The Land of Color: Recent Episodes
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Lori Sawaya, Color Strategist | Albert R. Sawaya II, EE, MBA • Metrology Expert
TL;DR: LRV measures one thing — the percentage of light a color reflects. It doesn’t measure boldness, depth, or “appropriateness” for a neighborhood; that’s not its job.
Published LRV numbers vary by source. Sometimes by several points for the same color from the same brand . Because brands don’t publicly verify the what, when, how of their published LRV values.
That makes LRV the wrong tool for a hard cutoff rule e.g. “nothing under LRV 35” applied across different paint brands, and it exposes an HOA to fair debate about enforcement.
So, what’s the solution? Identify one consistent source everyone agrees to and stick with it. For example, a date-stamped fandeck.
Table of Contents* Getting Into It * What LRV Is (and Isn’t) * Where LRV Numbers Actually Come From * Rubber Ruler Rules * Why LRV Is Controversial in Color Science * The Same Color, Five Different LRV Numbers * What This Means for HOAs Trying to Use LRV as a Hammer * The Fix: Pick a Lane and Stay In It * Why This Is Frustrating (and Why You Have to Live With It) * What About Custom Colors? * Where This Research Started * If Your HOA Wants This Rebuilt Properly * A Note on Custom LRV Data — and a Better Single Source * The Bottom Line Getting Into ItIf you sit on an architectural review committee, you’ve probably encountered Light Reflectance Value (LRV) at some point. It sounds reasonable — a number, a cutoff, a rule that treats every homeowner the same. “Nothing under LRV 40.” Clean. Fair.
Except it isn’t, and understanding why requires going deeper into color science than most HOA guidelines ever do. The science behind LRV is actually remarkable. The problem, however, is HOAs expect LRV to do a job it was never intended to do.
What LRV Is (and Isn’t)Light Reflectance Value measures one thing: the percentage of visible light a surface reflects, on a scale from 0 (theoretical pure black) to 100 (theoretical pure white). In practice, the darkest paints land around 3–5, and the whitest around 92–93. That’s it. That’s the whole job description.
LRV is not a measurement of “depth.” It’s not a measurement of boldness, warmth, mood, or how “loud” a color reads. Those are discernible qualities of color, and color science has dedicated tools for them — CIE L* Lightness and Munsell Value both quantify how light or dark a color appears, using different math and different reference structures than LRV.
If LRV already did everything bloggers and HOAs want it to do, those other values wouldn’t need to exist. Having separate metrics that supposedly measure the same thing would be sloppy science, and color science is not sloppy. Each one earns its place by measuring something the others don’t.
So when an HOA guideline says “no exterior color below LRV 35,” it’s using a light-versus-dark scale to try to regulate the visual light and dark weight of a color choice — not the right way to use LRV.
Where LRV Numbers Actually Come FromHere’s the question worth asking: when you look up a paint color and see ‘LRV 84,’ where did that number come from?
There are two possibilities. Either the brand physically measured a dried, cured paint chip with a spectrophotometer and recorded the result, or they calculated the LRV mathematically from the original color formulation and let that calculated number travel with the color everywhere it’s published.
The second is almost certainly what’s happening at scale. The formulation math produces the color recipe, and the formulation math produces the LRV notation, in the same pass.
Brands are trusting their formulation data — reasonable, since it’s their own proprietary system end to end.
What we couldn’t find is public documentation of manufacturers re-verifying LRV against physical chip measurements after the fact. Paint chemists on industry forums have noted that manufacturers don’t talk about which testing standards and instrument geometry they use, which is itself telling.
The formal reference standard for this kind of measurement is ASTM E1477, which specifies using a spectrophotometer calibrated to a known white standard, under standardized illumination, with the reflectance data weighted according to human eye sensitivity (the CIE Y tristimulus value, typically under D65 illuminant).
It’s specific. It’s also not something every brand necessarily applies identically — more on that below.
Rubber Ruler RulesHere’s the thing about color data: every number comes with conditions and a degree of uncertainty. That is not a flaw. It is the nature of quantifying color.
Color is not a purely physical property like length or weight. The color we perceive results from the interaction of light, a material surface, and the human visual system. LRV, CIE L*, Munsell Value, and Delta E each quantify a different part of that relationship.
LRV describes luminous reflectance, CIE L* and Munsell Value describe lightness, and Delta E estimates the difference between two colors. None captures the complete experience of seeing a color.
It is remarkable that color scientists developed standardized ways to quantify a perceptual experience with the consistency and repeatability colorimetry achieves. It is about as close to catching lightning in a bottle as measurement science gets.
But that’s also why it’s a different category of measurement than a tape measure against a 2×4.
My late husband Al spent his career as a metrology expert for the U.S. Air Force and later Honeywell Aerospace, calibrating instruments precise enough to park a fighter jet’s landing gear on a dime — literally.
He truly disliked the term “rubber ruler.” Coming from someone who spent a career in precision measurement, that tracks. But it also gets to the truth about LRV: unlike a physical dimension, it is not a single, pin-pointable value.
It’s a well-engineered approximation of something inherently perceptual, and treating it as absolute is where it goes off the rails.
Why LRV Is Controversial in Color ScienceIf LRV were an airtight, universally standardized number, organizations with regulatory teeth would have already tried to enforce it. They haven’t — and it’s worth looking at an example where LRV does show up in a legal-adjacent standard.
The 2025 ICC A117.1 accessibility standard (the code most U.S. jurisdictions reference for ADA-related signage) does use LRV in a formula: a required 65% contrast ratio between a sign’s characters and its background, calculated as [(B1 − B2) / B1] × 100, where B1 and B2 are the LRV of the two surfaces.
But notice what it actually regulates: the relative contrast between two colors, measured the same way, on the same material, side by side. It’s not used to declare that a single color, in isolation, is “too dark” or “too light” by some absolute cutoff — which is what an HOA guideline like “no LRV under 35” tries to do.
Even the U.S. Access Board’s own guidance on this standard concedes that measuring LRV accurately in the field is difficult and is affected by sign materials and lighting conditions.
And if they’re hedging on field accuracy and limits use to relative contrast rather than an absolute threshold, that tells you something about trying to use LRV as a blanket “no colors below X” rule for an entire neighborhood.
The deeper issue is that LRV values aren’t produced by one universal, tightly policed process. Different brands may use different instrument geometries (0/45 directional versus integrating-sphere measurement, for example), different illuminants or observer standards in their internal quality assurance, and — as covered above — different degrees of rigor in whether the number was ever verified against a physical sample.
Add to that the fact that gloss level changes how much light a surface reflects — a sphere spectrophotometer can measure the exact same sample two different ways, specular included (SPIN) or specular excluded (SPEX), and get two different numbers.
SPIN cancels out the gloss and reads color alone; SPEX reads the surface the way your eye actually sees it, sheen and all. Brands don’t publish which mode they used.
Stack that on top of everything else, and you’ve got several physical sources of variance sitting underneath a single two-digit number that gets treated as gospel.
The Same Color, Five Different LRV NumbersTo see this play out with a real color, look at Benjamin Moore’s notation for Lightning Bolt 323, an LRV of 82.82. Yet other widely used color-data sites publish 83, 84.58, 84.7 and nearly 87 for the same color. That is a spread of roughly four points.
The discrepancy doesn’t prove that five color labs measured the same chip and got five different answers. In many cases, the sites do not disclose whether the number came from a physical measurement, manufacturer data, or a calculation based on digital RGB or Lab values. And that lack of traceability is the problem
PPG officially lists Soft Cream PPG1205-2 at 84. Other published sources place it at 85, 85.09, approximately 85.8 and nearly 86. Again, the issue is not just rounding. It is that the provenance and methodology behind many published LRV values are unclear.
Now put the two brands’ official numbers side by side: Lightning Bolt at 82.82 and Soft Cream at 84 — close in LRV. And yet visually, the two colors read VERY different. Lightning Bolt is a higher-chroma yellow — bold, clean, saturated. Soft Cream is lower-chroma — softer, calmer, more muted.
Two colors with nearly identical LRV, obviously different in character, from two brands whose internal measurement processes we can’t fully verify or reconcile — and that’s before accounting for the fact that a single brand’s own number for a single color can itself drift by several points.
This is the whole controversy in a nutshell. LRV can’t reliably tell you granular differences in luminance between colors — even from the same brand, let alone across brands — because we don’t know where every published number originated or how/if it was verified.
What This Means for HOAs Trying to Use LRV as a HammerAn HOA that writes “exterior colors must have an LRV of 35 or higher” into its architectural guidelines is applying a number as if it were an unassailable data point.
It isn’t, and that opens the floor to legit debate not just disagreement abut aesthetics.
An LRV cutoff that draws from whatever number happens to be printed on a given brand’s swatch — numbers that, as shown above, can vary by several points for the same color depending on the source — is not applying one consistent standard.
It’s applying a moving target and calling it a rule. Two homeowners could each submit a color that is, in real-world appearance, equally light or equally dark, and land on opposite sides of the HOA’s cutoff purely because their color came from different brands whose LRV numbers were calculated by different processes.
And an HOA can’t limit homeowners to one paint brand. So a hard LRV cutoff, applied across brands whose numbers don’t agree with each other, pretty much guarantees the kind of inconsistency it was meant to prevent.
The Fix: Pick a Lane and Stay In ItNone of this means LRV is totally useless. Understand it correctly and it’s plenty accurate for a color design application.
If LRV is going to matter for an HOA’s decision-making, the workable approach is:
- Pick a single source of truth. The easiest, most defensible option is the paint brand’s own published listing — its website or the index in its own fan deck.
- Get everyone to agree on it, in writing. The architectural review committee, the guidelines document, and homeowners submitting for approval all need to be pointing at the same source.
- Stop comparing LRV across brands as if it means something. It doesn’t, because the values come from different sources, different instruments, and possibly different processes. A four-point spread on the same color from the same brand should be a fat clue that treating a cross-brand LRV difference of two or three points as meaningful is not defensible.
This principle isn’t unique to LRV, either — it applies to every color data value. All of them are only as comparable as their point of origin allows. Consistency of source is what makes any of these numbers usable.
Why This Is Frustrating (and Why You Have to Live With It)If you’re a homeowner caught up in brand-to-brand LRV confusion, the only place you can compare LRV values is the Paint Color DNA Studio. Because we’re brand agnostic, we measured all major brands and have them in our database.
The origin of most published LRV numbers isn’t qualified — you don’t know, and often can’t find out, how a brand generated the number for their product.
The most anyone can do is agree on a source and stick to it — everyone has to reconcile with the fact that brand-to-brand LRV inconsistency is just the nature of the beast that is LRV.
What About Custom Colors?Custom or hand-mixed colors add another layer. Here at The Land of Color we can measure custom mixes using an X-Rite Ci6X spectrophotometer — the same class of instrument used in professional color labs — so we can document the LRV of a custom color directly from instrument data.
That’s a physically measured number, not a calculated one, and it’s about as solid as LRV data gets.
But it’s important not to overstate what that measurement covers. An LRV reading from a spectrophotometer tells you the reflectance of that sample, at that moment, under that measurement condition.
It says nothing about how that custom color will hold up over time — light fastness, weatherability, UV fade, or how the LRV itself might shift as the paint ages on an exterior surface. Manufacturer-formulated colors typically have that kind of long-term performance data behind them (or at least, the brand claims to). A custom mix generally doesn’t, unless it’s been separately tested for it.
All the instrument can tell you is what the reflectance measurement is right now — not what it will be in three summers.
Where This Research StartedI first wrote about LRV in 2013, and updated that original guide again in 2023. At the time, LRV was printed in the index of every fandeck and appeared on the back of every paint chip — and there was nothing written anywhere explaining what it actually was or why it mattered.
I know, because I looked.
I knew the term from my earlier career as a graphic designer, where LRV is part of how you make signage legible.
When I moved into architectural color specification and saw those same three letters showing up, I was excited to recognize something familiar — and then stunned that I couldn’t find a single color professional in the paint industry who could tell me why it was there or what anyone did with it.
So I went and found the white papers and standards myself. Al — an electrical engineer and metrology expert — helped me track down the original source documents, and that research became the blog post.
