Black Forest Green (BM HC-187)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Black Forest Green (BM HC-187) is a very deep, neutral black from Benjamin Moore: LRV 4.9, so it reflects about 5 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Black Forest Green
Three Benjamin Moore colors picked for Black Forest Green 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 Black Forest Green, 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 | Night Watch | SW 9680 | 4 | 4.0 | noticeably different |
| Behr | Limousine Leather | MQ5-05 | 4.5 | 7.3 | clearly different |
| Valspar | Nocturnal Green | 5011-1 | 6 | 9.0 | clearly different |
| PPG Paints | Dark As Night | 14-05 | 6 | 7.9 | clearly different |
Lighter and darker in Benjamin Moore
The Benjamin Moore black colors nearest to Black Forest Green (LRV 4.9) by LRV.
Lighter than Black Forest Green
Darker than Black Forest Green
Color data
| Brand | Benjamin Moore |
|---|---|
| Color code | HC-187 |
| Hex | #242E2C |
| RGB | 36, 46, 44 |
| HSL | 168°, 12%, 16% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 4.9 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 18.0, -4.8, -0.1 |
| Undertone | Neutral |
| Temperature | neutral |
| Color family | Black |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Black Forest Green (BM HC-187), published as #242E2C
#15262B
#32362C
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 Black Forest Green (BM HC-187)?
- Black Forest Green has an LRV of 4.9. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Black Forest Green is a very deep color.
- What is the closest match to Black Forest Green in another brand?
- Night Watch (SW 9680) from Sherwin-Williams, at a deltaE of 4.0 (noticeably different).
- Is Black Forest Green warm or cool?
- Benjamin Moore lists Black Forest Green as neutral, with a Neutral undertone. Its Lab b* value is -0.1; 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.