Paint colors · Benjamin Moore, as published by the brand

Kendall Charcoal HC-166: hex #676662, LRV and undertone

Kendall Charcoal HC-166 is a Benjamin Moore paint, hex #676662, LRV 14.61. It measures as a true neutral with almost no undertone.

By Paul Gunder. Every value is computed from published standards; see how ColorPlum works.

Updated November 11, 2026

Benjamin MooreKendall CharcoalHC-166

Hex: #676662
RGB: 103, 102, 98
LRV: 14.61
Undertone: True neutral

LRV 14.61. Very dark: close to black on the wall; use where you want drama or contrast.

Almost no undertone (chroma 0.006): it reads as a clean gray in most light.

Coordinating colors Benjamin Moore suggests

Hawthorne YellowHC-4
Simply WhiteOC-117
Harbor Haze2136-60
Snow WhiteOC-66

Closest colors from other brands

ΔE is the CIEDE2000 difference between the published values: under 2 is hard to tell apart on a wall, 2 to 5 is a visible but related shade. Always compare real chips before you buy.

Name, code, LRV and color value as published by Benjamin Moore on its color page (checked 2026-11-11). A screen can only approximate paint: sheen, lighting and the screen itself all change it, so check a physical sample. ColorPlum is not affiliated with Benjamin Moore.

ColorPlum swatchKendall Charcoalmedium-dark gray

HEX: #676662
RGB: rgb(103, 102, 98)
HSL: hsl(48, 2%, 39%)

Best text on it: white at 5.74:1

Build a palette Make a gradient Check contrast Wallpaper

Kendall Charcoal#676662

Every code for Kendall Charcoal

HEX#676662
RGBrgb(103, 102, 98)
HSLhsl(48, 2%, 39%)
HSV48°, 5%, 40%
CMYK0%, 1%, 5%, 60%
Lablab(43.2% -0.2 2.4)
OKLCHoklch(51% 0.006 95.2)
Decimal6776418

Tints, shades and tones

From white to black in 10% steps, with Kendall Charcoal in the middle. Tap a code to copy it.

90%#F0F0EF
80%#E1E0E0
70%#D1D1D0
60%#C2C2C0
50%#B3B3B1
40%#A4A3A1
30%#959491
20%#858581
10%#767572
Base#676662
10%#5D5C58
20%#52524E
30%#484745
40%#3E3D3B
50%#343331
60%#292927
70%#1F1F1D
80%#151414
90%#0A0A0A

Tones (mixed with gray)

10%#6A6965
20%#6C6B68
30%#6F6E6B
40%#71706E
50%#747371
60%#767674
70%#797877
80%#7B7B7A
90%#7E7D7D

Matching colors

Complementary

#676662
#626367

Analogous

#676462
#676662
#666762

Triadic

#676662
#626766
#666267

Split complementary

#676662
#626667
#646267

Tetradic (square)

#676662
#626764
#626367
#676266

Monochromatic

#191817
#403F3D
#676662
#8E8C88
#B3B2AF

Kendall Charcoal in 3D color space

OKLab, the space ColorPlum does its math in: lightness runs up the pole, hue goes around it and saturation grows outward. The faint shell is every color a screen can show (saturation is drawn wider than lightness so hues separate). Drag to turn it.

Kendall Charcoal with its complement, its triad and its tint and shade

Kendall Charcoal
Triad #626766
Triad #666267
Complement
50% tint
50% shade

Kendall Charcoal in use

New collectionAutumn edit

Card body text stays dark for reading; kendall charcoal carries the header and the button.

Shop nowTag

Headline in Kendall Charcoal

A paragraph with a link set in this color, which is dark enough for text on white.

How it looks with color-vision deficiency

A simulation (Machado and colleagues, 2009) of how the color and its complement read without one type of cone.

Typical color vision#676662
Protanopia (no red cones)#676662
Deuteranopia (no green cones)#676662
Tritanopia (no blue cones)#686565

Contrast and readability

Pairing	Ratio	WCAG 2.2
as text on white	5.74:1	AA AA large AAA
as text on black	3.65:1	AA AA large AAA
white text on it	5.74:1	AA AA large AAA
black text on it	3.65:1	AA AA large AAA
on your background	5.01:1	AA AA large AAA

Try a background

Export

:root {
  --kendall-charcoal: #676662;
  --kendall-charcoal-rgb: 103 102 98;
  --kendall-charcoal-on: #ffffff;
}

On this page

Kendall Charcoal, HC-166, belongs to the Historical Colors collection at Benjamin Moore. Its hex is #676662: a stone-dark gray that is softer than black and lighter than the slate blues around it.

Numbers

RGB is 103, 102, 98 and HSL is hsl(48, 2%, 39%). The 2% saturation says it all, and OKLCH confirms: oklch(51% 0.006 95.2), with a chroma of 0.006. That is almost no hue, so the undertone reading is a true neutral, a clean gray in most light.

The LRV is 14.61, in the very dark band. Walls this deep take up most of the light, so expect a cozy, enclosed feeling unless the room is generous with windows.

Colors listed to accompany it

Coordinating colors are Hawthorne Yellow HC-4, Simply White OC-117, Harbor Haze 2136-60 and Snow White OC-66. Simply White has a page here, and the contrast between it and Kendall Charcoal is 5.28:1, which is strong. The others are named only.

Comparing with other dark paints

Among Benjamin Moore colors, Raccoon Fur 2126-20 is ΔE 11.2, Vermont Slate 1673 is 12.4 and Hale Navy HC-154 is 13.5. All are clearly different.

Sherwin-Williams matches are nearer: Porpoise SW 7047 at 4, Pewter Green SW 6208 at 4.6 and Rosemary SW 6187 at 5.8. Porpoise and Pewter Green are related but visible, and Rosemary just crosses into clearly different. Sample before swapping brands.

Worked example

Consider a front door on a house with white siding and a deep porch. The porch roof shades the door, which means Kendall Charcoal at LRV 14.61 will read close to its true depth all day rather than flaring in sun. Contrast with a white-trimmed frame in Simply White is 5.28:1, so the opening will register clearly from the street.

Say you were also thinking about Porpoise for the same door. At ΔE 4 it would look related, but a shade warmer or greener. Paint a scrap of the door itself, since a flat sample board will not show how the panels catch light, and view it from the sidewalk.

Text on this gray

White text on #676662 achieves 5.74:1, above the 4.5:1 threshold for normal text. Black gets 3.65:1, which is not enough for body copy. White is the safe choice for headings or labels. Verify other pairings in the contrast grid.