Kelly Green
2037-30 · #00A162 · LRV 27 — cool green tone, mid-tone — versatile but shifts visibly with light.
- 1Vintage Vogue12
- 2Sage Green22
- 3Kelly Green27
- 4Clary Sage41
- 5October Mist47
What Color Is Kelly Green, Really?
Kelly Green 2037-30 is a fully saturated green with a clear blue lean. Its hex value is #00A162 and its hue sits at 157 degrees, which is past true green and on the way toward jade. Saturation is 100 percent, so there is no gray mixed into it at all. The LRV is 27, a mid-tone. That means it reflects a little over a quarter of the light that hits it, so it carries real weight on a wall without behaving like a dark color.
People pick it when they want green that is obviously green. Most of the popular greens right now are grayed sages that act like neutrals, and this is the opposite of that. It stays clean and vivid, closer to a classic painted enamel green than to a quiet wall color, which is why it turns up most often on front doors, cabinets, powder rooms, and painted furniture rather than across four walls of a living room.
The catch is that full saturation is loud in every direction. At LRV 27 the color goes deep and a little murky in a dim room, and in direct sun it can look almost electric. It also throws green light onto white ceilings, trim, and faces, so a small room painted in it reads green even on the surfaces you did not paint. Strong greens usually need extra coats to cover evenly, so plan the job with that in mind.
The undertone here is cool green, and the number that explains it is the hue at 157 degrees. Pure green sits at 120, so Kelly Green has moved a third of the way toward blue. That is why it reads jade or emerald rather than grass or leaf, even though the name suggests otherwise. With saturation at 100 percent there is no gray softening it, so the blue side is not hidden behind a muted surface the way it would be in a sage.
What it stands next to decides how that lean shows. Beside a yellow-green like an olive or a celery, Kelly Green looks distinctly cool and almost teal. Beside a real blue it swings back and reads clearly green. Against warm wood and brass the contrast is strong but comfortable, because the wood supplies the warmth the color does not have.
Hold a sample against any green tile, stone, or countertop already in the room before you commit, since a nearby green is what will expose the blue lean fastest.
Best Rooms and Uses for Kelly Green
This is a color for defined surfaces rather than whole houses. Front doors are the classic use, where the saturation reads as confidence against brick, stone, or a white body color. Powder rooms, mudrooms, laundry rooms, and small home offices take it well because those spaces are already short visits, so the intensity feels like a choice rather than a burden.
On cabinetry it works on a lower run, an island, a bar area, or a single wall of built-ins, especially with white or cream uppers above. Painted furniture, interior doors, and the inside of a bookcase are all good candidates, since the color has enough depth at LRV 27 to look solid rather than thin.
Outdoors it holds up as a door, shutter, or garden-structure color. What it does not do well is trim, ceilings, or open-plan main rooms, where a fully saturated green stops feeling like a backdrop after a week or two.
How Lighting Changes Kelly Green
At LRV 27 Kelly Green reflects a moderate amount of light, so the room does most of the work. North-facing rooms give cool, flat daylight that pushes the blue side of the hue forward and makes the color read deeper and more jade. South-facing rooms flood it with warm light and the saturation takes over, so in the middle of the day it can look intensely bright, almost lit from inside.
East rooms read fresh and cool in the morning and settle by afternoon. West rooms stay flatter early and then get a strong warm push late in the day, which is when a full wall of this color looks its most dramatic.
Bulbs shift it too. Warm 2700K light softens the blue and moves it slightly toward a leafier green. Cooler 3500K to 4000K bulbs keep it crisp and cool. Because a saturated color at this lightness bounces color onto everything nearby, look at the sample at night with your own fixtures on, not only in daylight.
Most complaints about Kelly Green 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 Benjamin Moore 2037-30 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherwin-Williams | Jitterbug JadeSW 6987 · Sherwin-Williams | 3.8 | 25 | Color page → |
| Behr | Billiard Room480D-6 · Behr | 4.3 | 26 | Color page → |
| Valspar | Cosmic Green6003-10C · Valspar | 2.1 | 25.3 | Color page → |
| PPG / Glidden | Green GlossPPG1227-7 · PPG / Glidden | 3.7 | 23 | Color page → |
| Glidden | Green GlossPPG1227-7 · Glidden | 4.0 | 22 | Color page → |
| Dunn-Edwards | JungleDE5677 · Dunn-Edwards | 1.0 | 25 | Color page → |
Similar Benjamin Moore Colors
The nearest shades to Kelly Green within Benjamin Moore'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.
