Color spec
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams |
| Name | Naval |
| SKU | SW 6244 |
| Hex | #2A4054 |
| RGB | 42, 64, 84 |
| HSL | 209°, 33%, 25% |
| LRV | 4 |
| Undertone | cool blue tone |
| Sheens | walls matte or eggshell · trim semi-gloss · cabinets satin · front door satin |
| Family | Blue |
Naval is the dark blue that stays blue. Most navies quietly turn into charcoal on a wall; Naval keeps enough color that people can name it across the room. The catch is its LRV of 4 — it swallows light, so in a dim room it stops being blue and becomes a flat black shape. Use it where light hits it and it is one of the best dark colors Sherwin-Williams sells.
What Color Is Naval, Really?
A saturated dark blue with just enough gray to keep it from looking like a child's paint set. That gray is the whole reason it works: it takes the edge off the blue without draining it, so Naval lands between a primary navy and the gray-blues everyone else calls navy. There is no green pull and no teal to speak of. When someone says a color "looks navy" from across a kitchen, this is usually the one they mean.
At LRV 4 it reflects almost nothing — the same neighborhood as a true black. Put it beside Tricorn Black (SW 6258, LRV 3) and you finally see the blue clearly; put it in a hallway with no lamp on and that blue disappears. Compared with Hale Navy (BM HC-154, LRV 6), Naval is a step deeper and clearly more colorful, where Hale Navy behaves like a soft charcoal that happens to be blue. That difference decides most of the arguments people have about these two.
Undertone in one line: cool, honest blue with a light gray mute — never purple, never teal, never green. If your Naval looks purple, check the light source and the sheen before you blame the can; low-angle sun and full sun on a horizontal surface are what push it that way.
Where It Shines
It does its best work as the dark half of a two-color room: a Naval island under white uppers, a Naval door in a white entry, a study where the blue is allowed to close in on purpose. The one thing it needs in every case is a light source pointed at it.
Where It Fails — the Honest Part
The complaints about Naval are remarkably consistent, and none of them are mysteries. Three situations account for almost every unhappy story, and you can predict all three before you open the can.
A dim room with one small window. At LRV 4 there is nothing for the eye to work with. The blue drops out, the walls go flat black, and corners stop reading as corners — people describe it as a hole in the house. If you want blue you can still see at dusk, use Indigo Batik (SW 7602, LRV 8) or the grayer Cyberspace (SW 7076, LRV 12).
Every cabinet in a small kitchen. Naval on the island is a classic; Naval on all of it, uppers included, in a 10x12 kitchen makes the room feel like a closed box, and it kills the counter light you cook by. Keep the uppers Pure White (SW 7005) and the island Naval, or drop the whole kitchen to Cyberspace (SW 7076) if you want dark everywhere.
A sun-baked deck or a wall in full afternoon sun. The unhappiest reports come from horizontal surfaces outdoors, where people say the finished color came out a grayish purple-blue rather than the navy on the chip. Strong low-angle sun plus a flat sheen does that to deep blues, and dark exterior colors on south and west faces fade faster too. For deck boards or big sun-hammered planes, a mid-tone like Peppercorn (SW 7674) holds up better; save Naval for the door, shutters, and shaded elevations.
Room by Room
Kitchen island & lower cabinets — its best job
Satin on the island, Pure White (SW 7005) uppers and trim, warm wood counter or oak stools. This is the pairing that made the color famous, and it flatters brass and unlacquered bronze hardware better than black does.
Front door & shutters — yes
Satin exterior enamel on a door in a white or light-stone facade is close to foolproof. On a door that bakes in afternoon sun, expect some fade over five to seven years and plan on a refresh coat.
Study or office — yes, with lamps
Matte walls, Naval on the trim too if you want the tailored, all-one-color look, and real layered lighting: a lamp, a picture light, warm 2700K bulbs. Without lamps it reads black by 4pm.
Bedroom — only with real windows
Cocooning and genuinely restful when daylight reaches the walls. Pair with Alabaster (SW 7008) trim and warm oak; skip it in a basement bedroom or a north bedroom with one small window.
Powder room — yes, go all in
The one room where near-black is a feature. Naval on walls, ceiling, and trim, a big mirror, warm sconces at face height, brass fixtures. Use eggshell so you can wipe splashes.
Built-ins & bookcases — strong
Naval shelves with Pure White (SW 7005) walls give a room a library backbone without a full dark room. Satin, and keep a small touch-up jar — dark shelf edges scuff where hands land.
The Scorecard
What it gets right
- +Actually reads blue, not charcoal, in daylight
- +The island-and-white-uppers kitchen it was made for
- +Dark and dramatic without the harshness of true black
- +Loves brass, warm oak, and crisp white trim
- +Works indoors and out — door, shutters, siding, cabinets
Where it struggles
- −Goes flat black in dim or windowless rooms
- −Shows dust, fingerprints, and every chip on cabinets
- −Deep base means two to three coats, and brush touch-ups show
- −Can shift grayish-purple in hard sun on horizontal surfaces
Light by Light
Most complaints about Naval 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 →Naval vs the Colors You're Also Considering
Every Naval 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.
Salty Dog (SW 9177, LRV 5) is Naval's closest cousin in the line. It is a touch lighter and reads slightly more saturated and pure blue, while Naval feels a hair deeper and more classic. If you want the navy to lean a little brighter, choose Salty Dog; for the darker, near-black anchor, choose Naval.
Hale Navy (BM HC-154, LRV 6) is the famous comparison. It is noticeably grayer and softer, closer to a charcoal-navy, so it reads less blue and more muted on a wall. Naval is more clearly a saturated navy. Pick Hale Navy for a subtle, moody neutral-navy and Naval when you want the blue to show.
