Opal Waters (Behr MQ5-50)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Opal Waters (Behr MQ5-50) is a medium, cool blue from Behr: LRV 54.3, so it reflects about 54 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Opal Waters
Four Behr colors picked for Opal Waters by this site's color math: a trim white, a deeper blue, 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 Opal Waters, 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 | Honest Blue | SW 6520 | 55 | 0.5 | indistinguishable |
| Benjamin Moore | Serenata | AF-535 | 51.5 | 1.4 | very close |
| Valspar | Northern Sky Blue | 4008-5B | 53 | 1.9 | very close |
| PPG Paints | Twinkle | 1154-4 | 54 | 1.3 | very close |
Lighter and darker in Behr
The Behr blue colors nearest to Opal Waters (LRV 54.3 (estimated)) by LRV.
Lighter than Opal Waters
Darker than Opal Waters
Color data
| Brand | Behr |
|---|---|
| Color code | MQ5-50 |
| Hex | #B1C6D1 |
| RGB | 177, 198, 209 |
| HSL | 201°, 26%, 76% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 54.3 (estimated from the hex) |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 78.7, -4.8, -7.9 |
| Undertone | Cool |
| Temperature | cool |
| Color family | Blue |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Opal Waters (Behr MQ5-50), published as #B1C6D1
#9EBCCF
#C4D0D1
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 Opal Waters (Behr MQ5-50)?
- Opal Waters has an LRV of 54.3 (estimated from its hex value). LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Opal Waters is a medium color.
- What is the closest match to Opal Waters in another brand?
- Honest Blue (SW 6520) from Sherwin-Williams, at a deltaE of 0.5 (indistinguishable).
- Is Opal Waters warm or cool?
- Behr lists Opal Waters as cool, with a Cool undertone. Its Lab b* value is -7.9; 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.