Color spec
| Brand | Behr |
| Name | Granite Boulder |
| SKU | 790D-4 |
| Hex | #B2AFA5 |
| RGB | 178, 175, 165 |
| HSL | 46°, 8%, 67% |
| LRV | 43 |
| Undertone | warm yellow tone |
| Family | Neutral |
What Color Is Granite Boulder, Really?
Behr Granite Boulder N520-5 is a deep, warm-leaning mid gray. Its saturation sits at just 3 percent, so it reads as an almost pure neutral, with only a faint drift toward khaki rather than blue. At an LRV of 21 it absorbs far more light than it reflects, putting it in the dark half of the gray range without going charcoal.
Its popularity comes largely from exteriors. It is one of Behr's most-used siding grays because it does what stone does: it stays quiet, hides dirt and weathering, and lets white trim and a bold door carry the contrast. Indoors it behaves like a dressed-down charcoal that never turns icy.
It suits people who want a dark neutral without commitment to a mood. If blue-grays feel cold in your house and brown-grays feel muddy, this hex, #7A7B73, splits the difference and works with both warm wood floors and black fixtures.
Granite Boulder measures at 3 percent saturation, which means it is functionally neutral with only a slight lean. That lean sits at a hue of 67 degrees, in the yellow-green zone, so under some conditions the color drifts faintly toward khaki or mossy stone rather than toward blue or purple. You will almost never see it read as green outright; you will just notice it feels warmer than a classic blue-gray.
The lean shows most next to strong warm elements. Beside orange-toned oak, brass, or cream trim, the green-yellow cast can surface and the color looks slightly earthy. Next to crisp white or black, it snaps back to plain gray.
Test it against your fixed finishes: countertop, flooring, brick, and roof color for exteriors. Paint a large sample beside each and check at midday and dusk. If a swatch turns sage-like against your materials, a bluer gray may suit the room better.
Best Rooms and Uses for Granite Boulder
Its strongest use is exterior siding, and that is where most people find it. On a full facade in daylight, LRV 21 lands in the sweet spot for a dark house color: clearly deep and modern, but not the near-black that shows every pollen streak and heats up in summer. It pairs naturally with white trim and either a black or a saturated door.
Inside, treat it as a statement color rather than a whole-home wall color. It works on an accent wall behind a bed or media unit, in a den or office where you want the walls to recede, and on lower walls or wainscoting under a light upper color. Small windowless rooms will feel closed in.
On cabinetry it performs like a gentler alternative to charcoal, especially on a kitchen island or bathroom vanity under white counters. It also makes a solid front door color on lighter houses, and a believable shutter color against beige or white siding.
How Lighting Changes Granite Boulder
At LRV 21, Granite Boulder gives back only about a fifth of the light that hits it, so the room's light source decides how dark it feels. In a north-facing room, the cool, dim light pushes it toward flat slate and it can feel heavy by late afternoon. South-facing rooms are its best case indoors: steady warm daylight lifts it, and the faint khaki lean makes it feel like warm stone instead of concrete.
East light turns it soft and warm in the morning, then cooler and moodier after noon. West-facing rooms run the opposite schedule, with the color at its warmest during golden hour.
Bulb choice matters as much as exposure. Warm bulbs around 2700K bring out the earthy side and keep the room from feeling stark. Cool bulbs at 4000K and up strip the warmth and leave a harder, grayer wall. On exteriors, full sun reads noticeably lighter than the chip; shaded elevations sit closer to charcoal.
Most complaints about Granite Boulder 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 →Granite Boulder vs Similar Colors
Behr Greyhound PPU24-21, LRV 20, is the closest sibling. It is one point darker and its lean tips slightly toward taupe rather than khaki, so on a wall it reads a touch browner and softer. Pick Greyhound if your fixed finishes run warm beige; pick Granite Boulder if you want a cleaner, stonier gray that holds up next to black accents.
Behr Eagle Ridge ECC-46-2, LRV 19, goes further in the warm direction. It is visibly more brown-gray, closer to weathered wood than to granite. It favors rustic and craftsman exteriors with earth-tone stone; Granite Boulder favors modern farmhouse and contemporary schemes.
