Our Review of Benjamin Moore’s Rockport Gray
By: Sarah
Benjamin Moore Rockport Gray is one of our go-to warm neutral exterior paint colors. While it has ‘gray’ in the name, we’d actually classify it as more of a greige (gray-meets-beige). Dig into this paint color review for Rockport Gray’s technical specs, how our exterior designers like using it, paint colors and materials that we often pair it with, and more.
When painting exteriors in particular, there are so many factors that come into play in determining how a paint color will read: natural light, landscaping, which direction your home faces, the material you’re painting, etc. Our skilled exterior designers take all of this into account when rendering designs. That’s why the visualizations in this post may seem lighter or darker, even though they’re all featuring Rockport Gray. When you partner with us on an exterior design, we’ll put our knowledge to work for your home in particular. Learn more about how it works.
Rockport Gray: The Specs
Benjamin Moore Rockport Gray has an LRV of 35.65, meaning it’s a medium-toned paint color. (LRV = light reflectance value. Learn what exactly that means and why it matters here.) Its depth is warm and inviting. It feels solidly greige in the shade but warms up quite a bit in the sun.
While Rockport Gray is a neutral, it does have a green undertone that’s worth noting. All paint colors have undertones, and they’re part of why it’s so important to test before you commit!
Recommended Applications for Rockport Gray
Our exterior designers use Rockport Gray on all sorts of cladding, from siding to brick to stucco. It makes a fantastic field color and also works well in color-blocked designs.
We tend to use this warm greige on traditional and transitional homes — its cozy warmth lends itself to Cape Cod-style homes, modern Craftsman façades, and traditional two-stories.
Rockport Gray Paint Color Pairings
Because of its warmth, we tend to use Rockport Gray in concert with other warm colors. Above, we’ve paired it with two other Benjamin Moore paint colors: Seapearl on the horizontal siding and Simply White on the trim, eaves, and soffit. Below, it’s used along side Aloof Gray by Sherwin Williams on the brick.
Other paint colors we love with Rockport Gray include Moderne White by Sherwin Williams and Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore.
As far as other colors and materials go, Rockport Gray is versatile and works well with all sorts of textures and tones. It plays nicely with black and near-black elements, looks gorgeous with warm wood stains across the color spectrum, and pairs beautifully with natural stone. It can even work against red brick (see #8 in this post), which is one of the hardest building materials to design with!
Pros & Cons of Benjamin Moore’s Rockport Gray
PROS:
- Warm and welcoming
- Versatile and easy to play with in an exterior color scheme
- Timeless
CONS:
- Can read very warm in settings that get lots of natural light
- Not a great fit for ultra-modern designs or homeowners looking to make a dramatic statement with their curb appeal
Rockport Gray Alternatives
These are the paint colors in the brick&batten repertoire that are most similar to Rockport Gray.
Sherwin Williams’ Fawn Brindle
Sherwin Williams’ Fawn Brindle (used alongside the lighter Revere Pewter, above) has an LRV of 36 and is the closest match to Rockport Gray for clients who prefer Sherwin Williams’ lineup or simply find it easier to locate in their area.
We always recommend sampling and testing paint colors before committing. Factors such as natural lighting, undertones, and your property’s fixed elements will have a significant impact on how a color will appear on your exterior. Our friends at Samplize offer extra-large 9 x 14.75 inch peel-and-stick paint samples of the colors we love for exteriors. Order your ‘Real Paint, No Mess’ samples from Samplize here.
Benjamin Moore’s River Reflections
With an LRV of 34.24, River Reflections by Benjamin Moore is just slightly lighter than Rockport Gray. It’s more of a taupe than a greige, but it still has a touch of a green undertone.
Benjamin Moore’s Jockey Hollow Gray
Jockey Hollow Gray is almost a blend of a green and a greige, reading as much more noticeably green than others on this list. However, that can serve it well in certain environments, such as in the desert setting above. It has an LRV of 39.47, so it’s darker than Rockport Gray.
Sherwin Williams’ Dorian Gray
Used on the upper level siding in the home above, and featured in one of our recent exterior paint color reviews, Sherwin Williams’ Dorian Gray is our final recommended alternative to Rockport Gray. With an LRV of 39, it’s a few shades more reflective than Rockport Gray and actually feels more like a gray than a greige.
The Bottom Line on Benjamin Moore’s Rockport Gray
As a warm, approachable exterior paint color, Rockport Gray might just be part of the updated color palette your home’s façade could use!
Exterior paint colors are one piece of the curb appeal puzzle. And while your paint color choice is important, there’s so much more to consider with exterior design! Fixed elements, exterior lighting, front doors, windows, garage doors… That’s why it makes sense to turn to experts like us before committing to costly updates. We help you see your home’s potential so you can use it to guide the renovation process. Interested in what your view from the street could be? Get started on your custom design today!
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