Sterling Forest (BM 518)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Sterling Forest (BM 518) is a very deep, warm yellow from Benjamin Moore: LRV 14.2, so it reflects about 14 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Sterling Forest
Three Benjamin Moore colors picked for Sterling Forest by this site's color math: a trim white, 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 Sterling Forest, 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 | Eclipse | SW 6166 | 14 | 3.8 | noticeably different |
| Behr | Deer Trail | HDC-FL14-8 | 12.5 | 2.4 | noticeably different |
| Valspar | City Arboretum | 6006-4C | 14 | 1.9 | very close |
| PPG Paints | Olive Orchard | 11-08 | 14 | 1.6 | very close |
Lighter and darker in Benjamin Moore
The Benjamin Moore yellow colors nearest to Sterling Forest (LRV 14.2) by LRV.
Lighter than Sterling Forest
Darker than Sterling Forest
Color data
| Brand | Benjamin Moore |
|---|---|
| Color code | 518 |
| Hex | #6D684E |
| RGB | 109, 104, 78 |
| HSL | 50°, 17%, 37% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 14.2 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 43.8, -2.6, 15.4 |
| Undertone | Warm Yellow |
| Temperature | warm |
| Color family | Yellow |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Sterling Forest (BM 518), published as #6D684E
#5F5F4D
#7C714D
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 Sterling Forest (BM 518)?
- Sterling Forest has an LRV of 14.2. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Sterling Forest is a very deep color.
- What is the closest match to Sterling Forest in another brand?
- Olive Orchard (PPG 11-08) from PPG Paints, at a deltaE of 1.6 (very close).
- Is Sterling Forest warm or cool?
- Benjamin Moore lists Sterling Forest as warm, with a Warm Yellow undertone. Its Lab b* value is 15.4; 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.