Bedford Blue (BM 1679)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Bedford Blue (BM 1679) is a very deep, cool blue from Benjamin Moore: LRV 17.4, so it reflects about 17 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Bedford Blue
Four Benjamin Moore colors picked for Bedford 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 Bedford 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 | Inky Blue | SW 9149 | 15 | 1.7 | very close |
| Behr | Neptune Blue | 570D-6 | 14.7 | 1.6 | very close |
| Valspar | Empire Fleet Blue | 4006-6C | 14 | 2.6 | noticeably different |
| PPG Paints | Smoke Blue | 1156-5 | 17 | 1.6 | very close |
Lighter and darker in Benjamin Moore
The Benjamin Moore blue colors nearest to Bedford Blue (LRV 17.4) by LRV.
Lighter than Bedford Blue
Darker than Bedford Blue
Color data
| Brand | Benjamin Moore |
|---|---|
| Color code | 1679 |
| Hex | #4E738C |
| RGB | 78, 115, 140 |
| HSL | 204°, 28%, 43% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 17.4 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 46.7, -6.1, -17.8 |
| Undertone | Cool Blue |
| Temperature | cool |
| Color family | Blue |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Bedford Blue (BM 1679), published as #4E738C
#376A8A
#637C8C
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 Bedford Blue (BM 1679)?
- Bedford Blue has an LRV of 17.4. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Bedford Blue is a very deep color.
- What is the closest match to Bedford Blue in another brand?
- Smoke Blue (PPG 1156-5) from PPG Paints, at a deltaE of 1.6 (very close).
- Is Bedford Blue warm or cool?
- Benjamin Moore lists Bedford Blue as cool, with a Cool Blue undertone. Its Lab b* value is -17.8; 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.