Rainforest
The dark green Behr sells you for doors, cabinets and porch floors — reviewed honestly on the surfaces it actually gets used on, and the rooms where it goes flat black.
Jessica has spec'd whites and neutrals for more than 300 rooms and keeps a sample wall of painted drawdowns in her studio. Every color review is checked against real reader rooms in the comments and re-tested when a formula changes. About the testing process →
- 1Dark Night4
- 2Rainforest10
- 3Adirondack Blue22
- 4Van Courtland Blue31
The Fast Verdict
Rainforest is a dark, cool-leaning forest green with a gray cast that keeps it from reading grassy or bright — Behr's own copy calls it "the ultimate jungle adventure color," but on the wall it behaves more like a shadowed pine than a jungle leaf. What the color chart doesn't say, the product lineup does: Behr sells this exact color as porch-and-patio floor enamel, exterior masonry paint, and cabinet-door-trim enamel almost as often as it sells it as a wall color. Take the hint. This is a door, a cabinet run, a porch floor — a color for one surface with real light hitting it — more than it is a four-wall commitment.
Front doors and exterior trim · kitchen islands and cabinet runs · mudrooms and small powder rooms · brick, stucco or porch floors · anyone who wants a dark green with more gray in it than jungle
The room you're painting has weak or no direct light · you pictured a bright, saturated grass green · you want the whole kitchen, not just the island · you repaint rarely and want a color with a track record of owner reviews
- Sold across nearly every Behr product line — doors, cabinets, exterior masonry, porch floors — so the right formula for the job actually exists
- Reads as a genuine cool, grounded forest green, not swampy or muddy
- LRV 10 hides scuffs and handprints on doors, cabinets and mudroom trim
- Flatters brass hardware and warm or white countertops
- Nearly a twin to Vine Leaf, so it's easy to color-match if a store is out of stock
- Goes flat and close to black in dim or north-facing rooms
- Gray cast means it never reads as a bright, saturated jungle green despite the marketing name
- Whole-room or whole-kitchen use is a bold, light-dependent bet with less of a track record than Behr's better-known dark greens
- Real owner reviews online are thin — mostly product listings, not much lived-in feedback to lean on
What Color Is Rainforest, Really?
A dark, cool-leaning blue-green with a distinct gray cast — Behr's own description leans tropical ("the ultimate jungle adventure color"), but the paint itself is quieter than that copy suggests. The gray is what keeps Rainforest from reading like a saturated leaf green: it sits closer to a shadowed evergreen or a wet-pine color than to anything you'd call bright. That undertone is the whole personality of the color — cool, a little moody, never warm.
At LRV 10 it is genuinely dark — deep enough that it behaves almost like a neutral once the room's lighting settles, but only after it has enough light to settle into. Behr's own deck has several colors landing in this exact depth and lean: Vine Leaf sits at the identical LRV 10 and is close enough in hue that the two are functionally interchangeable in a store that only stocks one of them, while North Woods and Secluded Woods sit one step darker and lean even further toward black. Rainforest is the brightest — relatively speaking — of that family.
Undertone in one line: cool blue-green with gray in it, never warm, never a true grass-green. If a sample looks nearly black, that's low light doing what it does to every color this deep; if it looks teal, that's the blue in the undertone showing through in cool daylight.
Where It Shines
Rainforest earns its keep on single surfaces with real light on them, and Behr's own product catalog backs that up: this color ships as gloss-enamel porch-and-patio floor paint, flat masonry/stucco/brick paint, and satin or semi-gloss cabinet-door-trim enamel, in addition to a standard interior wall paint. That is an unusually wide spread of specialty formulations for one color, and it tells you what the color is actually for — a front door in full sun, a kitchen island under can lights, a porch floor, a run of exterior brick. Give it a surface with direct light and it reads as a genuine, grounded forest green; hand it a whole dim room and it disappears into near-black.
Where It Fails
Almost every disappointed story about a dark green like Rainforest follows one of three scripts, and none of them are really about the paint.
At LRV 10 with a cool, gray-cast base, low light flattens Rainforest toward near-black — the same trap that catches Behr's other dark greens like North Woods and Black Evergreen. That's fine on a door that only needs to read "dark and handsome"; it's a letdown on four walls you actually wanted to see as green.
Behr's own copy calls it "the ultimate jungle adventure color," but the gray in the undertone wins on the wall — it reads as a shadowed forest color, not a saturated leaf. If you want the brighter, more jewel-toned dark green, sample Benjamin Moore's Green (2044-10) instead; it carries visibly more teal saturation at almost the same depth.