Behr Smoky Trout MQ2-53 matches Granite Boulder's LRV of 21 almost exactly, so the difference is purely in cast: Smoky Trout carries a little more warmth and reads slightly softer in shade. If two elevations of your house sit in permanent shadow, Smoky Trout can look less severe there, while Granite Boulder keeps a truer gray in full sun.
Colors That Go With Granite Boulder
For trim, use Ultra Pure White 1850, LRV 92. Against a dark gray this bright, clean white gives exteriors the crisp siding-and-trim contrast that makes the scheme work, and it does the same job on interior casings and baseboards. If bright white feels too stark for an interior, Swiss Coffee 12, LRV 80, is a softer cream-leaning alternative that flatters the color's warm side.
As a second wall color, Dolphin Fin PPU18-15, LRV 47, is the natural lighter partner. It shares the same quiet, warm-neutral character, so you can run it in adjacent rooms or on upper walls while Granite Boulder anchors below.
For accents, Back to Nature S340-4, LRV 38, adds a muted green that plays directly into the color's stony lean and works well in bedding, a painted bookcase, or an adjoining room. On a front door against Granite Boulder siding, Cracked Pepper PPU18-01, LRV 5, delivers a soft-black focal point. Warm oak or walnut wood tones and black or brushed nickel metals both sit comfortably with all of these.
Need It From Another Brand?
Any paint counter can custom-tint Behr 790D-4 directly — but if you would rather stay in one brand's own deck, these are the closest stock matches:
Similar Behr colors
closest in the Behr deckThe nearest shades to Granite Boulder within Behr'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 #B2AFA5 in HSL space. Pair Granite Boulder 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 Behr Granite Boulder warm or cool?
It is a warm-leaning neutral gray, but only barely. Its saturation is about 3 percent, so it reads as nearly pure gray with a faint drift toward khaki rather than blue. Next to crisp whites and blacks it looks like plain gray; next to orange-toned wood or cream trim, the subtle warm cast becomes easier to see.
What trim white goes with Granite Boulder?
Behr Ultra Pure White 1850 is the safest choice. With an LRV of 92 against Granite Boulder's 21, it gives the strong, clean contrast that dark siding and trim schemes rely on. If you want a softer, warmer look indoors, Behr Swiss Coffee 12, at LRV 80, pairs well with the color's slightly earthy lean.
Does Granite Boulder work on exteriors and cabinets?
Yes, and exteriors are its most popular use. It is a well-known Behr siding gray because it reads as deep and modern without going near-black, and it hides dirt well. On cabinets it works as a softer alternative to charcoal, especially on kitchen islands and bathroom vanities paired with white counters and black or nickel hardware.
What does an LRV of 21 mean in practice?
LRV 21 means the color reflects only about 21 percent of the light that hits it, which puts it firmly in the dark range. Rooms painted in it will feel noticeably dimmer and cozier, so it needs strong daylight or warm bulbs indoors. On exteriors, full sun lightens it, so it looks brighter outside than on a small chip.
How is Granite Boulder different from Sherwin-Williams Attitude Gray?
Sherwin-Williams Attitude Gray SW 7060 is one of the closest matches from another brand, with an LRV of 20 versus Granite Boulder's 21. On a wall the two are nearly interchangeable; Attitude Gray is a hair darker and fractionally greener. In practice, most people choose between them based on which brand their painter or store carries.
How should I sample Granite Boulder before painting?
Paint at least a two-foot square, or use a large peel-and-stick sample, on two different walls, and check it in morning, midday, and evening light. Dark colors like this shift the most with exposure, so also view it beside your trim white, flooring, and any fixed stone or brick. For exteriors, test on both a sunny and a shaded elevation.
Will It Work in YOUR Room?
No page can promise how Granite Boulder behaves in your light. Upload a photo and see it on your own walls in seconds — before you spend a cent on samples.
TRY GRANITE BOULDER ON YOUR ROOM →
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