Benjamin Moore Exhale AF-515

Contents

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Benjamin Moore Exhale reviews (5 photos)
What are Benjamin Moore Exhale undertones?
Is Exhale AF-515 cool or warm?
How light temperature affects on Exhale
Monochromatic color scheme
Complementary color scheme
Color comparison and matching
LRV of Exhale AF-515
Color codes
Color equivalents

Official page:	Exhale AF-515
Code:	AF-515
Name:	Exhale
Brand:	Benjamin Moore

What color is Benjamin Moore Exhale?

Benjamin Moore Exhale AF-515 is a light, muted blue-gray with a soft cool cast and a touch of watery blue-green beneath it. Its medium-light depth keeps it noticeable on walls without reading overly colorful or bright. In daylight, Exhale can look clean and airy, while warmer evening lighting may bring out its grayer side. It suits bathrooms, bedrooms, laundry rooms, and home offices where a gentle wash of color feels more interesting than plain white. Pair it with crisp white trim, pale oak, weathered wood, brushed nickel, or charcoal accents for contrast.

Benjamin Moore Exhale reviews (5 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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Benjamin Moore AF-515 bathroom color review

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Benjamin Moore Exhale bathroom color review

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What are Benjamin Moore Exhale undertones?

Exhale AF-515 reads as a mid-light, muted blue with a soft gray cast and low-to-moderate saturation. The supplied digital color leans slightly green within its blue family, so it can appear more blue-green than a clear primary blue. Benjamin Moore describes it as “a balanced blue,” which fits its restrained, even blue appearance rather than a strongly vivid or heavily green-leaning look. Warm artificial light may bring out some of its grayness and soften the blue, while cool daylight can make its blue-green direction more noticeable.

Manufacturer information used in this description: official color page.

HEX value:

#9FB8C1

RGB code:

159, 184, 193

Is Benjamin Moore Exhale cool or warm?

warm

cool

With a hue of 196°, this Blue reads cool based on its HSL hue position.

AF-515 Exhale HSL code: 196, 22%, 69%

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 Exhale

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 Blue shade looks under different lighting:

4000K

2000K

3000K

4000K

5000K

6000K

7000K

Coordinating colors.
Colors that go with Benjamin Moore Exhale:

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

AF-515
Exhale

Darker shades

AF-515
Exhale

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 Exhale with a green hue, complementary colors are those with a red hue close to 16, such as Benjamin Moore Quietly Violet and Desert Shadows.

AF-515
Exhale

Compare
Benjamin Moore
Exhale AF-515
to any other colors

Benjamin Moore
Exhale AF-515
color equivalents

LRV of Exhale

Exhale has an LRV of 46.3% and refers to Light Medium colors that reflect half of the incident 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 46.3%, 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	#9FB8C1
RGB Decimal	159, 184, 193
RGB Percent	62.35%, 72.16%, 75.69%
HSV	Hue: 196° Saturation: 17.62% Value: 75.69%
HSL	hsl(196, 22, 69)
CMYK	Cyan: 17.62 Magenta: 4.66 Yellow: 0.0 Key: 24.31
YIQ	Y: 177.551 I: -17.79 Q: -2.488
XYZ	X: 41.061 Y: 45.501 Z: 57.057
CIE Lab	L:73.221 a:-6.593 b:-7.414
CIE Luv	L:73.221 u:-13.588 v:-10.142
Decimal	10467521
Hunter Lab	67.454, -9.389, -2.933