Benjamin Moore Spanish Olive / CC-606 / 1509

Contents

show +hide -

Benjamin Moore 1509 on kitchen cabinets (2 photos)
Benjamin Moore Spanish Olive reviews (8 photos)
What are Benjamin Moore Spanish Olive undertones?
Is Spanish Olive 1509 cool or warm?
How light temperature affects on Spanish Olive
Monochromatic color scheme
Complementary color scheme
Color comparison and matching
LRV of Spanish Olive 1509
Color codes
Color equivalents

Official page:	Spanish Olive 1509
Code:	1509
Name:	Spanish Olive
Brand:	Benjamin Moore

What color is Benjamin Moore Spanish Olive?

Benjamin Moore Spanish Olive 1509 is a muted light olive-beige with a softened gray cast that keeps it from reading too green. Its low saturation gives walls a quiet, weathered quality, while the yellowed undertone adds gentle warmth. In bright daylight, Spanish Olive can appear closer to a pale khaki or warm gray; under warmer lamps, its olive influence becomes more noticeable. It suits living rooms, bedrooms, and hallways where a subdued neutral is wanted, and it can also make a restrained cabinet color in kitchens with cream tile. Pair it with off-white trim, aged brass, natural oak, linen, and deeper charcoal or olive accents for contrast.

Benjamin Moore 1509 on kitchen cabinets (2 photos)

Want a stylish kitchen? View real-life photo examples of this fascinating warm beige hue is paired with backsplashes, countertops, and hardware.

Benjamin Moore Spanish Olive kitchen cabinets paint review

@hoskinsinteriordesign

Benjamin Moore Spanish Olive kitchen cabinets paint

@hoskinsinteriordesign

Benjamin Moore Spanish Olive reviews (8 photos)

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

@ourhickoryhouse

@ourhickoryhouse

Benjamin Moore Spanish Olive nursery color paint

@ourhickoryhouse

Benjamin Moore Spanish Olive nursery inspiration

@ourhickoryhouse

Benjamin Moore Spanish Olive nursery color review

@ourhickoryhouse

Benjamin Moore Spanish Olive kids' room color review

@ourhickoryhouse

Benjamin Moore Spanish Olive kids' room color paint

@ourhickoryhouse

Benjamin Moore Spanish Olive bedroom color

@ourhickoryhouse

Try before you buy

100% accurate
reusable paint samples

Peel, stick,
and repeat

Twice painted
with real paint

Next day
delivery

Shop now

What are Benjamin Moore Spanish Olive undertones?

Spanish Olive is a mid-light, very muted olive-leaning neutral with a soft yellow-green cast and a grayed overall appearance. The color’s subtle yellow bias keeps it from reading like a straight gray, while its low saturation makes the green influence restrained rather than vivid. Benjamin Moore describes it as having “faded olive notes,” which aligns with its visible muted olive character against a gray-neutral base. Warm artificial light may bring out more of its yellowed olive quality, while cool daylight can make it appear grayer and slightly cooler.

Manufacturer information used in this description: official color page.

HEX value:

#C5C3AE

RGB code:

197, 195, 174

Is Benjamin Moore Spanish Olive cool or warm?

warm

cool

With a hue of 55°, this Beige leans warm, but it is close to neutral and can read cooler in some light.

1509 Spanish Olive HSL code: 55, 17%, 73%

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 Spanish Olive

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 Beige shade looks under different lighting:

4000K

2000K

3000K

4000K

5000K

6000K

7000K

Coordinating colors.
Colors that go with Benjamin Moore Spanish Olive:

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

1509
Spanish Olive

Darker shades

1509
Spanish Olive

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 Spanish Olive with a orange hue, complementary colors are those with a blue hue close to 235, such as Benjamin Moore Approaching Storm and Luxe.

1509
Spanish Olive

Compare
Benjamin Moore
Spanish Olive 1509
to any other colors

Benjamin Moore
Spanish Olive 1509
color equivalents

LRV of Spanish Olive

Spanish Olive has an LRV of 52.54% 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 52.54%, 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	#C5C3AE
RGB Decimal	197, 195, 174
RGB Percent	77.25%, 76.47%, 68.24%
HSV	Hue: 55° Saturation: 11.68% Value: 77.25%
HSL	hsl(55, 17, 73)
CMYK	Cyan: 0.0 Magenta: 1.02 Yellow: 11.68 Key: 22.75
YIQ	Y: 193.204 I: 7.94 Q: -6.112
XYZ	X: 50.18 Y: 53.957 Z: 47.804
CIE Lab	L:78.437 a:-2.944 b:10.814
CIE Luv	L:78.437 u:2.334 v:16.162
Decimal	12960686
Hunter Lab	73.455, -6.608, 12.833