That post has been copied, in large chunks and sometimes nearly word for word, more times than I can count — by a paint manufacturer’s marketing VP, by a chief technical officer at a smaller paint company, and by contributors who lifted it into other public reference pages without credit.
The evidence can be found in one line. My original definition still reads: “Light Reflectance Value (LRV) is the total quantity of visible and useable light reflected by a surface in all directions and at all wavelengths when illuminated by a light source.”** I’d sourced that from British Standard BS 8300:2001/A1:2005 — and misquoted it, adding the word “useable,” which isn’t in the standard.
When I asked Al to proof the post, he caught it immediately: no scientist, engineer, or mathematician writes “visible and useable.” He was right. By then I’d sunk enough hours into the post that fixing one word was not a priority, so it stayed.
To this day, if you find that exact phrasing anywhere else, you’ve found a copy of my original research — knowingly or not.
Getting credit was never really the point, and mostly it didn’t happen. Thirteen plus years since I hit publish on that blog post, I can count the citations on one hand.
What mattered was the undertone of validation: when a color-science-trained CTO at a paint manufacturer thought the research was good enough to publish, nearly verbatim, under his own brand’s name, that was a signal that I was right.
That’s really where all of this — the Paint Color DNA Table, the patent, Camp Chroma, all of it — started: a gap nobody else had bothered to fill.
If Your HOA Wants This Rebuilt ProperlyEverything above is the reasoning for why LRV isn’t intended to be used as an enforcement mechanism. In practice, I don’t use LRV to build community color palettes — I use hue, value, and chroma, the three dimensions that describe how a color looks to a human.
For one HOA, that meant building a custom, private DNA Table filtered down to only the colors that meet their restrictions: homeowners aren’t calculating or comparing anything themselves, they just pick from a pre-vetted list. If your board is ready to replace “no dark colors” with something that’s orderly and repeatable, reach out and let’s talk about scope.
A Note on Custom LRV Data — and a Better Single SourceIf you made it this far, you now know why comparing published LRV numbers across brands is an exercise in futility.
In the Paint Color DNA Studio, it’s a different situation: we measure LRV from new, wrapper-sealed fandecks using an X-Rite Ci6X spectrophotometer — the same instrument, the same method, the same settings, the same standard, applied consistently across every brand in the Table.
That means our Paint Color DNA Studio LRVs won’t always match what’s published on a brand’s own website or fandeck — which, considering everything above, shouldn’t be surprising.
What it does mean is that any two colors compared within the Studio are apples to apples, measured the same way, which is the one condition this whole article has been emphasizing you need before LRV comparisons mean anything.
And because the data lives in a searchable, sortable table, it’s usable the way anyone who wants to compare LRV needs it to be — as a single, consistent point of reference.
The Bottom LineLRV is real and can be useful — it just measures one thing, and it isn’t lightness in the way people assume, it isn’t chroma, and it definitely isn’t “appropriateness” for a neighborhood.
Where the numbers come from, how they’re measured, and whether they’re ever verified against a physical sample varies by brand, and that variance is baked into every published fan deck and website listing available today.
An HOA that wants LRV to function as an enforceable, comparable, cross-brand standard is asking a measurement to do a job beyond its scope. The workable path is picking one consistent source, sticking to it, and being honest with homeowners about what LRV really is.
Read more at The Land of Color
Have you ever walked into a beautifully furnished room and felt an immediate sense of “meh”? The layout appears functional, and you can tell the contents of the space actually are expensive or they’re great dupes. Yet, something feels inherently wrong.
You can’t quite put your finger on it, but your brain is instantly on edge.
This reaction isn’t about trends, dated vs. timeless, or whether the room suits your aesthetic or not. It’s a psychological phenomenon driven by how the human brain processes visual information.
Behavioral psychology shows that the brain classifies first and justifies those impressions later. Interior environments are no exception.
When a space feels “off,” unintentional, incongruent color choices may be part of the reason.
Neuroaesthetics, the study of how the brain perceives and responds to beauty, color, and design, helps explain why.
Moving Past the “Neuro” BuzzwordsThe design world is currently flooded with terms prefixed with “neuro.” Unfortunately, the actual meaning behind these phrases is often foggy and vague; that’s how buzzwords work.
Here on my website, you’ll see the phrase, “Tailored Color rooted in science and neuroaesthetics, for spaces that feel as good as they look.” It reflects a central idea of human-supportive design: color influences us on conscious, unconscious, and subconscious levels. The goal is to create environments the brain instinctively experiences as trustworthy, safe, and comfortable.
Why the Brain Looks for RelationshipBehavioral psychologists often talk about a concept called thin slicing: the brain’s ability to make remarkably fast judgments from tiny fragments of information.
Before you consciously register the details of a room, your visual system has already formed an impression of the entire space.
Every detail you notice afterward is filtered through that initial assessment. Color is one of the strongest contributors to that first impression.
That’s why strategic color decisions matter. The goal isn’t simply to make a room look beautiful, but to create an environment the brain processes with ease.
In an interior space, the brain scans for visual alignment. When the elements of a room relate through hue, value, and chroma, the brain processes the environment quickly, relaxes, and moves on.
When aligning colors by the dimension of hue, you are choosing tints, tones, and shades from the same hue family neighborhood in color space.
The Color Strategist Color Wheel is the only tool that maps these hue families so you can understand them at a glance.
When there is no clear relationship—when the color characteristics are disconnected or poorly related—the brain, on some level of consciousness, pauses to register, something’s off here.
That cognitive friction signals to your nervous system that the environment is unpredictable or unstable.
Capturing the Invisible Energy of ColorWhen we use hue, value, and chroma to align colors into harmony, we are essentially aligning the energy of color. This isn’t woowoo magical color powers or pop color psychology memes.
It’s physics.
Color measurement instruments (like a Nix Mini 3) capture electromagnetic energy with amazing accuracy when aimed at a surface. The instrument reads the wavelengths of light bouncing off the material and translates them into human readable color notation that defines and describes the color’s appearance.
Your own vision system simply becomes the “instrument.” Your eyes and brain are continuously capturing that same form of energy.
Color Made LegibleBehind the ScienceThis is why color measurement tools and color spaces exist. They model human color vision by translating light energy into human readable notations that describes how a color appears.
When color—energy—is deployed strategically, the result is immediate.
The space looks better, feels better, and creates a biological pull that makes you want to stay. Color Neuroaesthetics is the practice of mapping measurable color characteristics to positive human emotional responses.
The Core Pillars of Color CongruenceIn behavioral psychology, congruence means consistency. It is the state where visual signals reinforce a shared message. The word shared is key to our application of congruence.
Where people go wrong is assuming congruence requires an unassailable sameness or a precision match applied to every single element.
Color harmony is the ability to move from one color condition to another with ease and pleasing variation. Congruence comes from connection, not matching. My mantra is to build those connections intentionally using the framework of color notations.
In my Color Strategist® certificationcourse, hue, value, and chroma are three of the pillars in The Four Pillars of Color course. The fourth is Light Reflectance Value (LRV). We weave together colors that share core DNA across these dimensions:
- Hue: One of the three dimensions of color. When you use an instrument like a spectrophotometer to measure color, it’s the dominant wavelength in the data the device captures that determines hue. Our vision system translates the different wavelengths of energy it senses into categories that we’ve learned to label as red, yellow, green, blue, etc.
- Value: The relative lightness or darkness, controlling the volume of light bouncing back to your eyes. Value answers the question how light or a dark a color looks.
- Chroma: the Chroma scale tells you how strong, colorful and clean -or- weak, neutral and muddied a color looks.
When a color palette aligns along at least one of these dimensions, it tells a cohesive story. The brain looks for consistency. As soon as it finds just a single thread from that trifecta, the palette feels right, looks right.
If you want to learn how to develop color strategies that leverage the framework of color notations, sign up at campchroma.com. That is where I teach you how to create palettes using this color congruence strategy.
Enclosed Cognition: How Environments Shift BehaviorThere is a lesser-known psychological concept called enclosed cognition. While traditionally applied to how clothing choices influence human performance, the theory extends naturally to our built world.
What surrounds you changes how you behave, influencing how secure, comfortable, and chill you feel.
Consider how you react based on the relationship of the colors around you:
- The Unsettled Environment: When a room feels visually chaotic due to an unfortunate combination of colors, your subconscious mind alerts “something’s off”. When analyzed, we’d likely discover there’s a disconnect. There’s a broken thread somewhere; the color DNA is misaligned and there’s nothing weaving the color story together. In response, you might find yourself fidgeting, can’t get comfortable, feeling slightly distracted, unable to relax and chill because your focus is pulled back to noticing the environment instead of just being in it.
- The Congruent Environment: When the color characteristics connect on at least one dimension, there is a clear color story. Your brain isn’t running diagnostics subconsciously. The background melts into unconscious awareness. You stop managing your reaction to the room. There’s a sense of place and you can just exist in it.
Some people have the color mojo to create environments like this through intuition alone. That doesn’t mean it’s fast or easy. Countless color decisions made over the years have shaped, honed, and refined that ability.
Others know when colors work together but can’t explain why. And many simply struggle to make confident color decisions at all.
Wherever you fall on that spectrum, the same color science every industry uses to make and manage products is available to you. Balance hue, value, and chroma to reduce visual friction, quiet the brain, and create environments that feel instinctively trustworthy, safe, and comfortable.
That’s human-supportive color for the built world.
Read more at The Land of Color
In my last post, we looked at the industry’s not-so-subtle and gradual demotion of undertone theory from a crucial ability you must have to casual design slang. Spheres within paint, color and design worlds simply stopped treating phantom, hidden colors like an unassailable method.
But why did this pivot happen right now? Why did a methodology that held a monolithic grip on color specification for over a decade suddenly enter a phase of systemic reckoning?
The answer lies in a powerful cultural and technological phenomenon called perception drift.
Perception drift is the moment a long-held, accepted framework fades in popularity because the collective reality shifts. It’s what happens when people discover new information and better tools expose the gap between what people were taught and what they repeatedly experience and see with their own eyes.
And in the built world, this drift is being accelerated by a single, massive force: the democratization of objective data through AI.
The Wall of Reality
For years, the burden of proof in color specification was entirely on the individual. The classic undertone narrative dictated that if a color failed on a wall, the system wasn’t broken; your pedestrian untrained eye was the problem.
It created a repetitive, exhausting cycle inside millions of homes and design studios. A homeowner would read an online resource declaring that a specific paint color was a flawless “green taupe.” They would purchase the sample, apply it to their wall, step back, and experience an immediate wave of self-doubt.
“I only see beige,” they would think. “I don’t see any green. What the hell is taupe. Why can’t I see what the experts see?”
Previously, that individual operated in an isolated silo. They assumed they lacked the mystical “trained eye” required to unlock the hidden undertone. They didn’t realize that their eye was working perfectly; they were simply running headfirst into the laws of light, color, and human color perception.
When an online resource dictates a color label in a vacuum, it ignores context. But when that paint sample hits a real wall, physics takes over. The actual light source, the spatial realities of a room, and the surrounding environment dictate the actual perceived color.
For example, the green wasn’t so sneaky that the homeowner was ill-equipped to see it; the green wasn’t there because inherent light sources didn’t physically allow it to manifest for it to be seen – by anyone.
Undertones are not factual metrics. They are nothing more than someone’s subjective opinion of what a color looks like to them, under an unspecified light source, in a completely random context.
AI and the Democratization of ClarityEnter the catalyst of modern perception drift: high-volume, accessible artificial intelligence.
Widespread AI usage has shattered the informational monopoly of a subjective undertone approach to color. But it isn’t doing it by handing users a perfect, ready-to-use depot of color metrics. In fact, if you ask a general AI model for a specific paint color’s Munsell notation, it will confidently hallucinate a set of numbers that are completely incorrect.
Why does AI get color data like LCh and Munsell notations wrong every single time? Because standard AI knowledge bases are ungoverned when it comes to not just color data but also color science; they do not possess a structured, accurate framework to reason about the psycho-physical science of color. And it’s especially lost when it comes to the practical application of color science to specifying color for the built world.
