Behr Expressionism MQ5-49
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| Code: | MQ5-49 |
| Name: | Expressionism |
| Brand: | Behr |
What color is Behr Expressionism?
Behr Expressionism MQ5-49 is a deep, muted blue with a clear cool cast and enough grayness to keep it from reading overly bright. Its blue-purple lean becomes more noticeable in crisp daylight, while warmer evening light can make it appear darker and more inky. Use Expressionism on a study wall, bedroom, or dining room for grounded color without the near-black effect of a traditional navy. It also has enough depth for painted cabinetry or a front door, especially alongside soft white trim, pale greige walls, warm oak, and brushed brass hardware. For contrast, pair this shade with clay-toned accents, dusty blush textiles, or light natural stone.
Expressionism for exterior
Looking for a fresh new look for your house exterior or starting from skretch? We’ve collected pictures of real-life homes that have been painted with this cool blue hue. Find inspiration for your house’s exterior, front doors, gates, shutters, frames or windows.
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What are Behr Expressionism undertones?
Expressionism is a deep, soft slate 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:
57, 73, 123
Is Behr Expressionism cool or warm?
warm
cool
With a hue of 225°, this dark blue reads cool based on its HSL hue position.
MQ5-49 Expressionism HSL code: 225, 37%, 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 Expressionism
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 dark blue shade looks under different lighting:
Coordinating colors.
Colors that go with Behr Expressionism:
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
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 Expressionism with a blue hue, complementary colors are those with a orange hue close to 45, such as Behr Ottertail and Rustic Taupe.
LRV of Expressionism
Expressionism has an LRV of 7.21% and refers to Dark colors which means that this color almost does not reflect 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 7.21%, 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 | #39497b |
| RGB Decimal | 57, 73, 123 |
| RGB Percent | 22.35%, 28.63%, 48.24% |
| HSV | Hue: 225° Saturation: 53.66% Value: 48.24% |
| HSL | hsl(225, 37, 35) |
| CMYK | Cyan: 53.66 Magenta: 40.65 Yellow: 0.0 Key: 51.76 |
| YIQ | Y: 73.916 I: -25.602 Q: 12.175 |
| XYZ | X: 7.644 Y: 7.064 Z: 19.694 |
| CIE Lab | L:31.953 a:9.125 b:-30.429 |
| CIE Luv | L:31.953 u:-8.638 v:-41.609 |
| Decimal | 3754363 |
| Hunter Lab | 26.579, 4.82, -25.327 |
Color equivalents
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