Bohemian Black (SW 6988)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Bohemian Black (SW 6988) is a very deep, neutral black from Sherwin-Williams: LRV 4, so it reflects about 4 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Bohemian Black
Three Sherwin-Williams colors picked for Bohemian Black by this site's color math: a trim white, a quiet contrast from another family, a dark accent. Sherwin-Williams did not choose these pairings.
Closest match in every other brand
Each brand's closest color to Bohemian Black, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benjamin Moore | Plum Martini | CSP-540 | 6.9 | 2.0 | very close |
| Behr | Black Smoke | PPH-34 | 4.8 | 4.3 | noticeably different |
| Valspar | Twilight Purple | 4010-2 | 5 | 3.5 | noticeably different |
| PPG Paints | Napoleon | 1013-7 | 5 | 4.3 | noticeably different |
Lighter and darker in Sherwin-Williams
The Sherwin-Williams black colors nearest to Bohemian Black (LRV 4) by LRV.
Lighter than Bohemian Black
Darker than Bohemian Black
Color data
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams |
|---|---|
| Color code | SW 6988 |
| Hex | #3B373C |
| RGB | 59, 55, 60 |
| HSL | 288°, 4%, 23% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 4 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 23.6, 2.9, -2.5 |
| Undertone | Neutral |
| Temperature | neutral |
| Color family | Black |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Bohemian Black (SW 6988), published as #3B373C
#2D2F3A
#493F3C
These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works
Similar shades from Sherwin-Williams
More from Sherwin-Williams
Common questions
- What is the LRV of Bohemian Black (SW 6988)?
- Bohemian Black has an LRV of 4. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Bohemian Black is a very deep color.
- What is the closest match to Bohemian Black in another brand?
- Plum Martini (BM CSP-540) from Benjamin Moore, at a deltaE of 2.0 (very close).
- Is Bohemian Black warm or cool?
- Sherwin-Williams lists Bohemian Black as neutral, with a Neutral undertone. Its Lab b* value is -2.5; 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.