Celtic Blue (BM ES-31)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Celtic Blue (BM ES-31) is a medium, neutral gray from Benjamin Moore: LRV 45, so it reflects about 45 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Celtic Blue
Four Benjamin Moore colors picked for Celtic Blue by this site's color math: a trim white, a deeper gray, 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 Celtic 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 | Lakeside | SW 9683 | 47 | 1.2 | very close |
| Behr | Intercoastal Gray | MQ5-23 | 45 | 0.4 | indistinguishable |
| Valspar | Grey Brook | 5001-1B | 50 | 2.4 | noticeably different |
| PPG Paints | Special Delivery | 1037-3 | 43 | 1.6 | very close |
Lighter and darker in Benjamin Moore
The Benjamin Moore gray colors nearest to Celtic Blue (LRV 45) by LRV.
Lighter than Celtic Blue
Darker than Celtic Blue
Color data
| Brand | Benjamin Moore |
|---|---|
| Color code | ES-31 |
| Hex | #A9B5BC |
| RGB | 169, 181, 188 |
| HSL | 202°, 12%, 70% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 45 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 73.0, -2.7, -5.0 |
| Undertone | Cool |
| Temperature | neutral |
| Color family | Gray |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Celtic Blue (BM ES-31), published as #A9B5BC
#97ABBA
#BBBFBC
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 Celtic Blue (BM ES-31)?
- Celtic Blue has an LRV of 45. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Celtic Blue is a medium color.
- What is the closest match to Celtic Blue in another brand?
- Intercoastal Gray (Behr MQ5-23) from Behr, at a deltaE of 0.4 (indistinguishable).
- Is Celtic Blue warm or cool?
- Benjamin Moore lists Celtic Blue as neutral, with a Cool undertone. Its Lab b* value is -5.0; 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.