Light Green
408 · #E1EFC2 · LRV 82 — cool green tone, very light — near-white, broadens small spaces.
- 1Sage Brush52
- 2Soft Fern57
- 3Light Green82
- 4Frosty Lime89
- 5Mint Hint95
What Color Is Light Green, Really?
Light Green 408 is a pale, pastel green. The hex is #E1EFC2 and the hue sits at 79 degrees, on the yellow-green side of green, with 58 percent saturation held right up in the light range. The LRV is 82, which makes it a near-white on the wall. It reflects a lot of light and will not darken a room, but there is enough green left in it that nobody is going to mistake it for white.
People pick it when they want a room to feel lifted rather than colored. It reads fresh and slightly cool, so it suits nurseries, sunrooms, small bathrooms, laundry rooms, and kitchens with white cabinets, where a full-strength green would be too much and a plain white would be dull. Because the lightness is so high, it also works on a ceiling without closing the room in.
The catch is that pale greens with yellow in them are unstable in strong sun. In direct south light this can tip toward celery or a slightly acid lime, and on a large uninterrupted wall that is more noticeable than it is on a chip. In flat north light it can go almost white and lose the point entirely. Sample it on the wall that gets the most light and the one that gets the least.
The hue at 79 degrees is yellow-green, which puts it in the celery and young-leaf zone rather than in mint or sage. But the lightness of 85 means the color is stretched thin, so on a small chip most people read it as a soft, cool green wash with no obvious yellow.
The yellow becomes visible in two situations. The first is direct sun, which concentrates whatever hue is there. The second is proximity to a cream or a warm white, where Light Green suddenly looks cooler and sharper by comparison and the green separates clearly from the neighboring warmth.
Against a gray floor or cool tile it can read slightly sallow. Against wood and warm white it settles and looks fresh. Test it next to your flooring, not just against the trim, because a cool gray floor is the most common thing that makes a pale yellow-green look wrong in a finished room.
Best Rooms and Uses for Light Green
This is a whole-room light color, not an accent. At LRV 82 it works on all four walls without shrinking the space, which makes it a good fit for nurseries, children's rooms, small bathrooms, laundry rooms, sunrooms, and enclosed porches. In a kitchen with white or cream cabinets it gives the walls a lift while leaving the cabinetry as the main event.
It also works on a ceiling, where the faint green reads as air rather than color, and on the inside of a glass-front cabinet or a shelf run.
What it is not is a cabinet color or a trim color in most homes. At this lightness it does not have the depth to make cabinetry look intentional, and as trim it will read as a mistake against any white wall. Outdoors it is a specialist choice, suited to porch ceilings, garden rooms, and cottage exteriors rather than to a main body color on a modern house.
How Lighting Changes Light Green
At LRV 82 there is very little the light can do to darken this color, but plenty it can do to change its character. North-facing rooms give cool, indirect daylight that flattens the small amount of chroma, and the wall can read as a plain off-white with a green shadow in the corners. If you want the green to actually show in a north room, this may be too pale to do the job.
South-facing rooms are the opposite. Direct sun concentrates the 79-degree hue and the wall can look distinctly celery or lime through the middle of the day. East rooms show that lift in the morning; west rooms get it late.
Bulbs matter less at this lightness but still shift it. Warm 2700K light pushes it toward a soft yellow-green, close to a cream with a tint. Cooler 3500K to 4000K bulbs keep the green crisp and clean. Look at it under both before deciding.
Most complaints about Light 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 408 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Behr | Palm Breeze420E-2 · Behr | 2.4 | 82 | Color page → |
| Valspar | Grasshopper6007-7B · Valspar | 4.5 | 80.5 | Color page → |
| PPG / Glidden | Delicate DaisyPPG1117-1 · PPG / Glidden | 2.8 | 81 | Color page → |
| Glidden | Mellow MintPPG1221-3 · Glidden | 1.1 | 80 | Color page → |
| Dutch Boy | Dainty Lime126-3DB · Dutch Boy | 3.0 | 79 | Color page → |
| Dunn-Edwards | Envious PastelDE5576 · Dunn-Edwards | 2.3 | 77 | Color page → |
Similar Benjamin Moore Colors
The nearest shades to Light 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.
