So, you want to paint your front door black!
Just like whites with various undertones are not truly white, the same is valid for black. Even the ones that have black in their name.
What do you think of black when viewed in various lighting conditions? It may show undertones.
What helps get closest to true black is the Light Reflective Value,
LRV (this number can be found on the back of most paint strips) is a true black. Its absence of all light (black) is 0.
Listed below are the LRVs for the colors shown.
SW Tricorn Black, LRV is 2.4
SW Black Magic, LRV is 4
BM Onyx, LRV is 4.9
SW Iron Ore, LRV is 6
SW Black Fox, LRV is 7
BM Wrought Iron, LRV is 8.17
So, if you want a more authentic black, go with the lowest LRV numbers.
In addition to LRV, you will notice undertones in all paint colors.
What is the definition of undertones anyway?
“Figuratively – Undertone means “a quality, characteristic, etc., that is present but not clear or obvious.” Architectural Color Design ”
Paint color undertones occur because, aside from the primary paint colors (red, blue, yellow), every other color you can imagine is a mixture of different colors.
As shown, you can see various undertones if you view the samples together. Have you ever gone to the paint store and found the color you loved, only to bring the sample home and find that the light in the room makes the color too green for your needs?
The same thing happens with ‘white’ when you find the perfect white, only to discover that it’s got yellow in it, which wasn’t close to what you wanted. It’s also why whites can look pink or blue. There are so many different variations of the same colors.
It happens, making choosing the right neutral or any other color for your space difficult. Hence, finding the right ‘greige’ or gray can take time and effort in certain lights, and finding the right greige can be tricky.
