Hale Navy (BM HC-154) vs Van Deusen Blue (BM HC-156)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Van Deusen Blue, LRV 12 vs 8.4.
- Warmer
- Hale Navy (Lab b* -7.6 vs -13.2). Hale Navy reads blue-gray; Van Deusen Blue reads blue.
- North rooms
- Van Deusen Blue keeps more brightness (L* 33.7 vs 27.7 in north light); both drift gray about equally.
- Trim that works
- White Heaven BM 2068-70, #E2E5F1, LRV 76.7: the Benjamin Moore white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 6.7, clearly different. At 6.7, treat them as different colors.
See each color
Hale Navy (BM HC-154) is slightly darker than Van Deusen Blue (BM HC-156) and warmer: LRV 8.4 vs 12, deltaE 6.7 (clearly different).
Side by side
| Measure | Hale Navy | Van Deusen Blue | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Benjamin Moore | Benjamin Moore | |
| Color code | HC-154 | HC-156 | |
| Hex | #434B56 | #485B6E | |
| RGB | 67, 75, 86 | 72, 91, 110 | |
| HSL | 215°, 12%, 30% | 210°, 21%, 36% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 8.4 | 12 | −3.6 |
| Lab L* | 31.6 | 37.8 | −6.3 |
| Lab a* | -0.5 | -2.2 | +1.7 |
| Lab b* | -7.6 | -13.2 | +5.6 |
| Undertone | Cool Gray | Cool Blue | |
| Temperature | cool | cool | |
| Color family | Blue | Blue |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Hale Navy (BM HC-154), published as #434B56
#324354
#535356
Van Deusen Blue (BM HC-156), published as #485B6E
#35526C
#5A646E
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 Van Deusen Blue (BM HC-156) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 3.6 LRV points lighter (12 vs 8.4), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Van Deusen Blue (BM HC-156) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is -13.2 against -7.6, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Hale Navy (BM HC-154) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* -7.6), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Hale Navy in other brands
Closest matches to Van Deusen Blue in other brands
Common questions
- Is Hale Navy the same color as Van Deusen Blue?
- They are clearly different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 6.7. Hale Navy and Van Deusen Blue are different colors.
- Which is lighter, Hale Navy or Van Deusen Blue?
- Van Deusen Blue, with an LRV of 12 against 8.4.
Full pages
Related comparisons
Sources: LRV and hex from Benjamin Moore technical data (verified 2026-10-02). 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.