Color spec
| Brand | Backdrop |
| Name | North End |
| SKU | BD-NE |
| Hex | #3D4D3F |
| RGB | 61, 77, 63 |
| HSL | 128°, 12%, 27% |
| LRV | 7 |
| Undertone | cool green tone |
| Family | Black |
What Color Is North End, Really?
North End (BD-NE) is Backdrop's bestselling deep green, and on the wall it behaves more like a soft black with a green heart. The numbers explain why: an LRV of 7 means it bounces back almost no light, and its saturation sits at just 12 percent, so the green is real but heavily muted. In a dim hallway it can read as near-black; step closer or add daylight and the cool, foresty green comes forward.
It earned its place as the brand's answer to the muted deep-green wave that swept kitchens and studies over the past few years. People reach for it when they want the drama of a dark room without the severity of a true black.
It suits homes with some age or texture, such as wood floors, brass hardware, and plaster walls, and owners who are comfortable committing to a moody room rather than hedging with mid-tones.
North End sits at hue 128, which is almost dead-center green with a slight cool tilt toward blue rather than yellow. At 12 percent saturation it is past the near-neutral zone, so you will genuinely see green, not just a tinted charcoal. But the color is muted enough that in low light the green recedes and the wall reads as an off-black.
The undertone shows most at the top of walls near windows, on doors that catch side light, and anywhere the paint meets a warm material like oak or brass, where the contrast pulls the green out. Test it against a true black such as Hocus Pocus (BD-HP) and a warm dark like It's a Date (BD-IT). Next to the black, North End looks clearly green; next to the brown, its coolness is obvious. If either comparison surprises you, the room's light is doing more work than you assumed.
Best Rooms and Uses for North End
At LRV 7 this is a statement color, not a whole-home wall color. It performs best where you either want enclosure or can flood it with light. Strong candidates: a study or office painted on all four walls for a den-like effect, a dining room used mostly at night, a bedroom accent wall behind the headboard, and a powder room where the small footprint makes the drama cheap to try.
Cabinets are its most popular job. Lower kitchen cabinets or a full island in North End against pale walls and counters is exactly the look that made deep muted greens a bestseller. It also works on built-in bookcases, interior doors, and as a front door color on brick or light-colored siding.
Skip it in small, dim rooms you use all day, like a north-facing home office you sit in from nine to five, unless you are deliberately going for a cocoon.
How Lighting Changes North End
With an LRV of 7, North End absorbs most of the light that hits it, so exposure changes its character more than its brightness. In north-facing rooms the cool, gray daylight flattens it toward black; the green only reappears up close. South-facing rooms give it the most life, with the green reading clearly through the middle of the day. East light makes it look freshest in the morning and murkier by evening; west light does the reverse, and warm late-day sun can push it slightly olive.
Bulbs matter just as much. Warm bulbs around 2700K soften it and nudge the green toward olive; cool bulbs at 4000K and up keep the blue-green character but can make the room feel stark. Because so little light reflects off these walls, plan on more lamps than you would use with a mid-tone color, and sample on two walls that face different directions.
Most complaints about North End are a light mismatch. Upload a photo of your actual room and see it on your walls — then ask for the same wall in north light or evening lamps before you buy a single sample.
TEST IT IN YOUR LIGHT →North End vs Similar Colors
After Hours (BD-AH), LRV 6, is the closest sibling. Its saturation is lower, so it reads as a green-tinged charcoal rather than a true green. Choose After Hours if you want people to say "black," and North End if you want them to say "green." In side light the difference is obvious; in a dim room they nearly merge.
Last Call (BD-LC), LRV 6, sits on the blue side with a violet cast. It is equally dark but feels dressier and cooler, better suited to a formal dining room, where North End leans more natural and organic.
We Three Kings (BD-WK), LRV 8, is a slate navy-blue at almost the same depth. It pairs more easily with grays and crisp whites, while North End pairs more easily with wood, cream, and warm metals. If your room already has lots of oak or tan leather, North End is the safer dark; in a gray-based scheme, We Three Kings fits better.
