Dunn-Edwards red paint colors

Dunn-Edwards has 38 colors in the red family, and they were engineered for the kind of light you get in the West and Southwest. That matters with red more than almost any other color, because hard desert sun can flatten a red or push it orange. These reds are built to hold their depth in that strong light.

The slice covers a real range of moods. You get clean, lively reds like Strawberry Jam (DE5076) and Cherry Berry (DE5034), bolder statement reds like Striking Red (DEA103) and Glitzy Red (DEA153), and deep, grounded tones like Sangria (DE5041) and Putnam Plum (DEA100) that lean toward plum and wine. Knowing which way a red leans is the first step in picking one.

LRV is light reflectance value. It runs from 0 (black) to 100 (white) and tells you how light or dark a color reads on the wall. In this red slice the range is narrow and dark, from 7 at the deepest to 28 at the lightest, so every one of these reds is rich rather than pastel.

Use the number to set expectations. Redstone (DE5082) at LRV 28 is the brightest and most open red here, the easiest to live with on a full wall. Putnam Plum (DEA100) at LRV 11 is dark and dramatic, and a red below LRV 10 will read almost like a solid, moody backdrop. Redwood City (DE5117) at 19 and Sangria (DE5041) at 15 sit in the middle for a warm, saturated look without going fully dark.

Reds this deep work best as an accent or a feature, not as four walls in a small room. A single accent wall in a dining room, a den, or an entryway is where these colors shine, and a brighter pick like Redstone (DE5082) or Strawberry Jam (DE5076) gives you that energy without closing the space in.

The darker reds have a different job. Sangria (DE5041), Cherry Berry (DE5034), and Putnam Plum (DEA100) are excellent on a front door, on a built-in, or on cabinetry where you want a confident hit of color. For doors and trim, Dunn-Edwards makes ARISTOSHIELD, a urethane-alkyd enamel that levels out smooth and stands up to handling, which suits a bold red far better than a flat wall paint.

Red is loud, so the colors around it should be calm. A crisp warm white on the trim and ceiling keeps a red from feeling heavy, and Dunn-Edwards has well-known whites for exactly this: Swiss Coffee, Bone China, and Cottage White all read soft and warm rather than stark. A warm white flatters a warm red far better than a cool blue-white.

For a coordinating wall, follow the undertone. A plum-leaning red like Putnam Plum (DEA100) or Sangria (DE5041) pairs naturally with soft greens, warm grays, and deep neutrals. A cleaner red like Cherry Berry (DE5034) or Striking Red (DEA103) likes plain warm whites and natural wood tones, which let the red stay the star.

Every Dunn-Edwards color is mixed to order, not pulled off a shelf as a pre-made can. You bring the color name or code, the store tints the base, and you get exactly that red. Dunn-Edwards sells through its own company-owned stores in the West and Southwest only: California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas. They are not in big-box stores and not sold nationwide, and you can expect roughly $55 to $65 a gallon across their main lines like SUPREMA interior and EVERSHIELD exterior.

If you are outside that footprint, any quality paint store can color-match these reds. Bring the name and code, such as Sangria (DE5041) or Redstone (DE5082), and the counter can scan a sample or match the formula into another brand's base, including the featured Kompozit deck. The match is rarely perfect since each brand mixes from its own colorants, so always approve a brushed-out sample in your own room light before you buy gallons.