Behr Upscale MQ5-13
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| Code: | MQ5-13 |
| Name: | Upscale |
| Brand: | Behr |
What color is Behr Upscale?
Behr Upscale MQ5-13 is a light, muted blue-gray with a noticeable violet cast that keeps it from reading like a standard cool gray. Its soft, low-saturation color can appear more silvery in bright daylight, while evening light tends to bring out its dusty lavender-blue side. Use it on bedroom, bathroom, or home-office walls where a gentle cool tone feels appropriate without looking icy. Crisp white trim sharpens its pale blue-gray character, while charcoal, navy, weathered oak, and brushed nickel provide grounded companions. This shade also suits painted cabinetry or a single accent wall when paired with warmer wood flooring or creamy off-whites.
Behr Upscale 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 Upscale undertones?
Upscale is a mid-light, muted blue-gray. 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:
168, 173, 194
Is Behr Upscale cool or warm?
warm
cool
With a hue of 228°, this Blue reads cool based on its HSL hue position.
MQ5-13 Upscale HSL code: 228, 18%, 71%
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 Upscale
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 Upscale:
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
MQ5-13
Upscale
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 Upscale with a blue hue, complementary colors are those with a orange hue close to 48, such as Behr Ottertail and Rustic Taupe.
LRV of Upscale
Upscale has an LRV of 42.36% and refers to Light Medium colors that reflect half of the incident 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 42.36%, 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 | #a8adc2 |
| RGB Decimal | 168, 173, 194 |
| RGB Percent | 65.88%, 67.84%, 76.08% |
| HSV | Hue: 228° Saturation: 13.4% Value: 76.08% |
| HSL | hsl(228, 18, 71) |
| CMYK | Cyan: 13.4 Magenta: 10.82 Yellow: 0.0 Key: 23.92 |
| YIQ | Y: 173.899 I: -9.728 Q: 5.478 |
| XYZ | X: 40.827 Y: 42.106 Z: 57.001 |
| CIE Lab | L:70.944 a:2.498 b:-11.286 |
| CIE Luv | L:70.944 u:-3.889 v:-17.549 |
| Decimal | 11054530 |
| Hunter Lab | 64.889, -1.249, -6.659 |
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