Charcoal Blue (Behr N490-5)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Charcoal Blue (Behr N490-5) is a very deep, cool gray from Behr: LRV 19.2, so it reflects about 19 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Charcoal Blue
Four Behr colors picked for Charcoal Blue by this site's color math: a trim white, a deeper gray, 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 Charcoal Blue, 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 | Downing Slate | SW 2819 | 21 | 2.5 | noticeably different |
| Benjamin Moore | Black Pepper | 2130-40 | 21.1 | 1.0 | indistinguishable |
| Valspar | Magnet Dapple | 4007-4A | 19 | 1.1 | very close |
| PPG Paints | Sheffield Gray | 1041-6 | 18 | 2.1 | very close |
Lighter and darker in Behr
The Behr gray colors nearest to Charcoal Blue (LRV 19.2 (estimated)) by LRV.
Lighter than Charcoal Blue
Darker than Charcoal Blue
Color data
| Brand | Behr |
|---|---|
| Color code | N490-5 |
| Hex | #6F7B84 |
| RGB | 111, 123, 132 |
| HSL | 206°, 9%, 48% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 19.2 (estimated from the hex) |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 50.9, -2.4, -6.4 |
| Undertone | Cool |
| Temperature | cool |
| Color family | Gray |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Charcoal Blue (Behr N490-5), published as #6F7B84
#5E7282
#808484
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 Charcoal Blue (Behr N490-5)?
- Charcoal Blue has an LRV of 19.2 (estimated from its hex value). LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Charcoal Blue is a very deep color.
- What is the closest match to Charcoal Blue in another brand?
- Black Pepper (BM 2130-40) from Benjamin Moore, at a deltaE of 1.0 (indistinguishable).
- Is Charcoal Blue warm or cool?
- Behr lists Charcoal Blue as cool, with a Cool undertone. Its Lab b* value is -6.4; 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.