Velvety Merlot (Behr PMD-43)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Velvety Merlot (Behr PMD-43) is a very deep, warm red from Behr: LRV 8.3, so it reflects about 8 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Velvety Merlot
Three Behr colors picked for Velvety Merlot by this site's color math: a trim white, 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 Velvety Merlot, 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 | Fine Wine | SW 6307 | 7 | 3.3 | noticeably different |
| Benjamin Moore | Plum Raisin | 2082-20 | 9.9 | 1.3 | very close |
| Valspar | Perennial Red | 1010-4 | 9 | 1.9 | very close |
| PPG Paints | Bordeaux | 1055-7 | 8 | 0.6 | indistinguishable |
Lighter and darker in Behr
The Behr red colors nearest to Velvety Merlot (LRV 8.3 (estimated)) by LRV.
Lighter than Velvety Merlot
Darker than Velvety Merlot
Color data
| Brand | Behr |
|---|---|
| Color code | PMD-43 |
| Hex | #794143 |
| RGB | 121, 65, 67 |
| HSL | 358°, 30%, 36% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 8.3 (estimated from the hex) |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 34.5, 24.4, 9.6 |
| Undertone | Warm |
| Temperature | warm |
| Color family | Red |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Velvety Merlot (Behr PMD-43), published as #794143
#6B3942
#874943
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 Velvety Merlot (Behr PMD-43)?
- Velvety Merlot has an LRV of 8.3 (estimated from its hex value). LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Velvety Merlot is a very deep color.
- What is the closest match to Velvety Merlot in another brand?
- Bordeaux (PPG 1055-7) from PPG Paints, at a deltaE of 0.6 (indistinguishable).
- Is Velvety Merlot warm or cool?
- Behr lists Velvety Merlot as warm, with a Warm undertone. Its Lab b* value is 9.6; 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.