Colors That Go With North End
Tabula Rasa (BD-TR) is the natural trim and ceiling white. At LRV 92 it is bright enough to hold a crisp line against such a dark wall, and its soft warmth keeps the contrast from feeling clinical.
Cookies & Cream (BD-CC), LRV 73, works as the wall color in adjoining rooms or on upper walls above North End wainscoting; it is warm and creamy enough to keep the palette relaxed. Carry the Two (BD-CT), LRV 33, is the mid-tone bridge, useful on a hallway or mudroom that connects a North End room to lighter spaces.
For accents, Eames (BD-EA), LRV 60, brings a golden note that flatters the green in pillows, a bench, or a small cabinet. Mom Jeans (BD-MJ), LRV 18, is a slate blue that can carry a second dark room nearby without competing. Warm woods like oak and walnut, plus brass or aged bronze hardware, all sit comfortably against it.
Need It From Another Brand?
Any paint counter can custom-tint Backdrop BD-NE directly — but if you would rather stay in one brand's own deck, these are the closest stock matches:
Similar Backdrop colors
closest in the Backdrop deckThe nearest shades to North End within Backdrop's own range, ranked by perceptual color distance — useful when you want the same look a touch lighter, darker, or warmer.
Coordinated palette
Generated by hue-rotating #3D4D3F in HSL space. Pair North End with one accent and one neutral — the swatches below are starting points, not final picks.
Accessibility (WCAG contrast)
WCAG 2.1: AA = 4.5:1 normal text · AA Large = 3:1 large text · AAA = 7:1 normal text.
The Questions Everyone Asks
Is North End warm or cool?
North End is cool. Its hue sits at 128, essentially pure green with a slight tilt toward blue rather than yellow, and its measured undertone is a cool green. That said, at 12 percent saturation and LRV 7 it is muted and very dark, so warm bulbs or late-day sun can push it toward olive, while cool light keeps it firmly in blue-green territory.
Is North End green or black?
Both, depending on light. With an LRV of 7 it reflects very little light, so across a dim room it reads as a soft black. Up close, in daylight, or next to a true black like Backdrop's Hocus Pocus (BD-HP), the green is unmistakable. If you want a color that always announces itself as green, you need something lighter and more saturated.
What trim white goes with Backdrop North End?
Tabula Rasa (BD-TR) is the strongest pairing. At LRV 92 it is bright enough to make a clean, high-contrast line against North End's LRV of 7, and it has a soft warmth that keeps the combination from feeling harsh. If you want slightly gentler contrast, Jane (BD-JA) at LRV 86 gives a quieter, creamier edge.
Does North End work on kitchen cabinets or a front door?
Yes, both are among its best uses. On lower cabinets or an island, North End delivers the muted deep-green kitchen look against pale walls and counters, and it hides everyday scuffs better than lighter colors. As a front door it reads nearly black from the curb with a green reveal up close, and it works especially well on brick or light siding.
What does North End's LRV of 7 mean in practice?
LRV measures how much light a color reflects, from 0 for pure black to 100 for pure white. At 7, North End reflects almost none, so rooms painted in it will feel darker and more enclosed, and you will need more lamps than with a mid-tone. It also means sunlight changes its character, from near-black in shadow to clearly green in strong light.
How is North End different from Sherwin-Williams Dard Hunter Green?
They are extremely close. Dard Hunter Green (SW 41) has an LRV of 6 to North End's 7, and the measured color difference between them is small enough that most people could not tell finished walls apart. Sample both anyway, since sheen and lighting shift dark greens noticeably, and always test a real painted swatch on two walls before committing.
Will It Work in YOUR Room?
No page can promise how North End behaves in your light. Upload a photo and see it on your own walls in seconds — before you spend a cent on samples.
TRY NORTH END ON YOUR ROOM →Ask a Question
Not sure about North End in your room?
Ask Jessica below — every question gets a real reply, usually within a day.