Elusive Dawn (Behr MQ2-36)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Elusive Dawn (Behr MQ2-36) is a medium, warm beige from Behr: LRV 54.4, so it reflects about 54 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Elusive Dawn
Four Behr colors picked for Elusive Dawn 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 Elusive Dawn, 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 | Classic Sand | SW 0056 | 53 | 1.7 | very close |
| Benjamin Moore | Boudoir | AF-190 | 55 | 1.2 | very close |
| Valspar | Milk Toast | 3001-10B | 54 | 0.8 | indistinguishable |
| PPG Paints | Cocoa Cream | 1079-3 | 60 | 2.5 | noticeably different |
Lighter and darker in Behr
The Behr beige colors nearest to Elusive Dawn (LRV 54.4 (estimated)) by LRV.
Lighter than Elusive Dawn
Darker than Elusive Dawn
Color data
| Brand | Behr |
|---|---|
| Color code | MQ2-36 |
| Hex | #D5BFAD |
| RGB | 213, 191, 173 |
| HSL | 27°, 32%, 76% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 54.4 (estimated from the hex) |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 78.7, 4.9, 11.9 |
| Undertone | Warm Yellow |
| Temperature | warm |
| Color family | Beige |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Elusive Dawn (Behr MQ2-36), published as #D5BFAD
#C5B5AB
#E6C9AD
These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works
Similar shades from Behr
More from Behr
Common questions
- What is the LRV of Elusive Dawn (Behr MQ2-36)?
- Elusive Dawn has an LRV of 54.4 (estimated from its hex value). LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Elusive Dawn is a medium color.
- What is the closest match to Elusive Dawn in another brand?
- Milk Toast (Valspar 3001-10B) from Valspar, at a deltaE of 0.8 (indistinguishable).
- Is Elusive Dawn warm or cool?
- Behr lists Elusive Dawn as warm, with a Warm Yellow undertone. Its Lab b* value is 11.9; 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.