Van Courtland Blue

HC-145 · Benjamin Moore

Benjamin Moore

Van Courtland Blue

HC-145

Hex code

#86989E

Light reflectance value (LRV)

31.5Medium, moodier in dim rooms

0 black100 white

Undertone

Subtle blue, a cool color

Color family: Neutral
Sold for: Interior and exterior

Try it on your walls Get a sample

Benjamin Moore Van Courtland Blue HC-145 is a muted mid-tone blue with gray in it, the color of a harbor on a flat day rather than a bright coastal blue. With an LRV of 32 it is a medium depth, absorbing more light than it returns, so it suits a room with strong daylight or one you want to feel enclosed. Our method reads it as a subtle blue, cool by temperature and quiet enough to behave like a neutral.

Is Van Courtland Blue warm or cool? Undertones by the numbers

leans blue

Undertone

Subtle blue

graysaturated

A gentle lean, quiet on the wall.

Measured, Van Courtland Blue has blue with a little green behind it, enough pigment to be a real color and not enough to be bright. On a wall it swings between blue and gray-blue depending on what sits next to it. White trim makes it read bluer and cleaner, while a cream trim pulls it toward gray-green and dulls it. Warm oak floors, brass and leather bring the gray forward, which is the usual way rooms in it are furnished; cool marble and chrome sharpen the blue instead. Province Blue 2135-40 is its nearest relative and a shade brighter, and Brewster Gray HC-162 the grayer version of the same idea.

Van Courtland Blue in north, south, east and west light

A north-facing room is where Van Courtland Blue is most likely to disappoint: the cool light pushes it bluer and flatter, and in a small north bedroom it can feel cold, so sample the wall furthest from the window before deciding. South light suits it best and brings out the gray that makes it liveable. East rooms are soft in the morning and colder through the afternoon. West rooms look flat until the late sun warms them. Bulb color matters: 3000K is the safe middle, 2700K warms it toward slate, and 4000K makes it icy.

Watch for

Feels cold in a north bedroom unless the wood and textiles are warm
Reads considerably darker at night than it does at noon
Turns gray-green rather than blue beside a cream trim

Best rooms and surfaces for Van Courtland Blue

Van Courtland Blue is a color for rooms with real daylight: a dining room, a study, a stair hall with a window at the top. At this depth all four walls read as a definite blue and the room closes in a way that suits somewhere used in the evening. It is a good powder room color, where the darkness is the point and the light is artificial anyway. On paneling and built-ins it holds its color better than on flat drywall, because the shadows give it somewhere to sit. It is not a whole-house color, and in a room of cool tile with no wood in it, it reads cold rather than calm.

Van Courtland Blue on an exterior

Benjamin Moore sells Van Courtland Blue for exterior use, and it is a traditional choice for shutters, front doors and porch ceilings on a white or gray house. On siding it works best where there is full sun, which lifts it several shades and brings the gray out; in shade it drops toward slate and loses the blue. White trim keeps it from going heavy, and Simply White OC-117, one of Benjamin Moore's own picks with it, is the obvious one. A weathered shingle roof suits it better than a black one.

Try Van Courtland Blue on your own walls

Upload a photo of your room, or the outside of your house, and TryMyHome renders Van Courtland Blue 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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Van Courtland Blue vs Debonair, Evergreen Fog and Sea Salt

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Debonair SW 9139, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Van Courtland Blue vs Debonair SW 9139

Van Courtland Blue is a touch darker; both have a subtle blue undertone.

Debonair SW 9139 is the closest Sherwin-Williams color with a page here, two points lighter and carrying a little more gray, so it reads slightly softer on a wall. Van Courtland Blue holds more blue and looks the more traditional of the two, which shows on paneling and doors. Either works in a study or a dining room. In a bathroom lined with white tile, Debonair is the quieter choice.

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Evergreen Fog SW 9130, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Van Courtland Blue vs Evergreen Fog SW 9130

Van Courtland Blue is a touch lighter; undertone subtle blue vs subtle yellow-leaning green.

Evergreen Fog SW 9130 sits at almost the same depth and answers the same question in green: both are muted mid-tones that can carry a room without going dark. The other colors in the room decide it. Evergreen Fog suits warm oak, cream and brass, while Van Courtland Blue suits cool stone, white trim and black metal, and it is the one to use where the room already has warmth to spare.

Living room walls rendered in Sherwin-Williams Sea Salt SW 6204, white trim, ceiling and wood floor unchanged

Van Courtland Blue vs Sea Salt SW 6204

Van Courtland Blue is much darker; undertone subtle blue vs subtle green.

More than thirty points of lightness separate these two, and Sea Salt SW 6204 leans green where this one leans blue. People compare them because both get filed under coastal, but they do different jobs: Sea Salt is a pale wash that keeps a bathroom bright, and Van Courtland Blue gives a room a definite color with some weight behind it. Small and dim wants Sea Salt; big windows want Van Courtland Blue.

Questions about Van Courtland Blue

Does Van Courtland Blue look gray or blue?

Both, and the room decides. Its measurement is a clear blue with a little green, but there is enough gray in the mix that in weak light it reads as a blue-gray. Strong daylight and white trim make it plainly blue. Warm bulbs and cream trim push it toward gray-green, which is the version that surprises people most.

What colors go with Van Courtland Blue?

Benjamin Moore pairs it with Simply White OC-117, the cream Milkyway OC-110, Coronado Cream 219 and the lighter Wedgewood Gray HC-146. In practice it takes white oak, walnut, brass and leather, and it is one of the blues that holds up beside warm wood. Navy, cream and unbleached linen extend it. A cool blue-gray beside it flattens both.

Is Van Courtland Blue a good cabinet color?

Yes, and it is a common use for it. On an island or a run of lower cabinets it reads as a definite blue against a white counter without the brightness of a true navy, and it suits brass or unlacquered hardware. In a kitchen lit by cool white LEDs it can look icy, so fit 3000K bulbs under the wall cabinets and look at the doors at night.

Is Van Courtland Blue too dark for a bedroom?

That depends on the light. In a bedroom with two windows it makes a restful room without going gloomy; in one with a single north window it will feel cold at this depth. Warm bedding, wood furniture and 2700K to 3000K bulbs are what make it work. On the wall behind the bed alone it gives the same color with none of the risk.

What is one shade lighter than Van Courtland Blue?

Benjamin Moore does not put it on a fan-deck strip, so there is no official step in either direction. Among its closest matches, Franklin Lakes 1643 measures a couple of points lighter and brighter, and Jamestown Blue HC-148 is a similar step with more green in it. Going the other way, Wild Blue Yonder CSP-620 is about five points darker and grayer.

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 Van Courtland Blue, checked in morning and evening light, is the last step before a gallon.