Kelly Green vs Similar Colors
Inside the Benjamin Moore deck the differences are mostly about how far toward blue each color goes. Cabana Green 2039-30 at #009E75 and LRV 26 is noticeably more teal, and St. Patrick 2044-30 at #009F7E and LRV 26 goes further still. Prairie Green 2038-30 at #0A976D and LRV 25 is a shade deeper and slightly softer. Fresh Scent Green 2033-30 at #31AA50 and LRV 30 is the real outlier here, lighter and clearly yellower, so it looks like grass where Kelly Green looks like jade.
Across brands, Dunn-Edwards Jungle DE5677 at #00A466 and LRV 25 has a deltaE of 1.02, which means it is visually identical in normal room light. Valspar Cosmic Green 6003-10C at LRV 25.3 and Behr Mermaid Sea P440-7 at LRV 27 come in at 2.12 and 3.24, both very close but worth sampling first. Sherwin-Williams Jitterbug Jade SW 6987 at #019D6E and LRV 25 is 3.75 apart, close but visibly different side by side.
Colors That Go With Kelly Green
Trim should be a plain white or a soft warm white. A saturated green does not need a second strong color at the edges, and a clean white line is what keeps it looking deliberate rather than dated.
If you want an adjacent surface in the same family, Benjamin Moore's own neighbors are the safest route. Fresh Scent Green 2033-30 at LRV 30 is slightly lighter and leans yellower, so it makes a good companion in a connected space where you want less blue. Cabana Green 2039-30 at LRV 26 and St. Patrick 2044-30 at LRV 26 go the other way and sit further toward teal, which suits a bathroom or a hallway leading off a Kelly Green room. Prairie Green 2038-30 at LRV 25 and Floradale Isle 581 at LRV 24 are a touch deeper if you want the trim-adjacent cabinet to recede.
For materials, warm oak, walnut, rattan, brass, and unlacquered bronze all flatter it. Chrome and cool nickel read hard against this much saturation.
Coordinated palette
Generated by hue-rotating #00A162 in HSL space. Pair Kelly Green with one accent and one neutral — the swatches below are starting points, not final picks.
Kelly Green FAQ
Is Kelly Green warm or cool?
It is a cool green. The hue sits at 157 degrees, which is a third of the way from pure green toward blue, so it reads jade or emerald rather than grass. With saturation at 100 percent there is no gray to soften that lean, which is why it looks distinctly cool next to any yellow-based green.
What is the LRV of Kelly Green?
Kelly Green 2037-30 has an LRV of 27. LRV runs from 0 for black to 100 for pure white, so 27 is a mid-tone that reflects a little over a quarter of the light in the room. It has real depth on a wall but is not a dark color in the way a navy or charcoal would be.
Does Kelly Green work in a dark room?
It can, but it changes. At LRV 27 the color loses brightness quickly in low light and the blue side comes forward, so it reads deeper and more jade than it does on the chip. If the room has one small north window, expect a moody result rather than the vivid green you saw in the store.
What white trim goes with Kelly Green?
A plain white or a soft warm white is the right answer. The green is already fully saturated at 100 percent, so the trim's job is to give it a clean edge, not to add a second idea. Avoid gray or greige trim, which turns muddy against a color this strong.
Is Kelly Green good for a front door or cabinets?
Yes, those are its strongest uses. At LRV 27 it has enough depth to look solid on a door or a cabinet run without going dark, and a saturated green is easier to live with on a defined surface than across a whole room. Benjamin Moore is sold through independent dealers, so a door-sized quart is easy to pick up and test on site first.
What is the closest match to Kelly Green in other brands?
Dunn-Edwards Jungle DE5677 at #00A466 and LRV 25 is the nearest, with a deltaE of 1.02, meaning the two are visually identical in normal room light. Valspar Cosmic Green 6003-10C at 2.12 and Behr Mermaid Sea P440-7 at 3.24 are very close but should be sampled first. Sherwin-Williams Jitterbug Jade SW 6987 at 3.75 is close but visibly different side by side.
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