Cotton Grey (PPU18-22)
A cool, clean white-gray. Like unbleached cotton. Lighter than Smoky White, cooler than Painter's White.
About Behr Cotton Grey
Cotton Grey (PPU18-22) is a white from Behr's collection with an LRV of 80 and cool cotton white undertones. A cool, clean white-gray. Like unbleached cotton. Lighter than Smoky White, cooler than Painter's White.
As a very light color, Cotton Grey reflects a significant amount of light back into the room, making it an excellent choice for spaces where you want maximum brightness. It works as both a wall color and a trim or cabinet color, and it is light enough to use throughout an entire home without any room feeling closed in or dark. The high LRV means it will look bright even in rooms with limited natural light, though the undertones may shift depending on your light source.
Light Reflectance Value (LRV)
Cotton Grey has an LRV of 80, placing it in the very light range on the 0-to-100 scale. LRV measures the percentage of visible light a color reflects. A pure black has an LRV of 0 and a pure white has an LRV of 100. Understanding a color's LRV helps you predict how it will feel in your space: higher LRV means brighter and more spacious, lower LRV means cozier and more intimate.
Undertone Analysis
Cotton Grey has cool cotton white undertones. Undertones are the subtle background colors that become visible in different lighting conditions. Even colors that look "neutral" in the store will reveal their undertones once they are on your walls and interacting with natural light, artificial light, and the colors around them.
A cool, clean white-gray. Like unbleached cotton. Lighter than Smoky White, cooler than Painter's White. Cool undertones like these pair naturally with other cool elements: gray-toned wood, chrome and silver hardware, white marble, and cool-toned textiles. They can feel disconnected from strongly warm elements like honey oak or brass, so consider your existing finishes before committing.
Lighting Behavior
Clean and cool. Functions as a bright cool white in most rooms.
Every paint color looks different depending on the light source in your room. South-facing rooms get warm, direct sunlight that brings out yellow and warm undertones. North-facing rooms get cool, indirect light that emphasizes blue and gray undertones. East-facing rooms are bright and warm in the morning, cooler in the afternoon. West-facing rooms are the opposite: cool morning, warm afternoon. Incandescent and warm LED bulbs push colors warmer, while cool-white LEDs and fluorescent tubes push colors cooler. To avoid surprises, always test Cotton Grey with a physical sample on your actual wall, and observe it at different times of day before committing.
Best Rooms for Cotton Grey
Behr recommends Cotton Grey for: trim, ceilings, cabinets, whole house, bathroom.
Cotton Grey is versatile enough to use as a whole-house color, providing a consistent, cohesive look as you move from room to room. Whole-house colors need to work in multiple lighting conditions and alongside various furnishings, which is why a balanced LRV (80) and manageable undertones are essential. Cotton Grey handles this well. As a trim color, Cotton Grey provides a clean frame for wall colors without the starkness of a pure white. It softens the transition between wall and trim while still reading as "white" in most contexts. On kitchen and bathroom cabinets, Cotton Grey offers a fresh, clean look. Cabinet colors are seen up close and under task lighting, so the undertones matter even more than on walls.
Closest Matches in Other Brands
Find the closest equivalent to Behr Cotton Grey from other paint brands. Matches are calculated using Delta E (CIE2000), the industry standard for measuring perceptual color difference.
Sherwin Williams Matches
Benjamin Moore Matches
Coordinating Colors
These colors pair beautifully with Cotton Grey for a cohesive palette. Use them for trim, accents, adjacent rooms, or furniture to create a well-designed space.
Frequently Asked Questions
The closest Sherwin Williams match for Behr Cotton Grey is Argos (SW 7065) with a Delta E of 4, which rates as a "good match" match. Argos is grayer. A Delta E under 2 means most people cannot tell the colors apart, while 2 to 4 means the difference is subtle.
Cotton Grey has cool cotton white undertones. A cool, clean white-gray. Like unbleached cotton. Lighter than Smoky White, cooler than Painter's White. Undertones become most visible when the color is on a large surface like a wall, and they shift depending on the light source in your room. Always test with a physical sample in your specific space to see how the undertones interact with your lighting, flooring, and furnishings.
Cotton Grey (PPU18-22) has a Light Reflectance Value (LRV) of 80, which puts it in the very light range. LRV measures the percentage of light a color reflects on a scale from 0 (pure black) to 100 (pure white). At 80, this is a light color that will keep rooms feeling bright and open.
Cotton Grey leans cool. The cool cotton white undertones give it a crisp, fresh quality. It pairs well with chrome, silver, cool-toned wood, and white marble. In south-facing rooms with warm light, the cool undertones help keep the color from feeling too warm.
Color data sourced from manufacturer specifications. Match calculations use Delta E (CIE2000) computed from Lab color space conversion. Last reviewed: March 22, 2026.