What AI does do exceptionally well, however, is talk about the core science. It has a bigger reach than I do, bringing color science to millions of people one prompt at a time:
- Spectral Data, Hue Angles and Hue Families: Teaching people that colors are mapped on a 360-degree color wheel. A color’s hue is derived from dominant wavelength – no one’s taking their best guess. Hue is a measurable dimension of color.
- Lightness (L*) and Munsell Value: Breaking the news that there are explicit, numbers-driven values whose specific job is to tell you how light or dark a color looks. This blows up the misuse of LRV — whose only job is to tell you how much light a color reflects in a percentage, not how light or dark it looks to the human eye.
- Chroma: Quantifying a color’s purity or grayness to explain why a neutral shifts so aggressively from room to room.
But once AI illuminates these abstract scientific concepts, users find themselves at a sudden standstill. They are seeking refuge from the blight of undertones, but they lack the governed data and strategic workflow required to actually apply this science to real-world projects.
Bridging the Gap: The Land of Color EcosystemThis is where a pile of abstract data points has to become a practical workflow. To protect and amplify creativity while shrinking the color-decision silo, you need a process that bridges information (color data values) and implementation (make the vision happen).
While quantifiable color definitions are brand-new news to a lot of people, I have spent decades developing color-literate processes and tools. Back in 2016, I packaged these frameworks into a course called The Four Pillars of Color, a premier certification program that has been instructing students and certifying professional Color Strategists® for a decade.
The Land of Color has been building for this exact cultural tipping point; it’s the only resource that has the decades of expertise, patented systems, and proven tools and trainings needed to meet this moment.
We built a fully integrated ecosystem:
1. Get Certified via The Four Pillars of Color: Master the science-backed design framework.
Step out of the confusion of abstract data and learn our industry-proven workflow. This training shows you exactly how to apply empirical color science to real projects, transforming color selection into a documented business process.
2. Consult Iris, Your AI Color Strategist®: Curated AI color intelligence.
Unlike general AI models that hallucinate color values, Iris, AI Color Strategist® is built on a custom color cognition engine. Powered by patented and patent-pending intellectual property, Iris provides the precise, governed data reasoning that standard models cannot replicate.
3. Streamline Production and Creative Assets: Access revolutionary color tools.
Leverage the unassailable data inside the Paint Color DNA Studio. Instantly convert metrics with our specialized Munsell Notation Converter, generate visual assets and content with the Paint Dot Generator, toggle seamlessly into the Mood Board Maker, understand hue families and angles at-a-glance using The Color Strategist Color Wheel, and Tailored Color Kits include everything needed to start leveraging the same color science that big industry uses to get color done and done right.
Support for What Comes NextThe perception shift is real, and the visual gymnastics required by undertone theory is officially in the past. But knowing a system is broken is only the first step; you have to know how to navigate what comes next.
Whether you are a homeowner trying to realize a vision for your home or a design professional looking to implement a bulletproof system that guarantees repeatable results, you need a source with a proven track record.
The Land of Color is where empirical color science becomes practical color strategy. Learn to make color legible through hue, value, and chroma notation, replace shuffling paint chips with objective analysis, and make better color decisions with confidence.
Read more at The Land of Color
There’s a familiar pattern when a theory starts collecting questions it can’t answer.
The theory gets smaller.
No one wants to acknowledge the fully excavated, obvious flaws. Instead, the promised results get more vague and expectations are managed downward.
What was evangelized for years as a critical system becomes “just shorthand.” A mandatory skill becomes “casual jargon.”
That pivot is happening right now in architectural color, and it centers on one word: undertones.
What the System Actually DemandedFor two decades, the message to homeowners and designers was not casual. It was urgent. E.g. if you couldn’t see the “sneaky” undertone, you were going to make a costly mistake that will haunt you every day you live in that house.
Undertones weren’t offered as one perspective among many. They were the gate every color decision had to pass through, and seeing them was framed as a trained, exclusive ability.
That framing set the stage masterfully. It kept people second-guessing. It made color feel elusive, risky and consequential. And it made the people who claimed the ability indispensable.
The Loop That Could Never CloseThe methodology had a built-in flaw, and it showed up the moment anyone asked a direct question.
Ask why a specific gray has a green undertone, and the answer was a redirection: hold it next to this other gray and you’ll see it. Ask why that second gray has its assigned undertone, and the conversation turned on you. You needed more practice. You needed to train your eye. When logic ran out, credentials stepped in: years of experience, portfolios, satisfied clients.
The questions eventually demand answers.
Where does the undertone go when the colors aren’t side by side? What happens when you compare those grays under different light sources? What makes a “control white” a control white? Not a favorite white. Not a popular white. Not a commonly specified white. A control white. What’s the actual definition? Etc.
The system never answered, because it couldn’t. It was a closed loop of comparison and authority with nothing qualifiable underneath it.
A useful method answers questions. If you’re asking the same questions over and over, the method isn’t working. It’s a hamster wheel disguised as a process.
The Retcon: “We Meant Hue Family All Along”There’s a term from the storytelling world for this maneuver: a retcon, short for retroactive continuity. It’s when the story changes and everyone pretends it was that way from the start.
Now that AI and the market are embracing color DNA, the undertone story is being retconned. The new line is that undertones were never really intended as a formal system, just an easy way to chat about color.
The word was always interchangeable for hue family; a less fussy way to talk about a quantifiable dimension of color instead of the proper science term that allegedly made people’s eyes glaze over.
It’s an attempt at a graceful exit.
It’s also not true.
Hue Family and undertones are not remotely similar.
Wavelength determines hue. It’s ascertained by measuring a color using standards for illuminant (light source) and observer.
Undertones are someone’s subjective opinion of what a color looks like – to them – in a random context under an unspecified light source.
This rewrite has a second audience: everyone who remembers the original. If you lived through years of online messaging that undertones could make or break every color decision, the rewrite repaints that era as though those warnings were never central to the conversation — that “undertone” was merely shorthand.
Real shorthand points to something you can verify. “LRV” is shorthand. “Hue family” is shorthand. When people disagree about shorthand, they can look up the thing the shorthand represents and settle the question.
Undertone arguments never resolve because there is no standard to consult.
Two experts can assign the same off-white to different undertone categories and defend their answers with equal confidence. The explanation is often some version of: you can’t see it because your plebian vision system isn’t registering the undertones.
Shorthand also doesn’t require you to train your eye or defer to credentials instead of logic. Nobody has ever been told they need a special ability to perceive a Light Reflectance Value (LRV).
If undertones had truly been a plain-language stand-in for hue family, the path from question to answer would have been direct and consistent. Instead, the path ran through gatekeepers – and a lot of words. Many, many, words. So. Many. Words.
Why the Pivot Is Happening NowFor more than 22 years, I have been the only voice pushing back. On decorating forums, blogs, and platforms like Houzz, I’ve repeated the same message thousands of times: undertones aren’t facts. Color becomes much easier to specify when you use the same color science manufacturers use to make it in the first place.
For most of that time, my unique, evidence-based color point of view was treated as a threat. I said out loud what others didn’t know how to articulate about the obvious holes in the undertones theory. Somewhat similar to the little kid in the Emperor’s New Clothes parable.
Those decades of public, documented debate left a massive digital footprint.
When large language models began ingesting the web, they didn’t just consume the sanitized marketing. They consumed entire conversations.
They encountered my long-standing argument that undertones are not facts, alongside simple explanations of hue families, color measurement, and color notation. They also encountered thousands of examples where undertones were assigned inconsistently, explained differently, and applied without agreement.
AI looks for patterns that make sense.
When AI was exposed to the undertones vs. real color science debate, it encountered the same problem I’ve been pointing out for years: if undertones work for organizing color, why are the assignments all over the place?
To be clear, the discussion is not if undertones exist or are real.
The point is undertones are not facts.
Here’s the part nobody saw coming. A machine that can compare patterns across millions of pages in less than a blink doesn’t need to decide whether undertones are “real”.
It only needs to notice that twenty years of undertone experts never agreed with each other. The theory was designed to never resolve, and that’s exactly what AI reasoned. The fact that undertones never resolve is the resolution.
The illusion of a special ability to see color isn’t surviving that level of scrutiny. Now, some of the same voices that stink-eyed my questions about undertones are not so quietly adopting my evidence-based vocabulary and recasting their prior undertones point of view as just slang.
What the Practical Application of Color Science Actually Does For YouMoving to measurement doesn’t make color perfectly predictable, and no one ever said it would.
What a color notation gives you is a stable description of a color’s attributes under a standard light source. Align color by measured attributes and the odds run heavily in your favor: they will harmonize, morph, and change together gracefully as the light shifts through the day.
It also doesn’t replace how you perceive, interpret, and experience color. As color scientist Fred Billmeyer Jr. put it:
“No one accepts or rejects a color because of the numbers; it’s how it looks that counts.”
An alpha-numeric color notation doesn’t override what your vision system registers. Notations free your eye from the frustrating visual gymnastics, so your eye can do its job of judging how a color looks in your space – does it look right and feel right? Or maybe, simply, is it pretty?
From Fear to LegibilityUndertones theory depends on uncertainty. If color stays mysterious, how it works stays gated, and authority gravitates to the hands of the people claiming to be able to see them.
The downgrade to “casual jargon” is the end of that model, even if no one says so out loud.
Undertones are gradually being repositioned from color system to color vocabulary.
That house of cards didn’t fall because someone pushed it over. It fell because artificial intelligence parsed decades of expert subjective opinion and found inconsistency, contradiction and unverifiable claims.
The Land of Color has always championed the practical application of color science. The mission hasn’t changed in two decades: make color legible through hue, value, and chroma so choosing color becomes obvious instead of overwhelming.
Read more at The Land of Color
The undertone hive mind has a favorite line: “I’m a designer, not a color scientist.”
It sounds humble.
It isn’t.
It’s passive-aggressive.
“I’m a designer, not a color scientist” wears humility on the surface (“oh, I’m just a humble artist”) while doing two quietly aggressive things underneath: it positions the speaker as the real creative and color science as overtly technical, and the goal is to nudge the listener away from looking closer.
Notice who it’s aimed at. It’s said to the person just beginning to wonder how color actually works, and it always comes with a warning attached. The science is cold. The jargon will make your eyes glaze over. Numbers and color don’t belong in the same room. Don’t look too closely, don’t listen to anyone but the self-certified color experts.
Here’s what that line is really guarding. If color stays “sneaky” and mysterious, it stays gated, and a small group gets to keep making up the rules. The mystique isn’t an accident. It’s the whole advantage – it’s a business model.
After more than two decades of teaching color, let me tell you the part they’d rather you not hear. Everyone can be a little bit of a color scientist – you don’t have to understand the math, you just need someone to show you how to use the results to your advantage.
When “trust your eye” leaves you strandedThe design world loves to celebrate intuition. Trust your eye. Follow your instincts. You know what you like. For people who already know how to navigate color, that advice lands; they move through uncertainty with ease.
For everyone else, it’s like being handed the keys to a car and told to drive across town during rush hour without a single loop around an empty parking lot.
They stand in front of a few thousand paint chips waiting to feel the freedom they were promised, and instead they feel the second-guessing, the stalling, the quiet conviction that everyone else understands something they don’t.
Color is already measured, whether we admit it or notThis is the flash point where conversations about color science turn surprisingly emotional. The moment color gets organized into Hue, Value, and Chroma, the objections start to show up.
Measurement is painted as a threat to creativity. Notations are prescriptive, cold, clinical, overly analytical and unnecessary. The final edict given is color can only be experienced, not measured.
But measurement is already here, whether we acknowledge it or not.
Every paint color, every textile, every countertop and tile and tube of artist’s paint exists as measured reality.
The pigments in a paint set, the inks in an art book, the coatings on a car, the standards manufacturers rely on around the world all have measurable properties.
What many don’t understand is the numbers don’t replace the experience of color. They describe it. They give us a shared language for what we see. A musical note can be named by its frequency without diminishing the music; a cathedral can be measured without diminishing its beauty. Color is no different.
Hue, Value, and Chroma are how you already seeWhat’s always fascinated me about the resistance is that the framework itself is profoundly human. Hue tells you where a color lives on a color wheel. Value tells you how light or dark it is. Chroma tells you how strong or muted.
