can go with every room type and is great for people who prefer to go with neutral shades.
Is Cream Beige Warm or Cool?
If you look at the interior palette, you will see that it’s divided into warm and cool-toned colors. So, red, yellow, orange, and beige fall in the warm-toned spectrum, while blue, grays, and greens fall in the cool-toned spectrum.
Which Color is Best for Cream Color?
Some of the best colors that go well with the cream shade are green, red, gold, deep yellow, peach, white, and brown. Another shade that suits well with Gentle Cream is plum. These colors can be used to create an accent wall. A deeper shade with cream color makes your room look gorgeous and breaks the monotony of a monotone color.