Indigo Batik (SW 7602, LRV 8) is lighter again and reads as a true medium blue you can actually use across full walls without going near-black. Use it when Naval feels too dark for the space.
Need It From Another Brand?
Any paint counter can custom-tint Sherwin-Williams SW 6244 directly — but if you would rather stay in one brand's own deck, these are the closest stock matches:
Similar Sherwin-Williams colors
closest in the Sherwin-Williams deckThe nearest shades to Naval within Sherwin-Williams's own range, ranked by perceptual color distance — useful when you want the same look a touch lighter, darker, or warmer.
Naval Coordinating Colors
Naval is the dark note in a scheme, so its partners have one job: put light back in the room. Bright whites work better than creamy ones here — cream reads slightly yellow against a saturated blue. Warm mid-tones on the walls stop the navy from feeling cold, and a warm dark like bronze gives you a second deep color that does not compete. These are the pairings that come up again and again:
Naval on Cabinets and Islands
This is where most people meet the color, and the split-level rule holds up: dark below, light above. Naval on the island and lower run with white uppers keeps counter light where you need it, and the room still gets the drama. Going dark on every door in a small kitchen is the single most common regret — designers who love this color still steer clients to the island or the vanity when the room is under about 120 square feet.
Practically, use a waterborne urethane cabinet enamel in satin, spray it if you can, and tint your primer gray. Two coats over tinted primer is normal; over bare white doors, budget three. Live with the maintenance honestly: navy shows dust film and knuckle marks, so hardware on every door and a touch-up jar in the cabinet under the sink are not optional. Warm brass or unlacquered bronze pulls look better against Naval than polished chrome, which reads cold next to it.
Naval on Exteriors and Front Doors
Outside, Naval behaves like a near-black with a blue soul, and that is a compliment. On siding with Extra White (SW 7006) trim it gives you the dark-house look without the heat-sink flatness of true black, and it sits comfortably with gray stone, cedar, and standing-seam metal. On a front door it is close to a default choice for white and light-gray houses.
Two honest warnings. Dark exterior colors fade fastest on south and west faces, so a door or shutter set in afternoon sun will want a refresh coat sooner than the shaded sides of the house. And on big horizontal surfaces — deck boards, a sunny porch floor — deep blues can come out looking grayish purple rather than navy, which is the exact complaint homeowners report after the deck dries. Sample on the actual surface, in the actual sun, before you commit a whole deck to it.
Three Ready Palettes Built on Naval
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.
Naval takes the lower 60 percent of the eye line where dark belongs, so the counters still get their light back off white uppers. Accessible Beige warms the room enough that the navy reads rich instead of cold.
TRY THIS PALETTE →One color on walls and trim removes the contrast lines, which is what makes a small dark room feel deliberate rather than cramped. The soft white ceiling gives the eye somewhere to rest, and Ripe Olive adds a warm green note behind the books.
TRY THIS PALETTE →Extra White at LRV 86 against Naval at 4 is the maximum contrast that still looks traditional, and bright white keeps the blue crisp under a gray sky. Urbane Bronze on the door adds the one warm note that stops the facade from feeling like a uniform.
TRY THIS PALETTE →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
Does Naval just look black?
In good daylight, no — the blue is clear and people name it correctly across a room. In a dim room, at night without lamps, or in a flat sheen on a shaded wall, yes, it reads as a near-black. Hold it beside Tricorn Black (SW 6258) in the actual room; if you cannot tell them apart there, the room does not have enough light for Naval.
How many coats does it take, and do I need primer?
Two coats over a gray-tinted primer, and plan on three if you skip the primer or you are covering white cabinets. Naval is a deep-base color, so it goes on thin and translucent at first — that patchy first coat is normal, not a bad batch. Buy the primer tinted to about 50 percent Naval and you will usually save a coat.
Naval or Salty Dog for kitchen cabinets?
Naval is the deeper, more traditional navy; Salty Dog (SW 9177) is a touch lighter with a slight teal lift that reads more coastal. In a kitchen with warm wood and brass, Naval sits better. With cool marble, white quartz, and chrome, Salty Dog looks livelier and less like black.
Does it show fingerprints and dust on cabinets?
Yes, more than any mid-tone. Dark navy shows dust film on flat door faces, fingerprints around handles, and every chip at the edges. Use a satin urethane cabinet enamel, put pulls on every door so hands land on metal, and keep a small labeled touch-up jar — dab with a foam applicator, never a bristle brush, or the repair will show.
Can I paint a whole small room Naval?
Yes, if you commit. Walls, trim, and ceiling all Naval works far better in a powder room or small study than Naval walls with white trim, because the contrast lines are what make a small dark room feel boxed in. What does not work is one small window, no lamps, and an expectation that it will look blue.
What sheen should I use?
Matte or eggshell on walls — flat sheens hide roller lap marks that dark colors love to show. Satin on cabinets, islands, and exterior doors so it wipes clean. Skip semi-gloss on large flat walls: at this depth, gloss turns every drywall imperfection into a highlight.
Does Naval work with warm wood floors and beige walls?
That is one of its most reliable setups. Gunstock or honey oak floors, Accessible Beige (SW 7036) walls, Naval cabinets, and Pure White (SW 7005) trim is a combination designers use constantly. Keep the trim white bright rather than creamy — a soft white like Alabaster can look slightly yellow where it meets the navy.
Will It Work in YOUR Room?
No page can promise how Naval behaves in your light. Upload a photo and see it on your own walls in seconds — before you spend a cent on samples.
TRY NAVAL ON YOUR ROOM →Ask a Question
Not sure about Naval in your room?
Ask Jessica below — every question gets a real reply, usually within a day. Painted Naval — or backed out at the last minute? Tell us the room, the window direction, and whether it stayed blue. Real rooms help the next reader more than any chip.