These aren’t arbitrary inventions templated on color from an external scientific oracle. They’re the same three dimensions your eyes and brain already use to perceive it. The irony is that the people who struggle most with color just want a methodology that works. Consistently. Without the chaos of conflicting opinions about how it works.
What changes when the overwhelm has somewhere to goPicture someone standing in the paint aisle, phone full of screenshots, a fistful of paint chips, and completely frozen.
Now picture that same person armed with a different color point of view, looking at the same wall of chips and understanding what they’re looking at, lining up the values, grouping the hues, noticing which colors are quietly fighting and which belong together.
Nothing about the paint chips changed. What changed is that the overwhelm finally had somewhere to go. Once Hue, Value, and Chroma click into place, relationships that were invisible become obvious. Patterns surface. Confidence grows where best guesses and random subjective opinions dominated.
The framework never tells anyone what to create. It gives them a place to start, and for a lot of people, that starting point is the door they could never find before.
That realization sits underneath everything I’ve built. It explains why I teach Hue, Value, and Chroma. It explains why I designed the Color Strategist Color Wheel. It explains why I created the Four Pillars of Color, built the Paint Color DNA Table, developed Tailored Color Kits, and pursued patents around color strategy itself.
Every tool exists for one reason: to guide people to understanding, because understanding color relationships unlocks a creativity they may never have known they had.
Creativity Blooms from StructureWe tend to assume creativity starts with a blank canvas. That has never been my experience. Creativity almost always emerges from structure. Architects work within building codes. Musicians work within scales. Writers work within the rules of language, photographers within the limits of light.
The most original solutions tend to come from constraints, not from their absence.
Color works the same way.
Your countertop is not an obstacleWhich is why one of the most important things I teach is that the fixed elements of a space are not in your way. The floor is not an obstacle. The countertop is not an obstacle. The roof is not an obstacle. The brick is not an obstacle. They are information. They are clues. They are the beginning of the story.
Most people see existing conditions as limits on their imagination. I see them as the spark that starts it. When you understand how color works, that countertop becomes a point of departure. It gives your eye something to answer, and the work of making color decisions gets easier because you’re no longer creating in a vacuum.
Instead, you’re in conversation with what’s already there.
A jungle gym for the creative eyeI often describe the three-dimensional space of Hue, Value, and Chroma as a jungle gym for the creative eye. A jungle gym invites you to climb, reach, explore, and discover. The structure is exactly what makes the play possible. That’s what organized color does. A framework doesn’t kill creativity. It builds the conditions where creativity can finally happen.
This is the idea that tends to land hardest with engineers, scientists, and analytical thinkers, the people who spent years certain that creativity belonged to someone else.
They discover that color isn’t magic, and it isn’t a gift handed to a lucky few. It’s a system. And confidence arrives the moment uncertainty gives way to clarity.
Why I built The Land of ColorThat’s the whole point of my work. I don’t want anyone to depend on me because I seem to possess some mysterious gift. I want people to understand color well enough to trust themselves: to see the relationships they couldn’t see before, to move through color with confidence instead of fear, and to discover that the creativity they thought they lacked was available to them all along.
Sometimes the greatest gift isn’t unlimited freedom. Sometimes it’s a framework that helps you find your way.
That’s why I built The Land of Color: a place for people who want to understand how color works, where curiosity is welcome, questions are encouraged, and confidence grows through understanding. A place where creativity finally has something to hold onto. A jungle gym for anyone who was ever told to “just trust your eye” and never shown how.
Read more at The Land of Color
Tap for Samplize Peel & Stick SampleGet Hue, Value, Chroma and LRV for Paint ColorsOur Color DNA Table has notations for thousands of colors from major brands including BEHR, Farrow & Ball and Magnolia Home! Go To Color DNA TableAgreeable Gray SW 7029 Hue FamilyIn context of its Hue Family neighborhood, 2 Y, on The Color Strategist Color Wheel. The pink arrows point to where it fits in among the other colors according to its Value 8.00 and Chroma of 0.74 rounded to 0.75.
AGREEABLE GRAY NOTES:Agreeable Gray belongs to the yellow hue family over near the yellow-red hue family.
You can see where it plots out on The Color Strategist Color Wheel above.
In a balanced quality of light, Agreeable Gray looks like a mid-tone, warm, near neutral gray.
However, in certain qualities of light it can shift and look purplish.
Near neutrals from Agreeable Gray’s hue family neighborhood are notorious for shifting purple in unbalanced qualities of light. See infographic below.
Which is why you will find a range of opinions about what it looks like – or as some people call it undertones. The problem, as you may have realized by now, is that the theory of undertones is just someone’s opinion about what they think a color looks like – to them – in whatever lighting and context they happen to be in.
Some people say Agreeable Gray has a “green undertone” while others insist it’s “just a warm neutral gray” with no hint of any other color. And then we have the instances where it actually shows up and flashes purple quite noticeably in their space.
If it does shift and shows up in your space in a way you don’t want it to, then you know you need to try near neutral grays from a different hue family neighborhood. If it’s flashing purple or even blue, I’d start with a color from a hue family that is outside that big purple parenthesis you see up there in the infographic.
How do you find those colors? The Color DNA Table. You can easily sort thousands of paint colors by hue angle, hue family, value, chroma and even LRV. It’s an amazing tool that puts you in control of color.
Color strategy doesn’t get any easier than this! It’s always best to test. I recommend Samplize Peel & Stick samples because they’re made with real paint.
Color Review: Agreeable Gray (Sherwin Williams 7029)Before we get into real-life applications, let’s look at Agreeable Gray’s factual color DNA:
Colorography OverviewBrand: Sherwin Williams
Color Name & Number: Agreeable Gray 7029
HEX: #D2CDC3
Lightness (L): 82.53
Chroma (C): 5.541
Hue Angle: 91
Munsell Hue Family: 2.3 Y
Munsell Value / Chroma: 8 / 0.74
LRV: 60
Average Perceived Color Temperature: Warm
Vibes: Near Neutral, High Value, Grayed, Light, Whispery, Ethereal, Relaxing, Washed Out
How It Behaves in Real HomesAgreeable Gray 7029 tends to create a calm, low-contrast environment that feels restful and open. Frequently used in living rooms, bedrooms, and transitional spaces, it gives the impression of a settled, softly structured interior. Homeowners often describe it as “safe” or “goes-with-everything,” making it a go-to choice for staging and resale. Despite the name, this is less a true gray and more a mellow, warm neutral with a quiet, anchoring presence.
Lighting and Finish ObservationsIn north-facing light, Agreeable Gray can appear slightly cooler and more subdued, aligning with its grayed and washed-out perceived appearance. South-facing and incandescent lighting highlight its warmth and bring out more of its whispery and ethereal qualities. Under cool LED or overcast skies, the color can feel more muted or dusty, reinforcing its near-neutral and relaxing character. In higher sheens, such as satin or semi-gloss, the color’s subtle yellow hue angle may become more noticeable, adding a trace of warmth.
Strategic Application NotesBest Used For: Open concept areas, bedrooms, hallways, and homes aiming for a versatile, market-friendly look.
Avoid If: You need a strong contrast color, deep saturation, or a clearly cool-toned neutral.
Looks Best With: Warm off-whites, soft whites with yellow-based hues, natural fibers, matte black fixtures, warm wood tones, and brushed brass or antique bronze metals. Pairing with higher chroma colors should be done cautiously to preserve its near-neutral identity.
Final TakeawayThis is a great choice if you want a warm, soft neutral that blends seamlessly across rooms, but be sure to test it in varied light to avoid unexpected shifts. It’s not just a pretty color — it’s a strategic move when you want broad appeal and soothing continuity.
PICTURES OF AGREEABLE GRAY SW 7029click to go to Pinterest Board
Read more at The Land of Color
Tap for Samplize Peel & Stick Sample
Get Hue, Value, Chroma and LRV for Paint ColorsOur Color DNA Table has notations for thousands of colors from major brands including Farrow & Ball and Magnolia Home! Go To Color DNA TableHue Family Olympus White SW 6253In context of its Hue Family neighborhood, 0.5 B (Blue) rounded to 1 B, on The Color Strategist Color. The pink arrows point to where it fits in among the other colors according to its Value of 8.40 rounded to 8.38 and Chroma of 0.30 rounded to 0.25.
PICTURES OF Olympus White SW 6253click to go to Pinterest board
We got ’em.
We measured ’em with our X-Rite Ci6X Series Spectrophotometer. (same instrument used in paint color labs)
And I can verify that BEHR has indeed succeeded in creating these colors using BEHR proprietary colorants and base paints.
For sure – BEHR has matched 10 best-selling white and near neutral/neutral paint colors from Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams.
Which means you don’t have to ask the paint counter folks at The Home Depot to try to color match any of these 10 colors. Because, again, BEHR has formulated exact matches.
Why is this a big deal? You might be wondering, “couldn’t BEHR just match these colors – any colors – before?
The answer is not so much. Some paint colors cross brands more gracefully than others.
Colors of white, off-white and light near neutrals are particularly challenging because the color of the base paint determines the final color.
And each brand’s colorants and base paints are different. BEHR’s base happens to be one of the whitest and cleanest there is – which also explains why their Ultra Pure White is the whitest-white paint color you can buy.
You’re always taking a risk getting a color mixed in a brand different from its home brand. Only way to know if it’s going to work is to have it mixed, let it dry and look at it or measure it. It might look good at the paint counter but. . . when you get it home, it could be a different story.
So, about those 10 colors.
Here’s the list of the Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams colors that BEHR matched. Respective BEHR dupes are in the micro Paint Color DNA Table below. (the BEHR dupe is first followed by the original color)
- Chantilly Lace – Benjamin Moore
- Decorator’s White – Benjamin Moore
- White Dove – Benjamin Moore
- Extra White – Sherwin-Williams
- Simply White – Benjamin Moore
- Snowbound – Sherwin-Williams
- Agreeable Gray – Sherwin-Williams
- Repose Gray – Sherwin-Williams
- Revere Pewter – Benjamin Moore
- Accessible Beige – Sherwin-Williams
The new BEHR dupe color is listed first in the Table immediately followed by the original inspo color.
You can reorder the Table using the small black arrows next to each column header. Just refresh the page if you want the Table put back in order with the dupe color first, followed by the inspo color.
As I mentioned, this is just a “micro” DNA Table I made especially for this blog post.
The primary Paint Color DNA Table has color data values for THOUSANDS of paint colors from all major brands.
Click here to subscribe to The Paint Color DNA Table
This freaking AMAZING color tool is Patent Pending and proprietary to The Land of Color.
Which means there is – nor will there ever be – a resource like this where you can search, sort, save and buy samples of paint colors from all major brands in one convenient place.
I highly recommend purchasing your own Color Strategist Color Wheel – click here. Because it will help you decode what hue family a color belongs to.
And that’s SUPER good news especially for those of you who are frustrated with the visual gymnastics and totally done with the theory that paint colors allegedly have “undertones”.
Undertones theory is a MAJOR paint point for many and completely opposite from the color tools that we carefully designed to Make Color Easy for you.
