Slate Blue (BM 1648)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Slate Blue (BM 1648) is a medium, cool blue from Benjamin Moore: LRV 43.2, so it reflects about 43 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Slate Blue
Four Benjamin Moore colors picked for Slate Blue by this site's color math: a trim white, a deeper blue, 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 Slate 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 | Dockside Blue | SW 7601 | 43 | 1.2 | very close |
| Behr | Ovation | MQ5-59 | 42.6 | 1.4 | very close |
| Valspar | Silver Fox | 4008-3C | 37 | 3.3 | noticeably different |
| PPG Paints | Mountain Stream | 1149-4 | 41 | 1.9 | very close |
Lighter and darker in Benjamin Moore
The Benjamin Moore blue colors nearest to Slate Blue (LRV 43.2) by LRV.
Lighter than Slate Blue
Darker than Slate Blue
Color data
| Brand | Benjamin Moore |
|---|---|
| Color code | 1648 |
| Hex | #9BB1BB |
| RGB | 155, 177, 187 |
| HSL | 199°, 19%, 67% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 43.2 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 70.9, -5.4, -7.6 |
| Undertone | Cool |
| Temperature | cool |
| Color family | Blue |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Slate Blue (BM 1648), published as #9BB1BB
#88A7B9
#AEBBBB
These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works
Similar shades from Benjamin Moore
Comparisons that include Slate Blue (BM 1648)
More from Benjamin Moore
Common questions
- What is the LRV of Slate Blue (BM 1648)?
- Slate Blue has an LRV of 43.2. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Slate Blue is a medium color.
- What is the closest match to Slate Blue in another brand?
- Dockside Blue (SW 7601) from Sherwin-Williams, at a deltaE of 1.2 (very close).
- Is Slate Blue warm or cool?
- Benjamin Moore lists Slate Blue as cool, with a Cool undertone. Its Lab b* value is -7.6; 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.