Behr Authentic Brown MQ2-05A
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| Code: | MQ2-05A |
| Name: | Authentic Brown |
| Brand: | Behr |
What color is Behr Authentic Brown?
Behr Authentic Brown MQ2-05A is a medium-deep brown with a muted, earthy cast and noticeable warm red-brown undertones. Its softened saturation keeps it from reading too dark or heavy, especially when paired with lighter trim and furnishings. In bright daylight, this shade can show more of its warm clay-like character, while evening lighting tends to draw out its deeper brown base. Use it on a dining room wall, library-style office, or painted cabinetry where a grounded color feels appropriate. Creamy off-whites, warm beige, aged brass, cognac leather, and natural oak all complement this color particularly well.
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What are Behr Authentic Brown undertones?
Authentic Brown is a deep, muted terracotta. The HEX sample leans orange; this describes its measurable digital hue direction, not a hidden paint pigment. Warm bulbs can make it look creamier or more golden, while cool daylight may mute that warmth and pull it closer to beige or greige.
HEX value:
RGB code:
107, 84, 70
Is Behr Authentic Brown cool or warm?
warm
cool
With a hue of 23°, this brown reads warm on the HSL color wheel.
MQ2-05A Authentic Brown HSL code: 23, 21%, 35%
Hue - degree on a color wheel from 0 to 360. 0 is red, 120 is green, and 240 is blue.
Saturation is expressed as a percentage. At 0%, it appears as a shade of grey, and at 100%, it is in full color.
Lightness is also a percentage value. 0% is black, and 100% is white.
How light temperature affects Authentic Brown
Natural Lighting. During the day, natural light shifts from about 2000 K at sunrise/sunset to 5500–6500 K at noon.
In addition, natural-light temperature depends on its direction:
| Direction of sunlight | Visible temp. | Hue | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| North | Cool | Bluish | All day |
| East | Warm | Yellow | Before noon |
| West | Warm | Orange-red | After noon |
| South | Warm | Orange-yellow | All day |
Artificial Lighting. When choosing bulbs, pay attention to their color temperature in Kelvins.
Use the slider to see how this brown shade looks under different lighting:
4000K
Coordinating colors.
Colors that go with Behr Authentic Brown:
Monochromatic color scheme
This scheme consists of various shades, tints, and tones of a single color. While it offers a perfect combination of hues, without accent décor it may become monotonous.
Lighter shades
MQ2-05A
Authentic Brown
Darker shades
MQ2-05A
Authentic Brown
Complementary color scheme
This color scheme is a combination of two shades that are opposite each other on the color wheel. The high contrast between these colors creates a vibrant and dynamic visual effect. For the color Authentic Brown with a red hue, complementary colors are those with a green hue close to 203, such as Behr Nor'Wester and Absolute Zero.
LRV of Authentic Brown
Authentic Brown has an LRV of 10.26% and refers to Medium Dark which means that this color reflects very little light. Why LRV is important?
Light Reflectance Value measures the amount of visible and usable light that reflects from a painted surface.
Simply put, the higher the LRV of a paint color, the brighter the room you will get.
The scale goes from 0% (absolute black, absorbing all light) to 100% (pure white, reflecting all light).
Act like a pro: When choosing paint with an LRV of 10.26%, pay attention to your bulbs' brightness. Light brightness is measured in lumens. The lower the paint's LRV, the higher lumen level you need. Every square foot of room needs at least 40 lumens. That means for a 200 ft2 living room you'll need about 8000 lumens of light – e.g., eight 1000 lm bulbs.
Color codes
We have collected almost every possible color code you could ever need.
Not sure what the difference between HEX and RGB is? We break down color models in plain language. Understanding color models
| Format | Code |
|---|---|
| HEX | #6b5446 |
| RGB Decimal | 107, 84, 70 |
| RGB Percent | 41.96%, 32.94%, 27.45% |
| HSV | Hue: 23° Saturation: 34.58% Value: 41.96% |
| HSL | hsl(23, 21, 35) |
| CMYK | Cyan: 0.0 Magenta: 21.5 Yellow: 34.58 Key: 58.04 |
| YIQ | Y: 89.281 I: 18.205 Q: 0.509 |
| XYZ | X: 10.339 Y: 9.909 Z: 7.161 |
| CIE Lab | L:37.679 a:7.309 b:11.821 |
| CIE Luv | L:37.679 u:15.351 v:12.668 |
| Decimal | 7033926 |
| Hunter Lab | 31.479, 3.541, 8.548 |
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