D65/2° | *Benjamin Moore Alias ExistsBrandBEHRBMSWLCh°HueFamilyGYYellowValueChromaLRVWhite Off-White Lt Near Neutral Near Neutral NameBrand#LCh°HueFamilyValueChromaLRVsamplize
| Save | Name | Brand | # | L | C | h° | Hue | Family | Value | Chroma | LRV | samplize | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Whipped Cream | BEHR | DC-001 | 96.3 | 2.0 | 109 | 0.3 | GY | 9.50 | 0.20 | 90.6 | TRY IT | | Chantilly Lace | BM | OC-065 | 95.3 | 2.6 | 114 | 2.6 | GY | 9.43 | 0.27 | 90.0 | TRY IT | | Statement White | BEHR | DC-002 | 93.1 | 1.0 | 119 | 5.1 | GY | 9.20 | 0.10 | 83.2 | TRY IT | | Decorator's White | BM | OC-149 | 92.9 | 1.9 | 109 | 0.6 | GY | 9.19 | 0.20 | 82.7 | TRY IT | | Blank Canvas | BEHR | DC-003 | 94.0 | 5.0 | 101 | 6.1 | Yellow | 9.30 | 0.60 | 84.0 | TRY IT | | White Dove | BM | OC-017 | 93.2 | 5.0 | 101 | 5.7 | Yellow | 9.22 | 0.58 | 85.4 | TRY IT | | Winter White | BEHR | DC-004 | 93.8 | 2.0 | 124 | 6.4 | GY | 9.30 | 0.20 | 86.0 | TRY IT | | Extra White | SW | 7006 | 94.4 | 3.1 | 113 | 2.3 | GY | 9.34 | 0.32 | 86.0 | TRY IT | | Natural White | BEHR | DC-005 | 95.8 | 4.0 | 104 | 7.5 | Yellow | 9.50 | 0.50 | 90.0 | TRY IT | | Simply White* | BM | OC-117 | 95.7 | 4.7 | 107 | 8.9 | Yellow | 9.46 | 0.50 | 89.5 | TRY IT | | First Snow | BEHR | DC-006 | 92.9 | 3.0 | 99 | 5.3 | Yellow | 9.20 | 0.40 | 82.7 | TRY IT | | Snowbound | SW | 7004 | 93.4 | 3.6 | 96 | 3.5 | Yellow | 9.23 | 0.44 | 83.0 | TRY IT | | Tranquil Gray | BEHR | DC-007 | 81.9 | 5.0 | 90 | 2.6 | Yellow | 8.10 | 0.70 | 60.2 | TRY IT | | Agreeable Gray | SW | 7029 | 82.5 | 5.5 | 91 | 2.3 | Yellow | 8.00 | 0.74 | 60.0 | TRY IT | | Gratifying Gray | BEHR | DC-008 | 80.6 | 4.0 | 103 | 8.0 | Yellow | 7.90 | 0.50 | 57.7 | TRY IT | | Repose Gray | SW | 7015 | 81.6 | 4.5 | 94 | 3.2 | Yellow | 8.03 | 0.59 | 58.0 | TRY IT | | Vintage Pewter | BEHR | DC-009 | 79.1 | 7.0 | 93 | 3.8 | Yellow | 7.80 | 0.90 | 56.0 | TRY IT | | Revere Pewter | BM | HC-172 | 79.1 | 7.4 | 92 | 2.9 | Yellow | 7.77 | 0.98 | 55.0 | TRY IT | | Even Better Beige | BEHR | DC-010 | 82.0 | 9.0 | 90 | 2.5 | Yellow | 8.10 | 1.20 | 60.4 | TRY IT | | Accessible Beige | SW | 7036 | 81.7 | 8.6 | 88 | 1.4 | Yellow | 8.03 | 1.20 | 58.0 | TRY IT | | | | 10202550100 |
CompareEdit
HOW TO CREATE WHITE-ON-WHITE COLOR SCHEMESThis guideline has yet to fail me.
Oh no! Don’t see your color in the infographic? No worries.
You will find the Munsell Chroma values for all major paint brands (and then some) in the Paint Color DNA Table.
Chroma: In order to ensure neither color of white makes the other look dirty or dingy, there needs to be a difference in Munsell Chroma of at least 0.2. That’s the “Chroma” column in the DNA Table, not “C”.
Hue Family: Does it look pretty? This is about preference. Personally, I don’t like the hue angle to be too close. Less than 5 degrees is too close. Also, don’t like it too far apart. More than 12 or 15 degrees is too far – again, for me. Your mileage may vary because context matters.
ABOUT THE INFOGRAPHICThe white paint colors are arranged around The Color Strategist Color Wheel according to hue family.
If you get all the chips and put them in the same order, you will easily be able to see the spectral gradation of hue.
Let’s talk about hue family for a sec.
Hue family is scientifically determined by measuring a color with a colorimeter or spectrophotometer. It’s the wavelength part of that measurement that defines a color’s hue family.
Hue family is objective, accurate and consistent because of the way colorimeters and spectrophotometers work.
Both (colorimeter or spectrophotometer) take measurements using a consistent light source and illumination method. Because of how they work, they also create consistent measurement conditions. Doesn’t matter if it’s day or night, indoors or outdoors.
The result is anytime and anywhere you have a fast, easy, and accurate way to measure color and quantify how the human vision system sees color.
In Camp Chroma’s on-line, on-demand color training programs you learn how color works. Because it’s only logical that the simple, straightforward color system that is used to make color is the same system we use for specifying color.
I can tell you the whitest white available from major paint brands, Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams, Behr, etc. But here's the problem. . .
If you go to a paint store for Haint Blue, they will pick one of their light blues and tell you it's Haint Blue. It is not.
It's a Wow. Backdrop Paint Color dupes with hue, value, chroma and LRV notations all in a tidy chart.
So much ado about simultaneous contrast and the interaction of color. But how much of it is truly useful and applicable to architectural color design?
What is Chroma in Color? In this case study you will want to focus on two parts of the Colorographies below:
- Hue
- Chroma
When we look at Hue, we can see that all three colors belong to the Purple-Blue (PB) hue family.
When we study their Chroma, we can see that Hale Navy has the lowest Chroma value, 1.51.
Naval has a Chroma of 2.
Admiral Blue has the most Chroma of the three coming in at 4.26.
The Chroma scale draws a picture of Chroma for you so the differences are easy to see at-a-glance and understand quickly.
How Chroma Works with Navy Blue What the numbers indicate and what the scale illustrates is how strong and colorful these purple-blues are -or- how weak and closer to a true neutral gray they are.
Again referencing the Colorographies, you can see that Hale Navy is the weakest, it’s closer to a true neutral gray of the same intensity.
Admiral is the strongest and most colorful. It’s farther away from 0 true neutral gray.
Naval is in the middle in terms of strong or weak compared to the other two.
Just by glancing at the Chroma number and Chroma scale you can determine if a color is strong, colorful, clean, clear, vivid -or- weak, near neutral, dirty, muddy, or dull.
Ready for another case study? Let’s use a range of whites this time.
How Chroma Works with White
Let’s compare Chroma values for these three colors above.
You can see that small increments in Chromaticity can make a big difference.
All three of these whites belong to the same hue family, they’re organized in the Munsell Color System in the same hue family neighborhood.
They’re similar in Value; except Snowfall White is a lighter, brighter color by just a little bit.
Again, small incremental differences can mean a lot.
Chroma and Paint Colors: The Definitive Guide You Need to Read Wondering how this applies to specifying paint colors?
Well, there’s a lot you can do with it but let’s talk about one example.
Let’s say we’re looking for a wall color and a white to go with it for the trim, doors, cabinets.
I have a rule-of-thumb for Chroma. I like to see a difference of about 0.20 (ish) between white trim color and the wall color.
Let me explain.
If you want the white trim color to look white, bright, crisp and clean, then you always want your trim color to have LESS Chroma than the wall color – by about 0.20 (ish).
Or we can look at it the other way.
Your wall color needs to have MORE Chroma than the trim.
If you follow that rule of thumb, then your white trim color won’t end up looking dirty or dingy next to the wall color.
Have you figured out why it works that way?
It’s because the trim color with LESS Chroma is closer to a true neutral white than the wall color.
The wall color has more Chroma (or colorfulness) and the white trim color is literally more neutral; which means it’s going to look crisper and cleaner.
So in the case of these three colors, Extra White is a better choice to get a crisper and cleaner white trim contrast with Moderne Gray walls.
Because it meets my 0.20 (ish)Chroma difference rule of thumb.
However, Snowfall could also work even though it doesn’t quite meet my 0.20 rule of thumb; it would be worth taking a look at in the space to see what it looks like.
And that’s because even though there is only a difference of 0.10 in Chroma, Moderne White is darker. There is some difference in Chroma, 0.10, and the contrast in Value might be enough to make it work.
So sure, if you’re liking the palette idea of Snowfall White and Moderne White, get samples. If you think it looks pretty in context of your lighting and contents of the room, you’re good to go.
Alternatively, Snowfall White would be a good option for the ceiling if you didn’t want to use Moderne Gray on the ceiling too.
Extra White trim, Moderne Gray walls and a Snowfall ceiling is what I’d recommend first.
Start with Samplize samples of all three colors. Here are the links: Extra White Sample
Snowfall White Sample, Moderne White Sample
WHAT’s the Difference Between LRV and Chroma? Are you familiar with LRV, Light Reflectance Value? (LRV scales are included in Colorographies too)
If you are, then this Chroma scale that we’re discussing should feel familiar. Let me be clear that LRV and Chroma speak to two completely separate dimensions of color. And I explain in this post about LRV how important it is to not confuse the two.
The similarity I’m referring to is just that they can both be illustrated using a scale format.
Just like LRV, Chroma is an attribute of color that we can measure and illustrate on a scale.
Difference is the LRV scale tells you how much light a color reflects and conversely absorbs and the Chroma scale tells you how strong, colorful and clean -or- weak, neutral and muddied a color looks.
It’s that simple, Chroma tells you how strong and colorful -or- weak and muddied a color will look.
- You don’t have to shuffle samples or chips to see which color is stronger/clean or weaker/dirty.
- You don’t have to guess or struggle or worry that your “eye for color” isn’t skilled enough.
- You can just reference the Chroma value on the Colorography.
Wave PURITY determines Chroma Want to know the best part?
As you get more experience working with Chroma values, you organically develop more skill recognizing Chroma differences.
It becomes a reflex.
Consider it on-the-job training for your eyeballs.
Pretty freaking cool isn’t it!?
Where to Find Chroma for Paint Colors? Because understanding Chroma for paint colors is so powerful, I made it easy to find in The Paint Color DNA Table.
It has Chroma values for all major brands including brands that are typically hard to find any information about like Farrow & Ball and Magnolia Home.
It’s a free resource and, frankly, the very best color tool you can find.
It’s the best because you can use the filters at the top of the table to search, sort and save paint colors by Chroma — as well as hue angle, hue family, value and LRV.
Paint manufacturers do not provide hue, value, chroma notations for their paint colors. The Land of Color is the only resource for this information and this kind of color tool.
That’s one of the reasons I also created The Colorography Lab. You can find Chroma values for the most popular colors from all major brands in the Colorographies posted there too. Click to check it out.
Beware of other websites like encycolorpedia and myperfectcolor. Because the color data values they publish have issues; namely they’re using the incorrect color space.
If you want to learn more about the science side of color from someone you can trust, sign up or my Four Pillars of Color course.
Knowing which color space or model to use to get successful color design results every time is just one of many valuable nuggets of color knowledge you’ll learn.
Table Of Contents
- Where Do I Find LRV for Paint Colors?
- Why is LRV for Paint Colors Important
- What is LRV – Light Reflectance Value?
- Light Reflectance Value Chart
- Does Cutting Paint Color Formulas Change LRV?
- What is the Difference Between LRV and Value?
- LRV and White Paint Colors
- Why is LRV Controversial?
- How is LRV Different from Chroma
- How Do You Use LRV to Choose Paint Colors?
- LRV and Exterior Paint Colors
- Vinyl Safe Paint Products
- How do Color Pros use LRV for Paint and Material Colors?
- How Do I Get LRV for Stuff Other than Paint Colors?
By: Lori Sawaya, Color Strategist | Albert R. Sawaya II, EE, MBA • Metrology Expert
Where Do I Find LRV for Paint Colors? LRV is the acronym for Light Reflectance Value. LRV quantifies the lightness and brightness of a color.
The Paint Color DNA Table has LRV for all major brands including hard to find Farrow & Ball LRV and Magnolia Home LRV. It’s a free resource and, frankly, the very best color tool you can find.
It’s the best because you can use the filters at the top of the table to search, sort and save paint colors by LRV — as well as hue angle, hue family, chroma and value.
Value, by the way, is NOT the same as LRV and we’re gonna get into that in a minute.
In addition to the Paint Color DNA Table, you may have noticed these three letters on manufacturer’s color specifications, on the back of paint swatches or noticed an entire column dedicated on precious few square inches of space available in the index of paint fandecks.
