Porous Stone
Dunn-Edwards' sandy mid greige, reviewed honestly: the rooms where it behaves like a workhorse, the light that turns it drab, and what to pick instead.
Jessica has spec'd whites and neutrals for more than 300 rooms and keeps a sample wall of painted drawdowns in her studio. Every color review is checked against real reader rooms in the comments and re-tested when a formula changes. About the testing process →
- 1Dorian Gray39
- 2Mindful Gray48
- 3Porous Stone57
- 4Pale Oak69
- 5Shoji White74
The Fast Verdict
Porous Stone is the greige Dunn-Edwards counters actually sell: a mid-depth sandy neutral at LRV 57 that sits between beige and gray and does the Revere Pewter job in a Western can. In real south or west daylight it reads warm, finished, and quietly earthy. In a dim north room the sand drops out and you are left with a flat gray that sometimes flashes green. It has never been a Color of the Year. It does not need to be — it is a volume color, not a launch.
Whole-house walls in real Western daylight · open main floors with oak · hallways that have to hand off to other rooms · anyone who wants the Revere Pewter job in a Dunn-Edwards can
The room faces north and stays dim · you actually wanted a true gray · trim is staying cream or paper-white · the stone or LVP is cool gray or violet
- Sandy mid greige that actually behaves on a whole main floor
- LRV 57 holds a scuff and a shadow without closing the room in
- The Dunn-Edwards can for the Revere Pewter / Agreeable Gray job
- Kind to oak, walnut, brass, and warm stone
- Holds up on Western exteriors — reads as stone, not paint
- Goes drab gray — sometimes green-gray — in dim north light
- Not a true gray; afternoon sun names the sand
- Fights cream trim and cool gray or violet stone
- Too quiet if you wanted a color guests can name
What Color Is Porous Stone, Really?
A sandy mid greige with almost no chroma — beige and gray sharing the same can. Dunn-Edwards files DE6220 in the Cool Neutrals half of the Perfect Palette, then describes it as a warm greige, and that split is the honest read: it is cool enough to pass for gray on a cloudy morning and warm enough to look like stone in afternoon sun. Houzz threads have treated it as the Dunn-Edwards stand-in for Revere Pewter since at least 2009; the brand's own color desk has named Heather as the closer match, which tells you how many homeowners already had Porous Stone on the wall. The company's 2023 popular-neutrals list ranks it fourth among its grays, behind Fossil, Foggy Day, and Muslin. That is a workhorse ranking, not a celebrity one.
At LRV 57 it sits in the same depth band as Revere Pewter (LRV 56), Worldly Gray (LRV 57), and Accessible Beige (LRV 58), a few points under Agreeable Gray (LRV 60). That number is the useful part. It is dark enough to hold a shadow and hide a scuff, light enough to run an open main floor without closing the room in. Put it next to Fine Grain (LRV 59) and Porous Stone is the sandier, slightly deeper sibling; Fine Grain is the more balanced gray-beige from the Warm Neutrals side of the same deck. Put it next to Fossil (LRV 81) and it suddenly looks like a real wall color, not a near-white.
Undertone in one line: sandy yellow first, a gray second — never pink, never blue. The Munsell is 4.49Y at chroma 0.9, which is a yellow so quiet it only speaks up when the light goes wrong. In south sun it is a warm stone. In north or overcast light the yellow drops and a drab gray — sometimes a green-gray — comes forward, which is why one Houzz owner called the walls gray with a green undertone after painting the main rooms. If your sample looks beige, you have real sun. If it looks dirty or faintly green, look at the light and the floor before you blame the gallon.
Where It Shines
Give it real daylight, warm wood, and a soft white on the trim and it does the unglamorous thing a mid greige is supposed to do: disappear into a finished house. Open living rooms and hallways are the rooms it was mixed for — the same color can run room to room without picking a fight. Western exteriors are the second home: a modern Rancho Mirage house on Houzz used it as the body color in desert sun, where the sandy side reads like stucco instead of paint. Pair it with Whisper or Dunn-Edwards Swiss Coffee on the woodwork, oak or walnut underfoot, and brass or bronze on the hardware.
