Caliente (BM AF-290) vs Heritage Red (BM HC-181)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Heritage Red, LRV 10.3 vs 8.8.
- Warmer
- Heritage Red, both orange (Lab b* 36.7 vs 23.8).
- North rooms
- Caliente drifts less gray (chroma drop 3.0 vs 4.3); both keep about the same brightness.
- Trim that works
- Frosty Pink BM 2010-70, #FDE9E3, LRV 82.1: the Benjamin Moore white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 5.5, clearly different. At 5.5, treat them as different colors.
See each color
Caliente (BM AF-290) is about as light as Heritage Red (BM HC-181) and much cooler: LRV 8.8 vs 10.3, deltaE 5.5 (clearly different).
Side by side
| Measure | Caliente | Heritage Red | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Benjamin Moore | Benjamin Moore | |
| Color code | AF-290 | HC-181 | |
| Hex | #8A2728 | #990A14 | |
| RGB | 138, 39, 40 | 153, 10, 20 | |
| HSL | 359°, 56%, 35% | 356°, 88%, 32% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 8.8 | 10.3 | −1.4 |
| Lab L* | 31.8 | 31.9 | −0.1 |
| Lab a* | 41.8 | 53.6 | −11.8 |
| Lab b* | 23.8 | 36.7 | −12.9 |
| Undertone | Warm Yellow-Red | Warm Yellow-Red | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | Red | Red |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Caliente (BM AF-290), published as #8A2728
#7D1E27
#983027
Heritage Red (BM HC-181), published as #990A14
#8B0014
#A71911
These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works
Which should you pick
Rules of thumb computed from the LRV and Lab values in the table above; no room test was done.
- Pick Heritage Red (BM HC-181) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 1.4 LRV points lighter (10.3 vs 8.8), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Caliente (BM AF-290) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 23.8 against 36.7, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Heritage Red (BM HC-181) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 36.7), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Caliente in other brands
Closest matches to Heritage Red in other brands
Common questions
- Is Caliente the same color as Heritage Red?
- They are clearly different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 5.5. Caliente and Heritage Red are different colors.
- Which is lighter, Caliente or Heritage Red?
- Heritage Red, with an LRV of 10.3 against 8.8.
Full pages
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.