Behr sells Rainforest in cabinet-specific satin and semi-gloss enamel, which is a strong hint at how most buyers actually use it: an island, a hutch, a bathroom vanity. A full run of uppers and lowers in a saturated dark green is a bold, light-dependent bet — the door-and-trim version of this color has a far better track record.
Room by Room
This is where Behr's own catalog points hardest: exterior paint, masonry/stucco/brick paint, and porch-and-patio floor enamel are all sold in this exact color. Full daylight reads it as a confident, grounded dark green, and it pairs cleanly with a white or off-white body — Polar Bear is Behr's own suggested match.
On an island under warm cabinet lighting, with brass hardware and a butcher-block or white countertop, it looks custom and expensive. A full kitchen in it is a much bigger bet — keep the uppers or the walls in a warm neutral like Cotton Knit.
Small rooms take deep color well, and a windowless powder room with a good fixture handles Rainforest better than a dim hallway does. Wrap all four walls in matte or eggshell and let a bright white trim carry the edges.
LRV 10 hides scuffs, muddy boots and dog-nose smudges better than almost any lighter color would. Satin on lockers and bench trim wipes clean.
An accent wall behind a desk or shelving reads moody and grounded when the room gets real sun during the day. A windowless interior office is the one place this backfires — it goes flat and cave-like fast.
Nothing in Behr's own catalog suggests this color as a whole-room, whole-house default — it's sold as a specialty surface color for a reason. In a bright, south-facing living room it can work as a single feature wall; as the main color of an average-light room, it's a harder sell than the deck's more famous dark greens.
Your Light Is the Risk
Direct sun on a door, porch floor or brick facade reads it as a confident, grounded green — the surfaces Behr actually formulates this color for.
The cool, gray-cast base has nothing to bounce off — the color sinks toward near-black, the same trap that catches Behr's other deep greens.
Cooler and slightly blue in morning light, a touch deeper and quieter by late afternoon. The shift is subtle at this depth.
Warm 2700K bulbs pull it toward moss and soften the gray; cool white LEDs push the blue-gray cast further and can read almost black-teal at night.
Most complaints about Rainforest 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.
Need It From Another Brand?
Any paint counter can custom-tint Behr M440-7 directly. If you would rather stay in one brand's own deck, these are the closest stock matches, measured as ΔE2000. Under 2 is a difference you will not see on the wall.
| Brand | Closest color | ΔE | LRV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benjamin Moore | Under the Sea693 · Benjamin Moore | 1.4 | 11 | Color page → |
| Valspar | Sherwood Forest8003-34G · Valspar | 4.5 | 10 | Color page → |
| PPG / Glidden | Antique SlatePPG13-29 · PPG / Glidden | 2.8 | 10 | Color page → |
| Glidden | Antique SlatePPG13-29 · Glidden | 2.8 | 10 | Color page → |
| Dunn-Edwards | Pine HavenDE5713 · Dunn-Edwards | 2.1 | 10 | Color page → |
| Magnolia Home | Regal LeafJG-72 · Magnolia Home | 3.7 | 10 | Color page → |
Similar Behr Colors
The nearest shades to Rainforest within Behr's own range, ranked by perceptual color distance — useful when you want the same look a touch lighter, darker, or warmer.
WCAG 2.1: AA is 4.5 : 1 for normal text, 3 : 1 for large text, AAA is 7 : 1.
Rainforest vs the Colors You're Also Considering
Every Rainforest sample board has the same rivals on it. The numbers show the real lightness gap — then it comes down to which risk you would rather live with.
Pick this for the cooler, more blue-leaning read; Vine Leaf tips a touch more yellow-forest by comparison.
Behr N400-7 · LRV 10Vine LeafPick this if a store is out of Rainforest — Vine Leaf sits at the identical LRV 10 and is close enough that most rooms won't tell the difference.
Pick this for the calmer, more neutral forest green that argues less with brass and wood.
Benjamin Moore 2044-10 · LRV 9GreenPick this if you want the saturated, jewel-toned version of dark green — Benjamin Moore's Green carries far more visible teal than Rainforest's grayed-out cast.
No other brand in this comparison lands on top of Rainforest, so all of these are close cousins rather than matches. Glidden Brunswick (PPG1132-7) at LRV 10 and deltaE 3.17 is the nearest. Its hex of #236649 has less gray and more pure green in it, so it looks slightly more vivid. Hirshfield's Amish Green (H0094) at LRV 10 and deltaE 3.23 goes the other way, a little grayer and cooler. Both are very close, but sample first.
