Dark Mustard (BM 2161-30)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Dark Mustard (BM 2161-30) is a deep, warm yellow from Benjamin Moore: LRV 24.3, so it reflects about 24 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Dark Mustard
Four Benjamin Moore colors picked for Dark Mustard by this site's color math: a trim white, a deeper yellow, 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 Dark Mustard, 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 | Chamois | SW 6131 | 26 | 3.0 | noticeably different |
| Behr | Butter Caramel | HDC-CL-18A | 22.5 | 1.6 | very close |
| Valspar | Praline Cake | 3004-7A | 22 | 2.0 | very close |
| PPG Paints | Cool Copper | 1088-6 | 26 | 2.1 | very close |
Lighter and darker in Benjamin Moore
The Benjamin Moore yellow colors nearest to Dark Mustard (LRV 24.3) by LRV.
Lighter than Dark Mustard
Darker than Dark Mustard
Color data
| Brand | Benjamin Moore |
|---|---|
| Color code | 2161-30 |
| Hex | #AB7E51 |
| RGB | 171, 126, 81 |
| HSL | 30°, 36%, 49% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 24.3 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 56.3, 12.0, 31.2 |
| Undertone | Warm Yellow-Red |
| Temperature | warm |
| Color family | Yellow |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Dark Mustard (BM 2161-30), published as #AB7E51
#9D7550
#BA8750
These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works
Similar shades from Benjamin Moore
More from Benjamin Moore
Common questions
- What is the LRV of Dark Mustard (BM 2161-30)?
- Dark Mustard has an LRV of 24.3. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Dark Mustard is a deep color.
- What is the closest match to Dark Mustard in another brand?
- Butter Caramel (Behr HDC-CL-18A) from Behr, at a deltaE of 1.6 (very close).
- Is Dark Mustard warm or cool?
- Benjamin Moore lists Dark Mustard as warm, with a Warm Yellow-Red undertone. Its Lab b* value is 31.2; 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.