Iron Oxide (Behr QE-15)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Iron Oxide (Behr QE-15) is a very deep, warm brown from Behr: LRV 12.5, so it reflects about 13 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Iron Oxide
Four Behr colors picked for Iron Oxide by this site's color math: a trim white, a deeper brown, 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 Iron Oxide, 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 | Canyon Clay | SW 6054 | 13 | 2.9 | noticeably different |
| Benjamin Moore | Abbey Brown | 1225 | 12.3 | 0.9 | indistinguishable |
| Valspar | Cowboy Suede | 2011-6 | 11 | 2.6 | noticeably different |
| PPG Paints | Spiced Cinnamon | 1071-7 | 13 | 2.4 | noticeably different |
Lighter and darker in Behr
The Behr brown colors nearest to Iron Oxide (LRV 12.5 (estimated)) by LRV.
Lighter than Iron Oxide
Darker than Iron Oxide
Color data
| Brand | Behr |
|---|---|
| Color code | QE-15 |
| Hex | #835949 |
| RGB | 131, 89, 73 |
| HSL | 17°, 28%, 40% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 12.5 (estimated from the hex) |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 41.9, 15.2, 16.2 |
| Undertone | Warm Yellow-Red |
| Temperature | warm |
| Color family | Brown |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Iron Oxide (Behr QE-15), published as #835949
#755048
#916248
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 Iron Oxide (Behr QE-15)?
- Iron Oxide has an LRV of 12.5 (estimated from its hex value). LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Iron Oxide is a very deep color.
- What is the closest match to Iron Oxide in another brand?
- Abbey Brown (BM 1225) from Benjamin Moore, at a deltaE of 0.9 (indistinguishable).
- Is Iron Oxide warm or cool?
- Behr lists Iron Oxide as warm, with a Warm Yellow-Red 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.