Blue Nova

825 · Benjamin Moore

Benjamin Moore

Blue Nova

825

Hex code

#5B6D92

Light reflectance value (LRV)

17Dark, a statement on four walls

0 black100 white

Undertone

Clear violet, a cool color

Color family: Purple
Sold for: Interior and exterior

Try it on your walls Get a sample

Benjamin Moore Blue Nova 825 is a deep blue with a real violet cast, and it was the brand's Color of the Year for 2024. Its LRV of 17 makes it a dark color: a statement on four walls, and just as often used on cabinets, a door or an exterior. Our method reads it as a clear violet, which is the part most people miss on the chip and notice the moment the second coat goes on.

Is Blue Nova warm or cool? Undertones by the numbers

leans violet

Undertone

Clear violet

graysaturated

A clear color, not a neutral.

Measured, Blue Nova is the most saturated color in this corner of the deck, a blue carried well over toward violet and strong enough to bounce onto a white ceiling. Against a warm white the violet is unmistakable; against a cool gray it settles back into looking like a plain navy. Brass, walnut and cream fabrics warm it, while chrome and cool marble sharpen the violet further. Blue Heron 832 is its nearest relative, slightly darker and less purple, and French Violet 1427 pushes the violet further than most rooms can take.

Blue Nova in north, south, east and west light

With this much pigment in the can, exposure changes the character rather than the depth. In a north-facing room the violet comes forward and the color goes cold and inky, sometimes reading almost purple on the wall opposite the window, which is either the reason to use it or the reason to walk away. South light keeps it blue and shows the most of what is in it. An east room reads soft in the morning and heavy by evening. West light warms it briefly in the late afternoon. Keep bulbs at 2700K to 3000K or the violet takes charge after dark.

Watch for

The violet is strongest on the wall furthest from the window in a north room
Bounces color onto a white ceiling, so the ceiling wants a coat of something warm
Under 4000K bulbs it stops reading as a navy and starts reading as purple

Best rooms and surfaces for Blue Nova

Blue Nova belongs where a room can afford to go dark: a dining room, a study, a powder room, or the island in an otherwise white kitchen. On cabinets it is one of the easier dark colors to live with, because the violet keeps it from flattening into a plain navy under lights. In a bedroom it works when there is enough daylight and enough warm wood to hold it up. It is heavy on four walls of a small room with one window, it is wrong in a hallway, and on a ceiling above pale walls it simply reads black.

Blue Nova on an exterior

Blue Nova is rated for exterior use, and it stands up outside better than most colors of this depth. In full sun the violet burns off and siding reads as a soft navy, while the shaded side keeps the purple, so it is worth sampling on two elevations before committing a whole house to it. On a front door against a white or cream house it holds its color all day, which is the easiest way to use it. Cream trim suits it better than a stark white.

Try Blue Nova on your own walls

Upload a photo of your room, or the outside of your house, and TryMyHome renders Blue Nova onto the walls so you can judge it in your light, with your floors and furniture. Your first five renders are free.

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Blue Nova vs Hale Navy, Iron Ore, Urbane Bronze and Pewter Green

Living room walls rendered in Benjamin Moore Hale Navy HC-154, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Blue Nova vs Hale Navy HC-154

Blue Nova is noticeably lighter; undertone clear violet vs subtle blue.

Hale Navy HC-154 is the navy people reach for once they decide Blue Nova is too purple, and it is much darker at 8 against 17. Hale Navy behaves like a near-black in a dim room, while Blue Nova keeps enough light in it to still read as a color. If a room has weak light and the walls should stay blue rather than turn black, Blue Nova is the safer of the two.

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Iron Ore SW 7069, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Blue Nova vs Iron Ore SW 7069

Blue Nova is much lighter; undertone clear violet vs none (a true neutral).

Iron Ore SW 7069 is a near-black with no color in it at all, eleven points darker at 6. It buys the same weight as Blue Nova and asks for none of the commitment: cabinets in Iron Ore go with anything, cabinets in Blue Nova set the palette for the rest of the room. Choose Iron Ore for a dark neutral and Blue Nova when the dark should be a color.

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Urbane Bronze SW 7048, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Blue Nova vs Urbane Bronze SW 7048

Blue Nova is noticeably lighter; undertone clear violet vs subtle yellow-brown.

Urbane Bronze SW 7048 answers the same question from the warm side, nine points darker at 8 and brown-gray where Blue Nova is violet-blue. Put them in one room and they fight, but the choice itself is simple: Urbane Bronze suits oak, leather and warm stone, and Blue Nova suits white marble, brass and cool floors.

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Pewter Green SW 6208, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Blue Nova vs Pewter Green SW 6208

Blue Nova is noticeably lighter; undertone clear violet vs subtle yellow-leaning green.

Pewter Green SW 6208 is a dark green five points below Blue Nova at 12, and it is the other color that gets shortlisted for a moody kitchen. Pewter Green sinks into shadow more readily, while Blue Nova keeps a violet edge in low light that some people enjoy and others find restless. Green is the calmer of the two; blue-violet is the more particular.

Questions about Blue Nova

Was Blue Nova a Benjamin Moore Color of the Year?

Yes, for 2024. That is why it appears in so many palettes from that year and why it is easy to find in stores. The label says nothing about how it will behave on your walls, and at this depth a sample board is worth more than usual.

Does Blue Nova look purple?

Yes, and that is deliberate. The measurement puts it well over toward violet rather than on a plain navy, so the purple shows most in north light, under cool bulbs and against warm whites. In direct sun and against gray it settles back and reads as a deep blue.

What is the Sherwin-Williams version of Blue Nova?

There is no close match. Gentian SW 6817 is the nearest by measurement, clearly related but brighter and further into violet, and Luxe Blue SW 6537 is the next closest and darker. If the color has to be matched exactly, have the store tint from the Benjamin Moore formula rather than substituting.

What colors go with Blue Nova?

Benjamin Moore pairs it with Paper White OC-55 for the white, Mount Saint Anne 1565 as a soft mid-tone and Quincy Tan HC-25 as the warm accent. In materials it takes brass, walnut, cream linen and white marble. Cool chrome and gray stone push it toward purple, which is worth knowing before you buy the hardware.

What is one shade lighter than Blue Nova?

Yin Yang 824 at 23 is the step up on its own strip and keeps the same violet lean while giving a room back some light. Going the other way, Blue Heron 832 at 16 is barely darker but noticeably less purple, which is the fix if the violet is the part you are unsure about.

Get a sample before you paint

Use the visualizer to narrow your shortlist, then confirm the finalist on your actual wall. A peel-and-stick sample of Blue Nova, checked in morning and evening light, is the last step before a gallon.