Elemental Tan (Behr MQ2-21)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Elemental Tan (Behr MQ2-21) is a medium, warm beige from Behr: LRV 48.8, so it reflects about 49 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Elemental Tan
Four Behr colors picked for Elemental Tan by this site's color math: a trim white, a deeper beige, a quiet contrast from another family, a dark accent. Behr did not choose these pairings.
Closest match in every other brand
Each brand's closest color to Elemental Tan, ranked by CIEDE2000 (deltaE): under 1.0 is indistinguishable, 1.0 to 2.3 very close, 2.3 to 5 noticeably different, over 5 clearly different.
| Brand | Closest color | Code | LRV | deltaE | How close |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherwin-Williams | Macadamia | SW 6142 | 49 | 0.8 | indistinguishable |
| Benjamin Moore | Warm Sand | CSP-280 | 47.5 | 0.5 | indistinguishable |
| Valspar | Prairie Dance | 3006-10A | 48 | 1.9 | very close |
| PPG Paints | Best Beige | 1085-4 | 47 | 1.3 | very close |
Lighter and darker in Behr
The Behr beige colors nearest to Elemental Tan (LRV 48.8 (estimated)) by LRV.
Lighter than Elemental Tan
Darker than Elemental Tan
Color data
| Brand | Behr |
|---|---|
| Color code | MQ2-21 |
| Hex | #CAB79C |
| RGB | 202, 183, 156 |
| HSL | 35°, 30%, 70% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 48.8 (estimated from the hex) |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 75.3, 2.5, 16.2 |
| Undertone | Warm Yellow |
| Temperature | warm |
| Color family | Beige |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Elemental Tan (Behr MQ2-21), published as #CAB79C
#BAAD9A
#DBC19C
These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works
Similar shades from Behr
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Common questions
- What is the LRV of Elemental Tan (Behr MQ2-21)?
- Elemental Tan has an LRV of 48.8 (estimated from its hex value). LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Elemental Tan is a medium color.
- What is the closest match to Elemental Tan in another brand?
- Warm Sand (BM CSP-280) from Benjamin Moore, at a deltaE of 0.5 (indistinguishable).
- Is Elemental Tan warm or cool?
- Behr lists Elemental Tan as warm, with a Warm Yellow undertone. Its Lab b* value is 16.2; a higher b* is warmer and yellower, a lower one cooler and bluer.
Sources: hex as published by the manufacturer, via PaintDB (CC BY 4.0); LRV is not published by Behr for this color and is estimated here from the color's own hex value. Color differences are CIEDE2000 values computed by this site from the hex values (data snapshot 2026-10-01). Color names and codes belong to their manufacturers.