Benjamin Moore Heritage Red HC-181
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| Official page: | Heritage Red HC-181 |
| Code: | HC-181 |
| Name: | Heritage Red |
| Brand: | Benjamin Moore |
What color is Benjamin Moore Heritage Red?
Benjamin Moore Heritage Red HC-181 is a deep, highly saturated red with a subtle cool, crimson cast rather than an orange-red look. Its strong color presence makes it especially effective on a front door, dining-room walls, built-in cabinetry, or a single fireplace wall. In bright daylight, Heritage Red reads clear and energized; in lower light, it takes on a denser, more shadowed appearance. Pair it with warm white trim, charcoal accents, dark-stained wood, black metal, or creamy natural stone to give the red a grounded setting.
Heritage Red for living room (2 photos)
Check out this stunning dark color used in real living rooms. Explore how this red shade can create a unique space
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What are Benjamin Moore Heritage Red undertones?
Heritage Red is a deep, clear 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:
RGB code:
153, 10, 20
Is Benjamin Moore Heritage Red cool or warm?
warm
cool
At 356° on the HSL hue wheel, this dark red sits firmly on the warm side.
HC-181 Heritage Red HSL code: 356, 88%, 32%
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 Heritage Red
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 red shade looks under different lighting:
Coordinating colors.
Colors that go with Benjamin Moore Heritage Red:
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 Heritage Red with a red hue, complementary colors are those with a green hue close to 176, such as Benjamin Moore Spring Breeze and Celadon.
LRV of Heritage Red
Heritage Red has an LRV of 10.26% and refers to Medium Dark which means that this color reflects very little 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 10.26%, 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 | #990A14 |
| RGB Decimal | 153, 10, 20 |
| RGB Percent | 60.00%, 3.92%, 7.84% |
| HSV | Hue: 356° Saturation: 93.46% Value: 60.0% |
| HSL | hsl(356, 88, 32) |
| CMYK | Cyan: 0.0 Magenta: 93.46 Yellow: 86.93 Key: 40.0 |
| YIQ | Y: 53.897 I: 82.0 Q: 33.362 |
| XYZ | X: 13.373 Y: 7.042 Z: 1.317 |
| CIE Lab | L:31.903 a:53.581 b:36.683 |
| CIE Luv | L:31.903 u:98.384 v:19.545 |
| Decimal | 10029588 |
| Hunter Lab | 26.537, 43.515, 15.634 |
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