Always Blue (PPG 1156-3)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Always Blue (PPG 1156-3) is a medium, cool blue from PPG Paints: LRV 47, so it reflects about 47 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Always Blue
Four PPG Paints colors picked for Always Blue by this site's color math: a trim white, a deeper blue, a quiet contrast from another family, a dark accent. PPG Paints did not choose these pairings.
Closest match in every other brand
Each brand's closest color to Always 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 | Faded Flaxflower | SW 9146 | 44 | 2.6 | noticeably different |
| Benjamin Moore | Sheer Romance | 837 | 44.6 | 1.9 | very close |
| Behr | Partly Cloudy | S500-3 | 47.1 | 1.7 | very close |
| Valspar | Palisade Blue | 4006-3B | 46 | 1.6 | very close |
Lighter and darker in PPG Paints
The PPG Paints blue colors nearest to Always Blue (LRV 47) by LRV.
Lighter than Always Blue
Darker than Always Blue
Color data
| Brand | PPG Paints |
|---|---|
| Color code | 1156-3 |
| Hex | #A2BACB |
| RGB | 162, 186, 203 |
| HSL | 205°, 28%, 72% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 47 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 74.3, -4.5, -11.3 |
| Undertone | Cool Blue |
| Temperature | cool |
| Color family | Blue |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Always Blue (PPG 1156-3), published as #A2BACB
#8FB0C9
#B5C4CB
These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works
Similar shades from PPG Paints
More from PPG Paints
Common questions
- What is the LRV of Always Blue (PPG 1156-3)?
- Always Blue has an LRV of 47. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Always Blue is a medium color.
- What is the closest match to Always Blue in another brand?
- Palisade Blue (Valspar 4006-3B) from Valspar, at a deltaE of 1.6 (very close).
- Is Always Blue warm or cool?
- PPG Paints lists Always Blue as cool, with a Cool Blue undertone. Its Lab b* value is -11.3; 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.