Rookwood Dark Green
SW 2816 · #565C4A · LRV 10 — cool green tone, dark — high drama, needs strong daylight or warm bulbs.
- 1Hunter Green5
- 2Rookwood Dark Green10
- 3Sage Green22
- 4Evergreen Fog30
What Color Is Rookwood Dark Green, Really?
Rookwood Dark Green (SW 2816) is a deep olive green that behaves like a dark neutral. Its hex value #565C4A sits at hue 80, which is the yellow-green part of the wheel, but saturation is only about 11 percent, so the green is quiet rather than vivid. An LRV of 10 puts it in the very dark band. On a wall it absorbs most of the light that hits it, which means real weight and real shadow, not a color that floats.
People pick it when they want green that reads grown-up and slightly aged rather than fresh. It comes out of the Sherwin-Williams historic Rookwood range, and it has that period feel: closer to a drab olive or a dark bronze-green than to a garden green. On cabinets, a library, or a front door it gives depth without the coldness of a charcoal or the obviousness of a bright hunter green.
The thing to check first is your light. At LRV 10 this color has almost no reserve. In a north-facing room or under weak fixtures it stops looking green and turns into a muddy near-black. Paint a large sample and look at it after dark, because that is where most of the disappointment happens.
The undertone here is a cool green with a yellow bias. Hue 80 sits between green and yellow, so the color carries a drab, olive cast rather than a blue-green one. Saturation near 11 percent keeps it muted, which is why the swatch can look almost brown-gray in your hand while a whole wall reads clearly green.
What it stands next to decides which side shows. Beside a warm brown neutral such as Oak Leaf Brown SW 7054 at LRV 10, the green in Rookwood Dark Green comes forward and Oak Leaf Brown looks distinctly warmer. Beside a true saturated green it flattens out and reads gray-olive.
Because the color is so dark, undertone is easiest to judge on the lit face of a wall, not in the corners. Tape a large sample where daylight lands directly and a second one in the darkest part of the room. The difference between those two panels is the honest picture.
Best Rooms and Uses for Rookwood Dark Green
At LRV 10 this is a color for rooms where you want enclosure rather than brightness. Studies, home offices, dining rooms, powder rooms, and bedrooms with good windows all take it well. In a small room with one large window it can feel deliberate and cocooning; in a small room with a small window it will just feel dim.
Cabinets are its strongest use. On a kitchen island, a butler's pantry, or lower cabinets under lighter uppers, the olive depth pairs with wood counters and unlacquered brass in a way lighter greens cannot. Built-ins and paneled walls suit it for the same reason.
Outside it works as a shutter, front door, or trim color against a light body, and as a full body color on a house with heavy tree cover, where the tone matches its surroundings instead of fighting them. Keep interior trim in a separate white so the wall reads as color, not as a shadow.
How Lighting Changes Rookwood Dark Green
An LRV of 10 means the color returns very little light, so every source in the room matters. In north-facing rooms the cool, flat daylight strips out the yellow side of hue 80 and the color drifts toward a dark, gray-green that can look almost black in the far corners. South-facing rooms do the opposite: strong warm sun lifts the olive out of it and the green becomes obvious and alive.
East rooms read cooler and heavier in the morning, then loosen up later. West rooms sit flat and dark through the day and warm noticeably in late afternoon light.
Bulbs carry most of the work at night. Warm 2700K lamps bring the olive forward and make the color feel like aged bronze-green. Cooler 3500K to 4000K bulbs push it gray and can make it look like dirty charcoal. If your fixtures are cool, either change the bulbs or choose something lighter.
Most complaints about Rookwood Dark 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 Sherwin-Williams SW 2816 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 | River ForestMQ6-54 · Behr | 1.6 | 10 | Color page → |
| Benjamin Moore | Vintage Vogue462 · Benjamin Moore | 1.8 | 12 | Color page → |
| Valspar | Haute GreenV097-6 · Valspar | 2.1 | 9.7 | Color page → |
| PPG / Glidden | OsirisPPG1031-7 · PPG / Glidden | 4.0 | 10 | Color page → |
| Glidden | OsirisPPG1031-7 · Glidden | 4.5 | 10 | Color page → |
| Dutch Boy | Espalier423-6DB · Dutch Boy | 4.0 | 11 | Color page → |
Similar Sherwin-Williams Colors
The nearest shades to Rookwood Dark Green within Sherwin-Williams'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.
