Behr Cracked Pepper#3C3A36 · LRV 5
Why this color. 2024 Behr Color of the Year; widely cited as the soft-black benchmark at Home Depot.
Cracked Pepper reads as a red-orange / warm — very dark — reads black in most rooms. The notes below cover the spec, what Behr PPU18-01 actually looks like under different light, and the closest matches at competing US brands.
Color spec
| Brand | Behr |
| Name | Cracked Pepper |
| SKU | PPU18-01 |
| Hex | #3C3A36 |
| RGB | 60, 58, 54 |
| HSL | 40°, 5%, 22% |
| LRV | 5 |
| Undertone | red-orange / warm |
| Family | Black |
Kompozit alternative
The closest hex in the Kompozit deck, ranked by ΔE2000 (perceptual color difference). ΔE under 2 is indistinguishable to most eyes; under 5 is a very close visual match.
Closest matches at every US brand
9 brands · top 5 each5 closest matches per brand by ΔE2000, computed against each brand's full deck. Tap any swatch for its full single-color spec; tap the brand title to browse all black from that brand.
Valspar
Farrow & Ball
Benjamin Moore
Dunn-Edwards
PPG / Glidden
Sherwin-Williams
Clare
Magnolia Home
Coordinated palette
Generated by hue-rotating #3C3A36 in HSL space. Pair Cracked Pepper 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.