Benjamin Moore Fiddlehead Green (2041-20) at LRV 10 and deltaE 3.97 carries more blue and reads closer to a dark teal. Diamond Vogel Cute Pixie (0711) at LRV 9 and deltaE 4.14 is similar and a hair darker. Valspar Friendly Fairway (P099) at LRV 10.2 and deltaE 4.84 leans the opposite way, warmer and more yellow-green. All three are close but visibly different side by side, so do not treat them as substitutes.
Rainforest Coordinating Colors
The pairing rule for Rainforest is simple: keep the neutrals warm-white or gray-neutral, and let one near-black do the contrast work. It flatters brass and warm wood far more than it flatters anything icy or blue-gray, and it layers cleanly with Behr's own deeper greens for a tonal, not matchy, look.
Why Behr Sells Rainforest as a Door and Floor Color First
Look past the wall-paint listing and Behr's own catalog tells a clear story: Rainforest ships as a gloss-enamel porch-and-patio floor paint, a flat interior/exterior masonry, stucco and brick paint, and a satin or semi-gloss cabinet-door-trim enamel — in addition to the standard interior wall version. That is an unusually wide spread of specialty formulations for a single color, and it isn't an accident. It means enough customers were asking for this exact green on doors, porch floors, brick and cabinets that Behr built dedicated products for each surface.
The practical takeaway: treat Rainforest as a surface color before you treat it as a room color. A front door, a porch floor, a run of brick, an island of cabinets — all places this color has a real formula and a real track record. A full room of walls is technically available too, but it's the one use Behr's own product lineup gives the least support to.
Rainforest With Wood Tones and Metals
Warm wood is the easy pairing: butcher block, oak, walnut and natural wood doors all sit comfortably against Rainforest's cool green because the wood's warmth balances the color's gray-blue lean instead of fighting it. Brass and unlacquered bronze hardware read expensive against it — the classic dark-green-and-brass combination that shows up on kitchen islands and front doors alike.
White or pale countertops and trim keep the color from feeling heavy; a cool gray marble or chrome hardware is the one combination worth sampling first, since it can push Rainforest's blue undertone further toward teal than most people expect.
Three Ready Palettes Built on Rainforest
A color is never alone on the wall. These are complete combinations in the 60-30-10 pattern, with the reason each one holds together. Every one opens in the visualizer.
A white body keeps the dark green door and near-black shutters from overwhelming the facade — the classic high-contrast entry Behr's own porch-and-masonry lineup is built to support.
Try this palette in your roomCotton Knit's warm neutral walls keep the room from going cold, Polar Bear uppers stay light and bright, and the island carries all the color — the one-surface commitment this green is built for.
Try this palette in your roomSmall rooms take deep color well: Rainforest wraps all four walls, Whisper White trim keeps the edges crisp, and a near-black vanity in Black Evergreen adds one tonal shadow instead of a clashing accent.
Try this palette in your roomRainforest FAQ
Is Rainforest warm or cool?
Cool. It's a blue-green with a gray cast — never warm, never a true grass-green, despite the tropical name. In cool daylight the blue in it can show as a hint of teal.
Is Rainforest good for a front door?
Yes — arguably its best job. Behr sells this exact color as exterior paint, masonry/stucco/brick paint and porch-and-patio floor enamel, which is a strong signal the color is built for outdoor, full-light surfaces first.
Can I use it on kitchen cabinets?
Yes, especially an island, a hutch, or lower cabinets under a lighter upper cabinet or wall color. Behr sells it in cabinet-specific satin and semi-gloss enamel. A full kitchen of uppers and lowers in it is a bigger, riskier commitment.
Will Rainforest look black in a dim room?
Very close to it. At LRV 10 with a cool, gray-cast base, low or north light flattens the color toward near-black — the same thing that happens to Behr's other deep greens like North Woods and Secluded Woods. Give it real daylight or accept the near-black look.
What white goes with Rainforest?
Polar Bear is Behr's own suggested pairing for trim, siding or ceilings. Whisper White works well as a warmer alternative on cabinet uppers or bathroom trim.
Does Rainforest work on brick or stucco?
Yes — it's sold as a flat interior/exterior masonry, stucco and brick paint in this exact color, so it's a genuine option for a brick accent wall, a stucco exterior, or a porch foundation.
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