Rookwood Dark Green vs Similar Colors
Inside the Sherwin-Williams deck, Garden Gate SW 6167 (#5E5949, LRV 10) is the closest sibling, but its hex carries more red and less green, so it reads browner and less olive. Prospect SW 9615 (#62584B, LRV 10) and Oak Leaf Brown SW 7054 (#645A4B, LRV 10) go further in that direction and land closer to a dark taupe-brown. Prelude SW 9620 at LRV 9 is grayer again.
Across brands, Behr River Forest MQ6-54 (#545C47, LRV 10) at deltaE 1.56 and Benjamin Moore Vintage Vogue 462 (#565D4F, LRV 12) at deltaE 1.8 are both visually identical in normal room light. Valspar Haute Green V097-6 (#515B47, LRV 9.7) at deltaE 2.13 is very close, so sample first.
Further out, Rodda Hemlock CA180 at deltaE 3.75 and PPG Osiris PPG1031-7 at deltaE 3.98 are close but visibly different side by side, both leaning grayer and less olive.
Colors That Go With Rookwood Dark Green
Start with trim. A soft warm white keeps the olive from turning sour, and the contrast between LRV 10 and a white in the low 80s is strong enough that the trim line stays crisp without looking harsh. Ceilings in the same warm white keep a dark room from closing in.
For a tonal partner in the same room or an adjoining one, the near neighbors in the Sherwin-Williams deck sit comfortably beside it. Garden Gate SW 6167 at LRV 10 and Hidden Trail SW 9525 at LRV 10 give you the same weight with a warmer, browner lean, and Roycroft Bronze Green SW 2846 at LRV 9 stays in the same bronze-green family a shade deeper. Oak Leaf Brown SW 7054 at LRV 10 works as a wood-toned counterpart on a door or built-in.
Materials matter as much as paint. Oak, walnut, and rattan all read well against it, as do brass, aged bronze, and matte black. Cool chrome tends to look thin next to this olive.
Coordinated palette
Generated by hue-rotating #565C4A in HSL space. Pair Rookwood Dark Green with one accent and one neutral — the swatches below are starting points, not final picks.
Rookwood Dark Green FAQ
Is Rookwood Dark Green warm or cool?
It is a cool green with a warm yellow bias. Hue 80 places it between green and yellow, which gives it an olive, slightly drab character rather than a blue-green one. In warm light the olive side shows clearly; in cool north light the color reads grayer and colder. Most people would describe it as a muted, earthy green rather than a crisp one.
What LRV is Rookwood Dark Green?
Rookwood Dark Green SW 2816 has an LRV of 10. LRV runs from 0 for black to 100 for pure white, so 10 is very dark: the color absorbs most of the light that reaches it. Expect real depth and strong shadowing in corners, and expect the room to feel noticeably smaller and heavier than it does in a mid-tone.
Does Rookwood Dark Green work in a dark room?
It can, but only if you accept the result. At LRV 10 the color gives almost nothing back, so in a north-facing or poorly lit room it stops reading green and turns into a near-black olive. If you want that enclosed, moody effect it works well. If you were hoping to still see the green, you need direct daylight or warm 2700K lamps.
What white trim goes with Rookwood Dark Green?
A soft warm white is the safer choice. The olive lean at hue 80 can look sour next to a stark blue-based white, while a creamier white settles it down. The contrast is large either way, since the wall sits at LRV 10 and most trim whites sit in the low 80s, so the trim line stays crisp without needing a bright white.
Is Rookwood Dark Green good for exteriors and cabinets?
Yes to both. On cabinets, especially islands and lower runs, the LRV 10 depth reads as furniture rather than paint and pairs naturally with wood counters and brass. Outside it works as a shutter, door, or full body color, and it sits well on houses with heavy tree cover because the olive matches the surroundings instead of competing with them.
What is the closest match to Rookwood Dark Green from another brand?
Behr River Forest MQ6-54 (#545C47, LRV 10) is the nearest at deltaE 1.56, which is visually identical in normal room light. Benjamin Moore Vintage Vogue 462 (#565D4F, LRV 12) follows at deltaE 1.8 and also reads the same on a wall, though its slightly higher LRV makes it a touch less heavy. Sample either before committing.
Have you painted with Rookwood Dark Green?
Rate it — one tap helps the next reader decide.
Ask a Question