Where It Fails
Almost every unhappy Porous Stone story is a mid-greige story in a Western can. The sand is real, it is small, and three situations make it loud. None of them are a bad mix — but if your room matches one, another coat will not hide it.
North light is cool and grey, and Porous Stone has almost no chroma to push back with. The sand drops out and the wall goes drab — flat gray, sometimes a green-gray people describe as dirty or institutional. Warm lamps help after dark and do nothing at 2 p.m. Step warmer to Accessible Beige (LRV 58), or keep this color for rooms with real sun.
On the chip, in a store, it can pass for a medium gray with a little warmth. On four walls in afternoon sun the sand is unmistakable — not yellow, not tan, just clearly not gray. If a true gray is the goal, Repose Gray (LRV 58) is the cooler Sherwin-Williams answer; Fossil (LRV 81) is the light, quiet Dunn-Edwards gray. This can is a greige. Buying it as a gray is how you end up repainting.
A yellow-cream on the millwork — a leftover builder antique white — shoves Porous Stone toward dirty gray, and both colors lose. A paper-white at LRV 93 (Warm White) can do the opposite trick and make the walls look dingy by comparison. Extra White (LRV 86) does a cooler, sharper version of the same snap. Whisper (LRV 87) or Dunn-Edwards Swiss Coffee (LRV 83) is the trim that keeps the sand civil. Cool gray marble, violet-gray LVP, and blue-gray tile sit on the other side of the wheel and pull a green flash out of the wall — the same complaint Revere Pewter has lived with for twenty years.
Room by Room
South- and west-facing living rooms are where the sandy stone read shows up: warm, quiet, expensive next to oak and linen. Eggshell; Whisper or Dunn-Edwards Swiss Coffee on the trim in semi-gloss. A closed north parlor with one small window is the wrong place — the color goes drab and the sofa will not save it.
This is the use that turns a sample into five gallons. At LRV 57 it hands off to both cooler and warmer rooms without a visible temperature change, which is why people roll it through the main floor. Eggshell in the hall so fingerprints wipe. Put 2700K bulbs in a windowless landing before you judge it — cool cans will gray it out and pull the green.
On the field around oak, butcher block, brass, and warm stone it looks considered rather than builder. Satin on an island or a pantry can work; a whole kitchen of greige boxes is a stronger bet than most people think they are making. Cool gray quartz will argue — sample the wall above the actual slab. Pair the walls with Whisper on the cabinets so the greige has a soft edge to sit against; sample Warm White on the boxes only if you want a hard snap.
A south or west bedroom stays restful: sandy, quiet, not a color you wake up to. Matte or eggshell; the same soft white on the trim. A north cave needs a bigger sample and warm lamps, or pick Accessible Beige and keep the warmth the cool light would steal. Under 2700K bulbs it goes a touch more beige at night, which most people want in a bedroom.
With warm tile, wood vanities, and brass: fine. With cool gray marble, blue-gray porcelain, or chrome-only hardware: the sand looks yellow and the stone looks colder. Satin on the vanity, eggshell on the walls, a fan that actually runs. Small powder rooms with no window will read a step grayer than the chip — test at night with the bulbs you will keep.
Full desert or SoCal sun is kind to it: the sandy side reads like limestone or aged stucco instead of a painted box. A documented Rancho Mirage modern used it as the body color. Walk the shady north elevation with a sample — that side will read a full step grayer. Dark trim (Iron Ore, a true charcoal) keeps a greige house from looking unfinished; a cream body trim will make the field look dirty.
Your Light Is the Risk
Hard Western sun is the light this greige was mixed for. The sand comes forward, the gray stays underneath, and the wall reads like warm stone all afternoon.
