French Violet (BM 1427)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
French Violet (BM 1427) is a very deep, cool purple from Benjamin Moore: LRV 17.6, so it reflects about 18 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with French Violet
Four Benjamin Moore colors picked for French Violet by this site's color math: a trim white, a deeper purple, a quiet contrast from another family, a dark accent. Benjamin Moore did not choose these pairings.
Closest match in every other brand
Each brand's closest color to French Violet, 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 | Mesmerize | SW 6544 | 13 | 4.2 | noticeably different |
| Behr | Dangerously Elegant | S540-6 | 14.9 | 2.9 | noticeably different |
| Valspar | Celestial Mystery | 4002-6C | 12 | 4.9 | noticeably different |
| PPG Paints | Great Grape | 1169-6 | 16 | 0.9 | indistinguishable |
Lighter and darker in Benjamin Moore
The Benjamin Moore purple colors nearest to French Violet (LRV 17.6) by LRV.
Lighter than French Violet
Darker than French Violet
Color data
| Brand | Benjamin Moore |
|---|---|
| Color code | 1427 |
| Hex | #696D86 |
| RGB | 105, 109, 134 |
| HSL | 232°, 12%, 47% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 17.6 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 46.5, 4.2, -14.2 |
| Undertone | Cool Blue |
| Temperature | cool |
| Color family | Purple |
Same paint, two kinds of light
French Violet (BM 1427), published as #696D86
#576484
#7B7686
These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works
Similar shades from Benjamin Moore
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Common questions
- What is the LRV of French Violet (BM 1427)?
- French Violet has an LRV of 17.6. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so French Violet is a very deep color.
- What is the closest match to French Violet in another brand?
- Great Grape (PPG 1169-6) from PPG Paints, at a deltaE of 0.9 (indistinguishable).
- Is French Violet warm or cool?
- Benjamin Moore lists French Violet as cool, with a Cool Blue undertone. Its Lab b* value is -14.2; a higher b* is warmer and yellower, a lower one cooler and bluer.
Sources: LRV and hex as published by the manufacturer, via PaintDB (CC BY 4.0). 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.