Why is LRV for Paint Colors Important Paying attention to a color’s LRV can prevent poor color/paint color selections by helping you evaluate how much light a color reflects and determine how that color will contribute to the overall aesthetic and atmosphere.
Read on to learn how.
Pottery Barn Oakleigh Canopy Bed For example, choose a color with a higher LRV if you’re going for a light and airy vibe instead of dark and moody.
Pottery Barn Farmhouse Bedroom Furniture It works the other way as well; choosing a color with a lower LRV means the color will be darker and align better with a moodier look and feel.
What is LRV – Light Reflectance Value? Don’t panic. No color science-y jargon ahead. I’m breaking it all down for you.
Light Reflectance Value (LRV) is the total quantity of visible and useable light reflected by a surface in all directions and at all wavelengths when illuminated by a light source. (I suggest you don’t copy and paste this definition – shouldn’t have to say that but I do. You can always look it up yourself. I referenced British Standard BS 8300:2001/A1:2005)
Simply explained: LRV quantifies the lightness and brightness of a color.
Light Reflectance Value Chart LRV runs on a scale from 0% to 100%. Zero assumed to be an absolute black and 100% being an assumed perfectly reflective white.
An absolute black or perfectly reflecting white does not exist in our everyday terms. Approximately speaking, the average blackest black has an LRV of 5% and the whitest white 85%.
LRV is a measurement that tells you how much light a color reflects. If you do the math, you can figure out how much it will absorb too. 100 – LRV = % absorbed. Simple, right?
Again, LRV runs on a scale of 0% to 100% so 50% would be a mid-value paint color. Fifty percent LRV is the common lightness/brightness guideline for residential interiors.
Below the mid-point of 50%, and you know the color will tend to be darker absorbing more light than it will reflect back into the room. Thus, an interior lighting plan that accounts for the darker paint color should be a priority.
Colors with LRV higher than 50% will be lighter and will reflect more light back into the room than is absorbed.
I’ve considered putting this on billboards in major cities. I’m kidding (kind of).
LRV has one job. It tells you what proportion of available light a color will reflect.
That’s it.
That’s all it does.
And it doesn’t matter how much light there is. A little or a lot, the LRV is the LRV; if a color has a LRV of 55%, it’s going to reflect 55% of however much light hits it.
That only makes sense – because how could a color reflect more or less than the quantity of available light at any given time? (rhetorical question for effect)
Does Cutting Paint Color Formulas Change LRV? Yes. The new color created would need to be measured to get its LRV. There is no way to predict how its luminance will be different from the old color.
Whenever you cut an existing formula, you are creating a new color because all 3 dimensions of color, hue, value and chroma will be affected.
Color is 3 dimensional (hue, value, chroma) and all 3 dimensions of the color will change – not just the part you don’t like.
You don’t know what part – or parts – of the color will change or by how much until you have the color mixed, let it dry and look at it. Read this blog post about why it’s not a good idea to tweak colors.
What is the Difference Between LRV and Value? There is a difference between Value and LRV. It is not a matter of semantics, folks. You need both metrics to comprehensively evaluate a color’s lightness and brightness.
Which is why I include both LRV and Value in all the Colorographies over in The Colorography Lab and The Paint Color DNA Table too.
Unlike LRV, Value is not a measurement. It’s a judgement of visual lightness, how a color looks compared to a grayscale.
Here’s how it works: Value describes how the quantity of light (LRV) reflected from a surface looks compared to light reflected by black (0%), white (100%) and various steps of neutral grays in between.
Because LRV is a measurement, it flat out tells you how much light a color reflects.
Note my Value scale has eyeballs because Value indicates visual lightness, how light or dark a color looks.
My LRV scale has sun shines because it flat out tells you how much light a color reflects.
There are no coincidences here at The Land of Color. Threads of color science and expertise are deeply woven in everywhere.
LRV and White Paint Colors News flash. Some yellows can measure up into the 80’s or 90’s just like colors of white and off-white. The proof is in the pudding as they say and colors of yellow, my friends, is all we need to prove that LRV says NOTHING about how white, neutral or colorful a color is.
For example, this statement is incorrect: “The higher the number, the more light that paint color reflects. This means that the more “white” a paint color is, the higher the number will be on a scale of 0-100.”
That is NOT what a higher LRV number means.
This is incorrect too:“Choosing a color with a higher LRV can be a challenge. Shades of white will have a high light reflective value, picking up the colors around them.”
The amount of light that a color reflects has absolutely NOTHING to do with “picking up the colors around them”
Note where Chantilly Lace OC-65 falls on the list. We pulled the most current LRV value from Benjamin Moore’s updated website.
Before you race off to the comments to tell me that so-and-so blog or so-and-so video says Chantilly Lace has a LRV of 92.2, take a look at this graphic that includes a screen shot of Benjamin Moore’s old website.
So, what the heck is up with that?
I could speculate why there are three different published LRV values for Chantilly Lace. But it doesn’t matter, kind of not a big deal, and I’ll tell you what to do about it shortly.
What I do know for sure is this is an example of why LRV is a controversial topic in color science world.
Why is LRV Controversial? The controversy has to do with the accuracy of Light Reflectance Values. How they’re measured, the standards, the science, the math, the instrumentation, the whole LRV enchilada is debatable.
Consistency helps.
Understand that LRV is “reasonably informative” and it’s plenty accurate enough for a color design application. If you know how to use it correctly.
That goes for all color data values, not just LRV.
If LRV is critical for an application, the thing to do is get the values from a single source. Everyone in the loop needs to agree that the single source identified is the agreed upon standard. In a word, consistency.
With regard to paint colors, you shouldn’t compare LRV values from different brands and think the values are telling you minute differences in luminance. (Luminance is an umbrella term for Value and LRV)
Because they don’t. Because the values are from different sources.
Easyrgb.com is a source I recommend for lots of things but it’s especially useful for consistent LRV info for paint colors. How and why is too much for a blog post but I teach you all about that and more in The Four Pillars of Color course.
The Four Pillars of Color by Camp Chroma If you’re in a position where LRV matters so much that you need to identify a standard to get everyone in the loop on the same page, you should be taking my course immediately.
If you’ve learned more from this one blog post than you have anywhere else about LRV or color in general, my course will blow your mind – money back guarantee.
I have a pro tip to share right now. Instead of saying Chantilly Lace is the whitest white from Benjamin Moore because it has a LRV of 92.2, it’s better to say Chantilly Lace has a LRV in the 90 to 92 range.
Tight LRV ranges makes comparing LRV values from different brands more realistic, meaningful and useful.
Also, when Benjamin Moore updates their website with new LRV numbers (likely), you don’t have to worry about that old blog post or video waxing poetic about Chantilly Lace and its astronomical 92.2 LRV and how that means it’s the whitest of white of all the paint colors in the land.
Here’s a little more controversy. Bloggers and vloggers toss around color science jargon like they know what it means. I suspect most of them are copying and pasting the same bad information from each other — without realizing who they lifted the info from more than likely made up most of it for the sake of writing a post about LRV.
Or they copied and pasted from here and in the process of changing it around so it didn’t scream plagiarism, the mangled result is everything but correct. Simply citing a source with a link never killed anyone by the way.
There isn’t an abundance of quality science-based information out there on the interwebs about LRV written for the layperson. Color scientists write for other color scientists.
Not homeowners who are totally confused by the undertones theory, tired of the visual gymnastics trying to see undertones someone said they’re suppose see, and tired of spending money on samples..
Unless you’re digging deep into the science of measuring colors for LRV, there isn’t a whole lot to say.
LRV tells you how much light a color reflects. End of story. That’s not sensationalized enough for an exciting blog post and certainly not keywordy enough for Google.
Also, may I remind you that the science behind LRV is controversial and the few who understand why might not want to deal with the fallout. (apparently I’m feeling prepared because this is one of the longest blog posts I have ever written)
How is LRV Different from Chroma Here’s another problem. Many conflate LRV with Chroma and attempt to apply LRV values to describe how strong or weak a color looks. Some refer to it as more white or gray, clean or dirty, vivid or dull, bold or muted, etc.
Don’t worry, I’m going to make sure that’s not you and that you know how Chroma is different from LRV. >>> When you’re done here, go read this post where I explain why Chroma is the correct way to talk about how strong or weak a color looks.
Saturation and intensity also speak to the colorfulness dimension of color but when we’re talking about paint and material color, Chroma is the better term to use. Not saturation. Maybe intensity (ish). And – for the love – absolutely not LRV.
One of the biggest mistakes I see with LRV is assuming that it’s some kind of safeguard against choosing vivid, gaudy colors. Homeowner Associations (HOA’s) are the most confused about this.
Let’s talk about yellow again. Choosing a yellow that is too strong and vividly assaulting is a common mistake.
People choose a yellow from a small chip thinking they’re going to get a color like a stick of butter but instead they end up with crime-scene-tape-yellow. LRV won’t prevent that from happening. You know what will?
Chroma. Seriously, go read the article.
If you’re on an HOA and here trying to figure out how to make LRV work for your community, call me.
How Do You Use LRV to Choose Paint Colors? Benchmarks.
When sampling paint colors, pay attention to Light Reflectance Values as you try different hues, tints, tones, and shades. Use LRV as a framework to map out lighter and darker; track what you like or don’t like about the paint colors you’re sampling.
It will help you define what’s too light or too dark so you can zero in on the right color.
LRV and Exterior Paint Colors This one is a big one. You need to read color specifications for exterior products. For example, vinyl siding. Painting vinyl siding with a color that has too low of an LRV, that absorbs too much light and energy and thus retains too much heat, could result in warped siding.
All exterior products have color specifications. Siding, windows, doors, garage doors etc. have color specifications that states a requirement of paint colors with an LRV of (some #) or higher. It’s usually in the range of 55 to 65.
The pros at your professional paint store can advise about product and process to use. (More about this coming up.)
If you do not use one of the specially formulated products, you are limited to a paint color that is within the same tight LRV range as the original color. Or, best case, the warranty is voided. Worse case, your house ends up like this. ^
The owner of this house called because they were in process of suing everyone involved. The key issue was someone thought specifying a custom color for an exterior was a grand idea.
Custom colors exterior are NEVER a good idea.
Stock paint colors have LRV notated from the manufacturer. Custom colors don’t. And that’s why they needed my help; they needed to find out how to get the custom color measured in order to prove that it was too dark and caused the original pale yellow siding to do this.
Since I designed an LRV app for the Color Muse and have written extensively about it, I get several phone calls every year from attorneys who have been hired by homeowners who had vinyl siding, windows, etc. painted and the result is what you see here – unfortunate twisting and warping. Painting windows black has been a trend lately and it’s a problem.
Many cases over the years involved free color consulting either from the painter or paint store. The consultant didn’t know about LRV and specified a stock color that was too dark.
The really messy ones are when the consultant who doesn’t know about LRV specifies a custom color that hasn’t been measured for LRV or light fastness.
Custom colors exterior are a bad plan as mentioned. Namely because if something goes wrong, you have to send colors off to a certified color lab to be measured by a color $cientist.
Which is why I’m obnoxious about telling people that stock colors mixed in their home product line is smart and custom colors are a bad plan.
Here’s what to do before you paint your windows black. Word of caution, don’t start painting your white vinyl windows black without doing some homework.
Vinyl Safe Paint Products Some paint manufacturers have developed special formulations for painting heat-sensitive exterior surfaces. The color palettes are pretty good and you should be able to find something that works.
Sherwin-Williams has VinylSafe Paint Colors. Here’s the VinylSafe color palette.
Benjamin Moore used to have a specific product for vinyl called REVIVE. It’s been discontinued and they’re recommending their Regal line for exterior vinyl. Check with your paint store pro for product and color guidance. Here’s a link about their Colors for Vinyl.
How do Color Pros use LRV for Paint and Material Colors? Color consultants, architects, and designers use LRV data in several stages of color planning.
From a sustainability point of view, a wall color with a higher LRV supports lighting plans by helping to propagate daylight deep into the space. Thereby reducing the standard number of lighting fixtures required to enable employees to efficiently and safely perform their tasks.
Many more examples can be found in the workplace. Careful planning for proper visual ergonomics is paramount in color design. From individual work surfaces to the outside walkways, ramps, hand-railings and everything in between.
