Behr Secret Journal MQ1-57

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Code:MQ1-57
Name:Secret Journal
Brand:Behr

What color is Behr Secret Journal?

Behr Secret Journal MQ1-57 is a muted medium-depth brown with a noticeable rosy clay cast. Its low saturation keeps the color grounded and soft rather than strongly red or orange, giving walls a quiet, earthy presence. In bright daylight, Secret Journal can read as a dusty warm taupe-brown, while lower light brings out its deeper cocoa-like side. It suits dining rooms, studies, and bedrooms where a darker neutral can add definition without feeling stark. Pair it with creamy off-whites, weathered wood, aged brass, charcoal textiles, or muted olive accents.

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What are Behr Secret Journal undertones?

Secret Journal is a midtone, muted earthy red. The HEX sample leans red; 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:

#7C6055

RGB code:

124, 96, 85

Is Behr Secret Journal cool or warm?

warm
cool
Color wheel

With a hue of 17°, this brown reads warm on the HSL color wheel.

MQ1-57 Secret Journal HSL code: 17, 19%, 41%

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 Secret Journal

Natural Lighting. During the day, natural light shifts from about 2000 K at sunrise/sunset to 5500–6500 K at noon.

Bedroom daylight mockup
Bedroom overlay
Sunrise
Morning
Noon
Afternoon
Sunset

In addition, natural-light temperature depends on its direction:

Direction of sunlightVisible temp.HueDuration
NorthCoolBluishAll day
EastWarmYellowBefore noon
WestWarmOrange-redAfter noon
SouthWarmOrange-yellowAll 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:

Living-room mockup
Living-room overlay

4000K

2000K
3000K
4000K
5000K
6000K
7000K

Coordinating colors.
Colors that go with Behr Secret Journal:

Monochromatic color scheme

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

Darker shades

Complementary color scheme

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 Secret Journal with a red hue, complementary colors are those with a green hue close to 197, such as Behr Oceanic Climate and Nor'Wester.

LRV of Secret Journal

Secret Journal has an LRV of 13.75% and refers to Medium Dark which means that this color reflects very little lightWhy LRV is important?

Light Reflectance Value scale illustration

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 13.75%, 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

FormatCode
HEX#7c6055
RGB Decimal124, 96, 85
RGB Percent48.63%, 37.65%, 33.33%
HSVHue: 17° Saturation: 31.45% Value: 48.63%
HSLhsl(17, 19, 41)
CMYKCyan: 0.0 Magenta: 22.58 Yellow: 31.45 Key: 51.37
YIQY: 103.118 I: 20.22 Q: 2.5
XYZX: 14.135 Y: 13.307 Z: 10.416
CIE LabL:43.223 a:9.633 b:10.639
CIE LuvL:43.223 u:18.509 v:11.53
Decimal8151125
Hunter Lab36.479, 5.326, 8.606

Color equivalents