Benjamin Moore Ambler Slate CW-685

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Benjamin Moore Ambler Slate reviews (3 photos)
What are Benjamin Moore Ambler Slate undertones?
Is Ambler Slate CW-685 cool or warm?
How light temperature affects on Ambler Slate
Monochromatic color scheme
Complementary color scheme
Color comparison and matching
LRV of Ambler Slate CW-685
Color codes
Color equivalents

Official page:	Ambler Slate CW-685
Code:	CW-685
Name:	Ambler Slate
Brand:	Benjamin Moore

What color is Benjamin Moore Ambler Slate?

Benjamin Moore Ambler Slate CW-685 is a deep, low-saturation charcoal gray with a faint cool blue cast. Its near-neutral character keeps it grounded rather than overtly navy, while the dark value gives walls a defined, architectural presence. In bright daylight, the color can read as a clean slate gray; under warm lamps, it tends to look softer and more graphite-like. Use Ambler Slate on a study, dining room, powder room, or built-in cabinetry where a darker backdrop is welcome. Pair it with crisp off-white trim, pale oak, blackened metal, and muted stone finishes for a restrained, material-focused scheme.

Benjamin Moore Ambler Slate reviews (3 photos)

View the photos of real spaces painted with this grey that were not included in specific categories. Close-ups, painted furniture, storages and dressers, hallways, stairs and ceilings.

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What are Benjamin Moore Ambler Slate undertones?

Ambler Slate is a deep, near-neutral charcoal gray. Its chroma is so low that assigning a specific hue-based undertone would be misleading. Because it is close to neutral, nearby surfaces and the color of the light can noticeably change how warm or cool it appears.

HEX value:

#57595A

RGB code:

87, 89, 90

Is Benjamin Moore Ambler Slate cool or warm?

warm

cool

With a hue of 200°, this black leans cool, but it is near the neutral line and may feel warmer in certain lighting.

CW-685 Ambler Slate HSL code: 200, 2%, 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 Ambler Slate

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

Sunrise

Morning

Noon

Afternoon

Sunset

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 black shade looks under different lighting:

2000K

3000K

4000K

5000K

6000K

7000K

Coordinating colors.
Colors that go with Benjamin Moore Ambler Slate:

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

CW-685
Ambler Slate

Darker shades

CW-685
Ambler Slate

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 Ambler Slate with a green hue, complementary colors are those with a red hue close to 20, such as Benjamin Moore Quietly Violet and Desert Shadows.

CW-685
Ambler Slate

Compare
Benjamin Moore
Ambler Slate CW-685
to any other colors

Benjamin Moore
Ambler Slate CW-685
color equivalents

LRV of Ambler Slate

Ambler Slate has an LRV of 11.78% and refers to Medium Dark which means that this color reflects very little light. Why 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 11.78%, 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	#57595A
RGB Decimal	87, 89, 90
RGB Percent	34.12%, 34.90%, 35.29%
HSV	Hue: 200° Saturation: 3.33% Value: 35.29%
HSL	hsl(200, 2, 35)
CMYK	Cyan: 3.33 Magenta: 1.11 Yellow: 0.0 Key: 64.71
YIQ	Y: 88.516 I: -1.513 Q: -0.112
XYZ	X: 9.348 Y: 9.909 Z: 11.09
CIE Lab	L:37.679 a:-0.579 b:-0.853
CIE Luv	L:37.679 u:-1.144 v:-0.998
Decimal	5724506
Hunter Lab	31.479, -2.081, 1.147