LRV is an instrumental measurement ideally captured with a sphere-based spectrophotometer using a D65 illuminant and 10 degree observer. The measurement is the proportion of visible light reflected by a stimulus (colored surface) weighted for the sensitivity to light of the human eye.
Examples of regulations and codes of practice to reference are BS 8300:2009 and BS8493:2008 + A1:2010.
In general, standards say there needs to be a set amount of LRV contrast between certain elements in the space for the purpose of visual ergonomics. Adequate LRV visual contrasts help people who are visually impaired navigate their environment – because they can (generally) pick up light and dark contrasts.
If you have normal or near normal vision, hue and chroma (color intensity) provides the visual cues you need to safely navigate through a space. It’s different for people who are visually impaired; their initial point of reference is light vs. dark and that’s sensed via the amount of light reflected from colored surfaces – which is exactly what LRV quantifies.
Different standards have different definitions of what the ideal visual contrast ratio between colored elements should be and how to get it.
What’s known as the American Contrast Ratio formula is: (B1 – B2) x 100 / B1, where B1 and B2 are the LRV of the lighter area and darker area, respectively.
The average target contrast ratio is 70% between colors. Again, there are different standards for what defines the ideal contrast ratio and how to calculate it.
My LRV Guru App uses the above formula and the default ratio alarm is 70% but you can adjust it to whatever you want. More info about the app is in the next section.
How Do I Get LRV for Stuff Other than Paint Colors? I happen to have an app for that. I launched it February, 2014 because – believe it or not – numbers and math are not my thing. I got tired of calculating LRV contrast ratios. Google the American contrast ratio equation if you want to see the details. Or, just download the LRV Guru app and let it do all the work.
In 2013 I reached out to Variable, Inc. who pioneered affordable, portable color measurement devices and asked about working together on an app.
And, voila the LRV Guru app was brought into the world. Well, it wasn’t exactly voila. We did a lot of research before the voila part happened.
So yeah, if you do the math here, you’ll see that I designed this app a while ago and have a lot of experience applying and analyzing how LRV and paint colors work.
The app has never needed updating because math. Because science. LRV was reasonably informative then, LRV is reasonably informative now.
LRV Contrast Ratios & LCh? Here’s an app for that – Info Page here
Tap to Buy Color Muse Tap to Get App Bonus – in addition to reasonably informative LRV values, the app also displays LCh values. Which is a whole other marathon color topic that’s covered in my course.
Sign up. I’d love to welcome you into our mighty Camp Chroma tribe of Color Strategists.
LRV Guru works with Color Muse to measure LRV.
Try Samplize Peel & Stick Alabaster on The Color Strategist Color Wheel This is what you need to know about choosing wall colors if you have Sherwin-Williams Alabaster SW 7008 on your doors and trim.
We’ll use a color wheel because it illustrates color relationships.
Featured in the image below is a custom color wheel called The Color Strategist Color Wheel that I created; it’s the core of the system I designed for choosing colors.
You can learn how to use The Color Strategist Color Wheel and everything you need to know about how color really works in my Camp Chroma online color training program. Click here to enroll.
As you can see on the color wheel, Alabaster belongs to the yellow hue family – pretty much smack dab in the middle of the yellow hue family.
You can get a Samplize paint sample of Alabaster HERE.
If you partner Alabaster with near neutrals from the same yellow hue family, you have to be super careful about managing the chroma.
Chroma is the amount of perceivable grayness in a color. In other words, chroma is about how vivid/strong or neutral/weak a color looks.
A near neutral wall color from the same yellow hue family neighborhood would have to have a difference in chroma of at least 20 (ish) compared to Alabaster.
Some examples are as follows:
Try Samplize Peel & Stick Ethereal Mood SW 7639 by Sherwin Williams has MORE chroma than Alabaster and the difference in chroma is comfortably more than 20. And it’s darker in Value/LRV which also helps Alabaster look crisp and not dingy. Get a Samplize peel and stick sample of Ethereal Mood HERE.
Try Samplize Peel & Stick or Crushed Ice SW 7647 from Sherwin-Williams it has LESS chroma than Alabaster. The difference in chroma between these two colors is 19 but it works – that’s what I mean by a difference of 20 (ish). Again, Crushed Ice is darker than Alabaster and that helps too.
Get a Samplize peel and stick sample of Crushed Ice HERE.
That’s how you make Alabaster cabinets, doors and trim look brighter and whiter in comparison to a near neutral wall color from the same hue family neighborhood.
Going back to the color wheel, near neutrals from hue families opposite (ish) yellow will help Alabaster ‘pop’ as cleaner and brighter.
Managing the grayness, choosing colors that are comfortably different in terms of chroma from Alabaster isn’t such a priority using this strategy.
Because contrast of hue will do the hard work to make Alabaster look more crisp in comparison.
Try Samplize Peel & Stick For example, Sherwin-Williams Rhinestone SW 7656. It belongs to the Green Hue Family (G). Want to see Rhinestone in your space? Grab a Samplize sample of Rhinestone HERE.
Try Samplize Peel & Stick or Evening Shadow SW 7662. It belongs to the Blue Hue Family (B). Click to get a Samplize peel and stick sample of Evening Shadow HERE.
Try Samplize Peel & Stick or Ben Moore’s Feather Gray 2127-60. It belongs to the Purple-Blue Hue Family (PB). Get a Samplize sample of Feather Gray HERE.
Try Samplize Peel & Stick or Genesis White 2134-70 would work too. It belongs to the Blue-Green Hue Family (BG) and you can get a Samplize sample to test it in your space HERE: Genesis White
If you try any of these color combinations, let me know.
Why were you searching for info about Alabaster? Planning to use it on walls, cabinets, trim or everything?
Color by the numbers – the right numbers, the right way.
There is an art AND science to not just paint colors but ALL colors. You all have come to know The Land of Color brand as your go-to experts for color measurements, spectral data, and all the things color data values.
We make choosing paint colors easy. We are the only resource that translates the amazing science of color into a step-by-step system that helps homeowners and designers make color decisions confidently.
I think it has resonated with so many because it is easy – and – I’m always careful to temper our concept of Color By The Numbers with one of my favorite quotes from Fred Billmeyer, Jr., chemist, color scientist and author of multiple books.
Anticipation is killing me. I want to share 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒘! But my team (small team) says we’re not ready.
I’ve worked for decades to bring you a practical, evidence-based approach to color. That’s the foundation of my online color training course, The Four Pillars of Color that I launched in 2016.
A.K.A. – 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒆.
Color By The Numbers to Get the Color Design Results You Want Because I have shared so much over the years on public forums like Houzz, my point of view is sometimes imitated…. without citation or credit.
Is it illegal? You bet. Copyrights are a real thing. One can’t just copy and paste from original authors no matter where it’s been published. Unfortunately, I have had to pursue infringement more than once. Sharing links to cite sources is better than stealing other’s work is the lesson a few have had to learn the hard way.
But as I’ve gotten more experience with this kind of situation, I realized that anyone who resorts to something as desperate as plagiarism, is struggling with some deep issues – it’s sad and I kinda feel sorry for them more than anything.
Sunlight is the antidote for sad and dark.
So, instead of pulling back, sharing less, putting up more pay walls to protect intellectual property that took years of research, blood, sweat and tears, I’ve decided to share bigger and more openly.
I’m not expecting perfection immediately but as right as possible would be good. And I guess I can wait for that. Stayed tuned.
Tricorn Black SW 6258 by Sherwin-Williams
Tap for Samplize Peel & Stick Sample
REVIEW OF Tricorn Black SW 6258Every color belongs to a hue family – even colors of black, gray and white. There are ten hue families as you can see on the Color Strategist Color Wheel above.
Tricorn Black belongs to the Purple-Blue (PB) hue family and its appearance is often classified as “just black”, no discernible hue bias.
Which is typical for colors of black from this hue family neighborhood.
I’m often asked to compare Tricorn Black to Peppercorn – two very popular colors for interior as well as exterior.
So, let’s dig in and compare the important color attributes. I pulled the color data value profiles from The Color DNA Table so we can rationally compare the two colors.
Tricorn Black is darker in Value than the popular Peppercorn SW 7674.
As you can see by looking at the Color Strategist Color Wheel above, Peppercorn is is ordered right in the middle of the Purple (P) Hue Family.
In comparison, Tricorn Black is Purple-Blue (PB) and is darker, not as bright; it looks like a true black whereas Peppercorn is higher in Value and as a result it’s a brighter color.
They’re the same in terms of Chroma.
Chroma is about neutralness – how vivid and colorful or muted and grayed a color looks.
These colors are both near neutrals but Peppercorn has a more grayed, softer appearance and that’s mostly because it’s lighter than Tricorn.
Hue Family is as important to know with dark colors as it is with barely-there light near neutrals.
Because color harmony is based on color relationships. And you can’t map out color relationships on a color wheel unless you know what hue family your color belongs to.
Did you know you can sort thousands of colors by hue family in The Color DNA Table? Actually, you can sort by value, chroma and LRV too. Subscribe today and feel what it’s like to have control of color instead of color controlling you.
Whites Value 9.12 to 10.00 Chroma less than 0.55
Off-Whites Value 9.12 to 10.00 Chroma 0.55 to 1.15
Light Near Neutrals Value 8.12 up to 9.12 Chroma 0.1 to 1.00
Near NeutralsValue 0.1 up to 8.12Chroma 0.1 to 1.00
Get Hue, Value, Chroma and LRV for Paint Colors
Our Color DNA Table has notations for 6,000+ colors from major brands including Farrow & Ball and Magnolia Home!
Go To Color DNA Table
Hue Family Tricorn Black SW 6258 In context of its Hue Family neighborhood, 5 PB (Purple-Blue), on The Color Strategist Color Wheel. The pink arrows point to where Tricorn Black SW 6258 fits in among the other colors according to its Value 2.87 rounded to 2.88 and Chroma of 0.16 rounded to 0.00.
PICTURES OF TRICORN BLACK SW 6258click to go to Pinterest board
The post Tricorn Black SW 6258 by Sherwin-Williams appeared first on The Land of Color.
Peppercorn 7674 by Sherwin-Williams
Tap for Samplize Peel & Stick Sample
Get Hue, Value, Chroma and LRV for Paint Colors
Our Color DNA Table has notations for 6,000+ colors from major brands including Farrow & Ball and Magnolia Home!
Go To Color DNA Table
Color Review / ComparisonIn context of its Hue Family neighborhood, 5 P on The Color Strategist Color Wheel. The pink arrows point to where it fits in among the other colors according to its Value 4.06 rounded to 4.00 and Chroma of 0.15 rounded to 0.25.
REVIEW OF Peppercorn SW 7674I’m often asked to compare Peppercorn to Tricorn Black – two very popular colors for interior as well as exterior.
So, let’s dig in and compare the important color attributes. I pulled the color data value profiles from The Color DNA Table so we can rationally compare the two colors.
Peppercorn is lighter in Value than the popular Tricorn Black.
As you can see by looking at the Color Strategist Color Wheel above, Peppercorn is is ordered right in the middle of the Purple (P) Hue Family.
In comparison, Tricorn Black is Purple-Blue (PB) and is darker, not as bright; it looks like a true black whereas Peppercorn is higher in Value and as a result it’s a brighter color.
Could describe Peppercorn as a classic charcoal or flannel gray
They’re the same in terms of Chroma.
Chroma is about neutralness – how vivid and colorful or muted and grayed a color looks.
These colors are both near neutrals but Peppercorn has a more grayed, softer appearance and that’s because it’s lighter than Tricorn.
Hue Family is as important to know with dark colors as it is with barely-there light near neutrals.
Because color harmony is based on color relationships. And you can’t map out color relationships on a color wheel unless you know what hue family your color belongs to.
Did you know you can sort thousands of colors by hue family in The Color DNA Table? Actually, you can sort by value, chroma and LRV too. Subscribe today and feel what it’s like to have control of color instead of color controlling you.
PICTURES OF PEPPERCORN SW 7674click to go to Pinterest Board
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White Heron 7627 by Sherwin-Williams
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Is it White or Off-White?The Color Category is factually a Light Near Neutral because of its Value of 8.93 and Chroma of 0.68.
