Guide
What is LRV in paint?
LRV, or Light Reflectance Value, tells you how much light a color reflects. It is the single most useful number for predicting how light or dark a paint will feel in your room.
In this guide
The LRV scale
LRV runs from 0, a theoretical perfect black, to 100, a perfect white. Real paints sit between about 3 and 94. A color with an LRV of 60 reflects roughly 60% of the light that hits it.
| LRV | How it reads | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 80 and up | White | White Dove, 83.2 |
| 60 to 79 | Light | Edgecomb Gray, 63.1 |
| 40 to 59 | Light-medium to medium | Revere Pewter, 55 |
| 15 to 39 | Medium-dark | Deep mid-tones |
| Under 15 | Dark | Iron Ore, 5.5 |
Choosing LRV by room
Dim or north-facing rooms
Aim for an LRV of 60 or higher. Lower values can look muddy when there is little light to bounce around.
Bright south or west rooms
You can go lower, into the 50s, without the room feeling dark. Very high LRV whites can even feel glaring in strong sun.
Trim and ceilings
A white trim usually sits at 80 or above, creating contrast with walls in the 50s and 60s.
What LRV does not tell you
LRV measures lightness only. Two colors with the same LRV can have very different undertones. That is why every Shop Spruce color page pairs LRV with a measured undertone and a list of cross-brand matches.