Light Green vs Similar Colors
Within the brand these colors are separated by a few LRV points and a small shift in yellow. Pale Vista 2029-60 at #E4EEC8 and LRV 82 is the closest sibling and reads a shade softer. Neon Celery 2031-60 at #E1F3C9 and LRV 84 is lighter and cleaner, which suits a ceiling. Riverdale Green 415 at #E1F0BA and LRV 79 carries more yellow, so it looks more clearly like celery. Apple Froth 409 at #DCEDBB and LRV 77 is the deepest here, the one to choose if Light Green tests too faint on your wall.
Across brands, Glidden Mellow Mint PPG1221-3 at #DDEDBD and LRV 80 has a deltaE of 1.05 and Behr Aloe Nectar M350-2 at #E0F1C8 and LRV 83 is 1.49, both visually identical in normal room light. Dunn-Edwards Envious Pastel DE5576 at 2.25 and Kompozit Earth Happiness 0769 at 2.35 are very close but should be sampled first. Dutch Boy Dainty Lime 126-3DB at 3.03 sits at the edge of that band, and Valspar Grasshopper 6007-7B at 4.54 is close but visibly different side by side.
Colors That Go With Light Green
A clean white trim is the natural partner, because it keeps the green looking crisp and stops the yellow side from taking over. A warm cream trim works too, but it makes the wall read noticeably cooler by contrast, so decide which effect you want before buying gallons.
For a neighboring surface, Benjamin Moore's own near-neighbors give you small, safe steps. Pale Vista 2029-60 at LRV 82 is almost the same brightness with a slightly softer cast. Neon Celery 2031-60 at LRV 84 is lighter and a touch fresher, good for a ceiling above Light Green walls. Polar Lights 400 at LRV 79 and Riverdale Green 415 at LRV 79 are a small step down if you want an adjacent room to sit slightly deeper. Apple Froth 409 at LRV 77 is the deepest of the group and reads more clearly green.
Natural oak, rattan, unlacquered brass, and soft warm whites all flatter it. Cool gray flooring and chrome tend to leave it looking thin.
Coordinated palette
Generated by hue-rotating #E1EFC2 in HSL space. Pair Light Green with one accent and one neutral — the swatches below are starting points, not final picks.
Light Green FAQ
Is Light Green warm or cool?
It reads as a cool green, though its hue at 79 degrees is technically on the yellow-green side. The high lightness keeps the yellow quiet in most light, so next to a cream or a warm white it looks distinctly cooler and fresher. Direct south sun is what brings the yellow forward.
What is the LRV of Light Green?
Light Green 408 has an LRV of 82. On a scale from 0 for black to 100 for pure white, that is high in the light range, so it reflects a lot of light and behaves almost like a white on the wall. It will open up a small room rather than shrink it.
Does Light Green work in a dark room?
It works in the sense that it will not make a dark room darker, since LRV 82 reflects plenty of light. The problem is the opposite one. In flat north light the small amount of green washes out and the wall can read as a plain off-white, so if you want visible color in a dim room, a deeper green like Apple Froth 409 at LRV 77 is the safer choice.
What white trim goes with Light Green?
A clean white keeps the green crisp and prevents the yellow-green side from spreading into the trim line. A warm cream trim also works but makes the wall look cooler by comparison, which can be a good effect in a warm sunny room and a cold one in a north-facing space. Sample both against the wall before buying.
Is Light Green good for a nursery or a ceiling?
Both are among its best uses. At LRV 82 it gives a nursery or child's room a soft lift without the intensity of a full-strength green, and on a ceiling the faint color reads as air rather than paint. It is much weaker as a cabinet or trim color, where it lacks the depth to look deliberate.
What is the closest match to Light Green in other brands?
Glidden Mellow Mint PPG1221-3 at #DDEDBD and LRV 80 is nearest with a deltaE of 1.05, and Behr Aloe Nectar M350-2 at #E0F1C8 and LRV 83 follows at 1.49. Both are visually identical in normal room light. Dunn-Edwards Envious Pastel DE5576 at 2.25 is very close but worth sampling first.
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