Farrow and Ball Imperial Purple W40

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What are Farrow and Ball Imperial Purple undertones?
Is Imperial Purple W40 cool or warm?
How light temperature affects on Imperial Purple
Monochromatic color scheme
Complementary color scheme
Color comparison and matching
Color codes
Color equivalents

Official page:	Imperial Purple W40
Code:	W40
Name:	Imperial Purple
Brand:	Farrow and Ball

What color is Farrow and Ball Imperial Purple?

Farrow and Ball Imperial Purple W40 is a deep, muted blue-violet with a noticeable slate-gray cast. Its restrained saturation keeps the purple from feeling overly bright, giving it a composed, architectural presence on walls or built-in cabinetry. In cooler daylight, the blue and gray aspects are likely to come forward, while warmer lamps can make its violet side feel more apparent. Use it in a study, dining room, or bedroom where a darker color can define the room without reading as black. Pale stone, soft off-white, aged brass, dark wood, and brushed nickel provide grounded companions for this shade.

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What are Farrow and Ball Imperial Purple undertones?

Imperial Purple reads as a deep, muted purple with a low-saturation, blue-leaning character rather than a bright violet. In the supplied digital sample, its slight red and blue biases support the purple main family while keeping the color subdued and shadowy. Farrow & Ball describes it as “Deep Imperial Purple,” which aligns with its visibly dark purple character, though the official text does not specify an undertone. Warm artificial light may bring out a slightly warmer, redder cast, while cool daylight can make its blue side more noticeable.

Manufacturer information used in this description: official color page.

HEX value:

#51516A

RGB code:

81, 81, 106

Is Farrow and Ball Imperial Purple cool or warm?

warm

cool

With a hue of 240°, this dark blue leans cool, but it is near the neutral line and may feel warmer in certain lighting.

W40 Imperial Purple HSL code: 240, 13%, 37%

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 Imperial Purple

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 dark blue shade looks under different lighting:

4000K

2000K

3000K

4000K

5000K

6000K

7000K

Coordinating colors.
Colors that go with Farrow and Ball Imperial Purple:

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.

Darker shades

W40
Imperial Purple

W24
Titmouse Blue

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 Imperial Purple with a blue hue, complementary colors are those with a orange hue close to 60, such as Farrow and Ball Clunch and Shadow White.

W40
Imperial Purple

Compare
Farrow and Ball
Imperial Purple W40
to any other colors