Cool grey daylight strips the sand and leaves a flat, slightly dirty gray — sometimes a green-gray. Sample the darkest wall first, or pick a warmer can.
Grayer and quieter in morning east light; sandier and more beige through west afternoon and golden hour. Same paint, two honest reads. Expect the shift in an open plan.
2700K lamps push it cozy and beige. Cool 4000K LEDs pull the gray out and can wake the green. Swap the bulbs before you repaint.
Most complaints about Porous Stone are a light mismatch. Upload a photo of your actual room and see it on your walls — then ask for the same wall in north light or evening lamps before you buy a single sample.
Need It From Another Brand?
Any paint counter can custom-tint Dunn-Edwards DE6220 directly. If you would rather stay in one brand's own deck, these are the closest stock matches, measured as ΔE2000. Under 2 is a difference you will not see on the wall.
| Brand | Closest color | ΔE | LRV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherwin-Williams | AccoladeSW 9516 · Sherwin-Williams | 0.5 | 62 | Color page → |
| Behr | SawgrassN350-2 · Behr | 2.0 | 62 | Color page → |
| Benjamin Moore | Skipping StoneCSP-155 · Benjamin Moore | 0.5 | 63 | Color page → |
| Valspar | Secluded BeachV146-1 · Valspar | 1.1 | 62.4 | Color page → |
| PPG / Glidden | Crushed SilkPPG1024-3 · PPG / Glidden | 1.4 | 62 | Color page → |
| Glidden | Natural Linen40YY 60/103 · Glidden | 1.6 | 60 | Color page → |
Similar Dunn-Edwards Colors
The nearest shades to Porous Stone within Dunn-Edwards's own range, ranked by perceptual color distance — useful when you want the same look a touch lighter, darker, or warmer.
WCAG 2.1: AA is 4.5 : 1 for normal text, 3 : 1 for large text, AAA is 7 : 1.
Porous Stone vs the Colors You're Also Considering
Every Porous Stone sample board has the same rivals on it. The numbers show the real lightness gap — then it comes down to which risk you would rather live with.
Pick this if you paint with Dunn-Edwards and want the sandier, slightly cleaner version of the same mid-greige job.
Benjamin Moore HC-172 · LRV 56Revere PewterPick this if you want the famous greige every painter already knows — a touch deeper, with a greener risk in cool light.
Pick this when you want a touch more sand and a Dunn-Edwards can, not a chameleon.
Sherwin-Williams SW 7029 · LRV 60Agreeable GrayPick this for the slightly lighter national default that shifts less room to room — until cool light pulls a violet.
Porous Stone Coordinating Colors
The rule for coordinating with Porous Stone is the greige rule: stay on the warm side of the fence, and give the wall a soft white instead of a cream or a paper-white. It likes oak, walnut, brass, bronze, and muted sage; it argues with icy blues, cool gray stone, and leftover builder cream. These are the partners that keep showing up in rooms that work:
The Revere Pewter Question
If you found this page, you have probably already typed some version of Revere Pewter into a Dunn-Edwards search. Western homeowners have been doing that since at least 2009, when Houzz threads started naming Porous Stone as the store-counter equivalent. Dunn-Edwards' own reply on that thread pointed at Heather, not this can. Both things can be true: Porous Stone is the color people actually roll when they want that mid-greige job and their painter is already at a Dunn-Edwards dock, and it is sandier and a hair cleaner than the Benjamin Moore classic.
The risk profile is the same family, not the same paint. Revere Pewter's famous problem is a green flash against pink floors and a murky drop in north light. Porous Stone shares the north-light drab and can flash green-gray in the same cool rooms, but the afternoon read is sand, not putty-green. Agreeable Gray (LRV 60) is the slightly lighter national chameleon, with a violet flash instead of a green one when the light goes cold. None of the three is a Color of the Year. All three earn their keep by disappearing into a finished house.
