Behr Empire Blue MQ5-56
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| Code: | MQ5-56 |
| Name: | Empire Blue |
| Brand: | Behr |
What color is Behr Empire Blue?
Behr Empire Blue MQ5-56 is a medium blue with a softened, slightly gray cast that keeps it from reading overly bright or nautical. Its cool-leaning character is clear, though the muted depth gives it enough substance for a bedroom, bathroom, or home office wall. In bright daylight, the color can appear cleaner and airier, while lower light tends to emphasize its quieter, more subdued blue tone. Pair Empire Blue with crisp white trim for contrast, or bring in pale oak, woven natural fibers, and warm brass to add warmth around it. It also makes a grounded choice for painted cabinetry or a front door when surrounded by light neutral siding or brick.
Behr Empire Blue reviews (23 photos)
View the photos of real spaces painted with this blue that were not included in specific categories. Close-ups, painted furniture, storages and dressers, hallways, stairs and ceilings.
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What are Behr Empire Blue undertones?
Empire Blue is a midtone, soft dusty blue. The HEX sample leans blue; this describes its measurable digital hue direction, not a hidden paint pigment. Warm bulbs may gray the color down, while cool daylight usually makes its blue or teal direction clearer.
HEX value:
RGB code:
97, 147, 180
Is Behr Empire Blue cool or warm?
warm
cool
At 204° on the HSL hue wheel, this Blue falls clearly in the cool range.
MQ5-56 Empire Blue HSL code: 204, 36%, 54%
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 Empire Blue
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 Blue shade looks under different lighting:
4000K
Coordinating colors.
Colors that go with Behr Empire Blue:
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
MQ5-56
Empire Blue
Darker shades
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 Empire Blue with a green hue, complementary colors are those with a red hue close to 24, such as Behr Autumn Ashes and Piano Brown.
LRV of Empire Blue
Empire Blue has an LRV of 24.73% and refers to Medium colors that reflect a lot of 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 24.73%, 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 | #6193b4 |
| RGB Decimal | 97, 147, 180 |
| RGB Percent | 38.04%, 57.65%, 70.59% |
| HSV | Hue: 204° Saturation: 46.11% Value: 70.59% |
| HSL | hsl(204, 36, 54) |
| CMYK | Cyan: 46.11 Magenta: 18.33 Yellow: 0.0 Key: 29.41 |
| YIQ | Y: 135.812 I: -40.399 Q: -0.307 |
| XYZ | X: 23.598 Y: 26.702 Z: 47.078 |
| CIE Lab | L:58.698 a:-7.717 b:-22.445 |
| CIE Luv | L:58.698 u:-23.565 v:-33.015 |
| Decimal | 6394804 |
| Hunter Lab | 51.674, -8.914, -17.844 |
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