NOTE: Benjamin Moore has a color named White Heron too and it is a very different color. I pulled the color data profiles from The Color DNA Table so you can compare them below.
Sherwin-Williams’ White Heron is too colorful and too dark to fit in either the White or Off-White category. That means it would be a wonderful wall color with a color of White on trim, doors and cabinets. For example, Extra White or Pure White.
How are we able to so clearly and concisely categorize color of whites and off-whites? Because we have hue, value, chroma and LRV color notations that describe what colors look like. So, we can easily eliminate confusion and chaos. Making the task of sorting and categorizing paint colors an absolute pleasure:
Whites Value 9.12 to 10.00 Chroma less than 0.55
Off-Whites Value 9.12 to 10.00 Chroma 0.55 to 1.15
Light Near Neutrals Value 8.12 up to 9.12 Chroma 0.1 to 1.00
Near NeutralsValue 0.1 up to 8.12Chroma 0.1 to 1.00
Get Hue, Value, Chroma and LRV for Paint Colors
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White Heron SW 7627 Hue Family In context of its Hue Family neighborhood, 2 Y on The Color Strategist Color Wheel. The pink arrows point to where it fits in among the other colors according to its Value 8.93 rounded to 9 and Chroma of 0.68 rounded to 0.75.
PICTURES OF WHITE HERON SW 7627click to go to Pinterest board
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Aesthetic White 7035 by Sherwin-Williams
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What is the Color Category?LIGHT NEAR NEUTRAL – because of its Value of 8.79 and Chroma of 0.73.
It’s too dark to be considered an off-white. It’s actually at the upper end of the Light Near Neutral category verging on a Near Neutral.
It’ might be named Aesthetic White but – interior – expect a color, not a color of white.
For exterior this is a good option if you’re looking for a paint color to show up looking light and bright but not stark white. This one looks very different outside in full daylight compared to the Light Near Neutral you’re going to get interior; for some Aesthetic White fits in to the Greige category.
Because it does belong to the warmer side of the Yellow Hue Family and it’s relatively low in Chroma. Low in Chroma meaning more grayed down, muted compared to a typical, full-on beige color like Kilim Beige, for example.
As far as overtones, you want to look for moments of peachy-pink. It’s unlikely AW is going to flash with flesh tones because it’s closer to the middle of the Yellow Hue Family than it is over toward Yellow-Red. But whenever you test Light Near Neutrals from the warm side of the Yellow Hue Family, it’s good to at least be aware of its neighboring Yellow-Red Hue Family and how it could influence how it shows up in your space.
How are we able to so clearly and concisely categorize color of whites and off-whites? Because we have hue, value, chroma and LRV color notations that describe what colors look like. So, we can easily eliminate confusion and chaos. Making the task of sorting and categorizing paint colors an absolute pleasure:
Whites Value 9.12 to 10.00 Chroma less than 0.55
Off-Whites Value 9.12 to 10.00 Chroma 0.55 to 1.15
Light Near Neutrals Value 8.12 up to 9.12 Chroma 0.1 to 1.00
Near NeutralsValue 0.1 up to 8.12Chroma 0.1 to 1.00
Get Hue, Value, Chroma and LRV for Paint Colors
Our Color DNA Table has notations for 6,000+ colors from major brands including Farrow & Ball and Magnolia Home!
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Aesthetic White SW 7035 Hue Family In context of its Hue Family neighborhood, 3 Y, on The Color Strategist Color Wheel. The pink arrows point to where Aesthetic White 7035 fits in among the other colors according to its Value 8.79 rounded to 8.75 and Chroma of 0.73 rounded to 0.75.
PICTURES OF AESTHETIC WHITE SW 7035click to go to Pinterest board
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Greek Villa 7551 by Sherwin-Williams
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What is the Color Category?OFF-WHITE – because of its Value of 9.33 and Chroma of 0.71.
GV sits comfortably in the middle of the Chroma range for an off-white. And it – obviously – has enough brightness to meet the Value requirements for an off-white. The brightness comes from its yellow hue family pedigree.
If you want to pair GV with a color of white, follow my rule of thumb and make sure there is a difference in Chroma of 0.20 (ish). Don’t be a slave to the numbers, however. Instead use them as a framework. In other words, if it’s a difference of 0.17, it could be fine – if you like how it looks in your lighting and context of the contents of your room, then you’re good to go.
Pairing GV with stronger colors (meaning colors that are darker (lower Value) and have more Chroma) will make it show up looking more like a white than an off-white.
So, if you’re seeing moments of yellowness and you want GV to show up more white and less creamy off-white, try it with stronger colors like Natural Choice or Shiitake.
How are we able to so clearly and concisely categorize color of whites and off-whites? Because we have hue, value, chroma and LRV color notations that describe what colors look like. So, we can easily eliminate confusion and chaos. Making the task of sorting and categorizing paint colors an absolute pleasure:
Whites Value 9.12 to 10.00 Chroma less than 0.55
Off-Whites Value 9.12 to 10.00 Chroma 0.55 to 1.15
Light Near Neutrals Value 8.12 up to 9.12 Chroma 0.1 to 1.00
Near NeutralsValue 0.1 up to 8.12Chroma 0.1 to 1.00
Get Hue, Value, Chroma and LRV for Paint Colors
Our Color DNA Table has notations for 6,000+ colors from major brands including Farrow & Ball and Magnolia Home!
Go To Color DNA Table
Greek Villa SW 7551 Hue FamilyHere’s Greek Villa SW 7551 by Sherwin-Williams in context of its Hue Family neighborhood, 6 Y (Yellow), on The Color Strategist Color Wheel. The pink arrows point to where Greek Villa SW 7551 fits in among the other colors according to its Value 9.33 rounded to 9.25 and Chroma of 0.71 rounded to 0.75.
PICTURES OF BEACH GREEK VILLA SW 7551click to go to Pinterest board
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High Reflective White SW 7757 by Sherwin-Williams
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What is the Color Category?WHITE – because of its Value of 9.59 and Chroma of 0.23.
Let’s call it HRW for short. The colors of white that are perceived as being “just white” belong to this Green-Yellow hue family neighborhood.
HRW is no exception. However, under certain light sources and contexts, you can see moments of greenish and/or yellow.
When it comes to all colors of white and off-white, Hue Family and Chroma are the two most important attributes.
Because GY Hue Family indicates it’s highly probably that it’s going to show up as “just white”.
Lower Chroma values – under 0.50 – is a clue that the color has the potential to shift with the inherent quality of light. Which is different from higher Chroma colors that are stronger in colorfulness and as a result have more oomph to stand up to bossy lighting.
Lastly, with HRW it’s smart to choose the Sherwin-Williams product that you want to use FIRST. Because you can’t get this color in any can of paint your want – it has limited availability.
Be sure to ask your paint pro about HRW’s hide. The existing color/substrate and application method matters when you’re painting with a color of white because most of them have poor hide and require multiple coats.
For example, one coat of primer plus two to three coats of HRW is not uncommon. Always buy the top tier paint because that will help with hide.
It’s always best to test. I recommend Samplize Paint Peel & Stick samples because they’re made with real paint.
How do we know how to categorize color? Because we have hue, value, chroma and LRV color notations that describe what colors look like. So, we can easily sort and categorize paint colors:
Whites Value 9.12 to 10.00 Chroma less than 0.55
Off-Whites Value 9.12 to 10.00 Chroma 0.55 to 1.15
Light Near Neutrals Value 8.12 up to 9.12 Chroma 0.1 to 1.00
Near NeutralsValue 0.1 up to 8.12Chroma 0.1 to 1.00
Get Hue, Value, Chroma and LRV for Paint Colors
Our Color DNA Table has notations for 6,000+ colors from major brands including Farrow & Ball and Magnolia Home!
Go To Color DNA Table
High Reflective White SW 7757 Hue Family In context of its Hue Family neighborhood, 3 Y on The Color Strategist Color Wheel. The pink arrows point to where it fits in among the other colors according to its Value 9.59 rounded to 9.5 and Chroma of 0.23 rounded to 0.25.
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Edgecomb Gray HC 173 by Benjamin Moore
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Hue Family Edgecomb Gray HC-173In context of its Hue Family neighborhood, 2 Y (Yellow), on The Color Strategist Color Wheel. The pink arrows point to where it fits in among the other colors according to its Value 8.24 rounded to 8.25 and Chroma of 1.06 rounded to 1.00.
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Ethereal Mood 7639 by Sherwin-Williams
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Ethereal Mood 7639 Hue FamilyIn context of its Hue Family neighborhood, 3 Y, on The Color Strategist Color Wheel. The pink arrows point to where it fits in among the other colors according to its Value 6.77 rounded to 6.75 and Chroma of 1.24 rounded to 1.25.
Ethereal Mood 7639 Color ReviewEthereal Mood belongs to the Yellow Hue Family. If you look where it plots out on The Color Strategist Color Wheel above, you can see that it’s right around the middle of the Yellow Hue Family.
What this means is in a balanced quality of light (meaning there’s a nice mix of all the wavelengths in the visible spectrum) Ethereal Mood’s appearance could be described as a slightly darker than mid-tone “just gray”. However, under certain light sources, you could see moments of greeness.
Its LRV of 38% is what makes Ethereal Mood just slightly darker than a mid-tone (which would be 50% LRV).
I highly recommend Samplize Paint-Peel-and-Stick Color Sample Decals for testing Ethereal Mood in your space to make sure it’s not too dark for what you expect a “mid-tone” to look like and also be on the look out for moments of greeness.
Remember the definition of undertone is it’s just someone’s opinion about what a color looks like – to them – under and unspecified light source and context. Undertones aren’t a fact, they’re an opinion.
The notations we use here at The Land of Color are factual because they come directly from a colors DNA. We get the DNA by measuring we devices like Color Muse.
PICTURES OF ETHEREAL MOOD SW 7639click to go to Pinterest board
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Beach Glass 1564 by Benjamin Moore
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Paint Color Review – Beach Glass 1564It belongs to the Blue-Green hue family. But note WHERE within the BG hue family. It’s right on the border of the Green hue family just barely making it inside BG.
What this means is you can expect it to show up with more of a green bias than blue.
Its LRV is 50% which puts in smack dab in the middle of the LRV scale. This isn’t a light aqua kind of color. It has some body and colorfulness to it. Beach Glass is a classic option for a bedroom/bathroom suite and it would also be a gorgeous exterior color on the right house.
Beach Glass 1564 Hue FamilyIn context of its Hue Family neighborhood, 1 BG (Blue-Green), on The Color Strategist Color Wheel. The pink arrows point to where it fits in among the other colors according to its Value 7.38 and Chroma of 0.71
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Wind’s Breath OC-24 by Benjamin Moore
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Note: Wind’s Breath OC-24 and 981Wind’s Breath OC-24 by Benjamin Moore is in the Off-White Colors collection. It is the same color as Wind’s Breath 981 which can be found in the Classic Colors fandeck.
There are several colors that appear in both collections. We publish the OC color number because the Off-Whites Collection is smaller (152 colors) and more popular.
Hue Family Wind’s Breath OC-24In context of its Hue Family neighborhood, 3 Y (Yellow), on The Color Strategist Color Wheel. The pink arrows point to where it fits in among the other colors according to its Value of 8.57 rounded to 8.50 and Chroma 0.90 of rounded to 1.00.
PICTURES OF OC-24click to go to Pinterest board
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Fog Mist OC-31 by Benjamin Moore
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Hue Family Fog Mist OC-31In context of its Hue Family neighborhood, 2.5 Y (Yellow), on The Color Strategist Color Wheel. The pink arrows point to where it fits in among the other colors according to its Value of 8.65 rounded to 8.62 and Chroma of 0.90 rounded to 1.00.
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Heron Plume 6070 by Sherwin-Williams
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Hue Family Heron Plume SW 6070In context of its Hue Family neighborhood, 3 Y (Yellow), on The Color Strategist Color. The pink arrows point to where it fits in among the other colors according to its Value of 8.90 rounded to 8.88 and Chroma of 0.59 rounded to 0.75.
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