Porous Stone With Wood Tones and Floors
Warm wood is the easy yes. Oak — red, white, or honey — walnut, butcher block, and cedar all sit comfortably against the sand because the yellow in the paint meets theirs halfway. Honey-oak builder floors, the ones that fight cool grays, are one of the reasons people land here instead of on Repose Gray.
The floors that need a sample first are the cool ones. Gray LVP, gray-washed oak, and violet-gray plank sit opposite a sandy greige, and the wall can pick up a green or yellow edge you will not see on the chip. Pink-toned tile and salmon carpet do the same geometry Revere Pewter is famous for: the floor goes pinker, the wall goes greener. A large rug helps. Replacing the floor is the real fix. Cream carpet is fine; true beige carpet just becomes more of the same.
Metals are simple: unlacquered brass, antique bronze, and matte black all work. Polished chrome is the one that leans cold and makes the sand look a little dingy. If the plumbing is staying chrome, warm the bulbs up before you judge the paint.
Three Ready Palettes Built on Porous Stone
A color is never alone on the wall. These are complete combinations in the 60-30-10 pattern, with the reason each one holds together. Every one opens in the visualizer.
Whisper is the Dunn-Edwards White Dove analog, so the wall-to-trim handoff stays on the warm side without a cream fight. Hale Navy is the single dark note an all-greige house needs on the door.
Try this palette in your roomDunn-Edwards Swiss Coffee is the warm Southwest cream, not a paper-white, so the cabinets glow instead of snapping cold against the greige. Light Sage sits at nearly the same LRV and needs real sun to read green — the same daylight Porous Stone wants.
Try this palette in your roomOutside, a true-white trim snap is what a greige body needs — Warm White is Dunn-Edwards' brightest white, not a cream. Iron Ore is a whole-house black that stays readable in desert sun, so the door and metal do not disappear at noon.
Try this palette in your roomPorous Stone FAQ
Is Porous Stone gray or beige?
Both — that is the point of a greige. In south or west light it reads sandy and warm; in north or overcast light it reads gray, sometimes with a green-gray cast. If you need it to stay one thing all day, this is the wrong color. Repose Gray stays grayer; Accessible Beige stays warmer.
Is it a match for Revere Pewter?
Close enough that Houzz has treated it that way for years, and not close enough that Dunn-Edwards agrees — the brand's own desk has named Heather as the nearer match. Porous Stone is sandier and a hair cleaner; Revere Pewter (LRV 56) is a touch deeper with a greener risk. Sample both if you can cross brands. If you are staying in Dunn-Edwards, this is the can people actually roll for that job.
What trim white goes with Porous Stone?
Whisper (DEW340, LRV 87) or Dunn-Edwards Swiss Coffee (DEW341, LRV 83). Both stay on the warm side without turning cream-yellow next to the sand. A paper-white like Warm White on interior trim can make the walls look dingy; a leftover builder cream shoves them toward dirty gray. Semi-gloss on the woodwork, eggshell on the walls.
Will it look green?
It can, in cool light or next to pink-toned floors and tile — the same geometry that makes Revere Pewter flash green. The undertone is sandy yellow at very low chroma, so north rooms, overcast days, and cool LEDs are what wake the green-gray. South sun does not. Test the darkest wall and the actual floor together.
Does it work on exteriors?
Yes, especially in Western sun, where it reads like limestone or aged stucco. A modern Rancho Mirage house used it as the body color. Pair it with a true-white trim and a near-black door, and walk the shady side of the house before you commit — that elevation will look a step grayer.
Is it too dated now that greige is everywhere?
It was never fashionable enough to date the way a celebrity greige dates. It is a 2000s Perfect Palette workhorse that stores still sell because it does a job, not because a palette launch put it on Instagram. If you want a room that feels chosen, pick something with an opinion. If you want the house to recede behind the furniture, this is still a safe can.
Have you painted with Porous Stone?
Rate it — one tap helps the next reader decide.
Ask a Question