Charcoal Blue
SW 2739 · Sherwin-Williams
Sherwin-Williams
Charcoal Blue
SW 2739
Noticeable blue, a cool color
- Color family
- Blue
- Sold for
- Interior and exterior
Sherwin-Williams Charcoal Blue SW 2739 is exactly what the name says: a charcoal with blue in it, with an LRV of 6, so close to black on a wall that the blue only shows where the light lands. Our method reads it as a noticeable blue with no green and no purple, the reason it reads as a cool charcoal in most rooms and as a grayed navy in bright ones. It is used on exteriors, front doors, cabinets and accent walls.
Updated
Is Charcoal Blue warm or cool? Undertones by the numbers
leans blue
Undertone
Noticeable blue
A visible lean you see in daylight.
Charcoal Blue measures as a dark gray with a clear dose of blue: no green, no red and no purple, so it never goes teal in warm light or plum in cool light. In a bright room it reads as a grayed navy; in ordinary light it reads as a cool charcoal, and only against a warm white or a cream does the blue jump out. Warm wood and brass make it look bluer; black metal, concrete and gray tile make it look like a plain charcoal. Sea Mariner SW 9640 is its nearest neighbor, a touch lighter and grayer; Naval SW 6244 is a touch darker with more blue; Cyberspace SW 7076 is the same idea with most of the blue removed.
Charcoal Blue in north, south, east and west light
In a north-facing room Charcoal Blue reads as a flat charcoal, the blue all but gone, and four walls of it make a small north room feel like a closet; if it must go there, put it on one wall or on cabinets and keep the trim bright. South light is where the blue shows and the walls read as the grayed navy on the chip. East rooms show a little blue in the morning and go black by evening; west rooms are dark until the afternoon sun picks the blue out. Bulbs at 3000K keep it honest; 2700K turns it charcoal, 4000K makes it a cold steel blue.
Watch for
- Reads flat charcoal with no blue in a north room or under 2700K bulbs
- Jumps to a visible blue against cream or a warm white trim
- Hard to tell from Iron Ore SW 7069 in weak light; the blue only shows in daylight
Best rooms and surfaces for Charcoal Blue
Charcoal Blue is a surface color and an accent color: a front door, kitchen cabinets, a bathroom vanity, a fireplace wall, built-ins, the wall behind a bed. On cabinets in a satin finish it reads as a soft near-black with a blue cast, and against white walls, a light counter and brass hardware it looks deliberate rather than gloomy. As an accent wall it works even in weak light because it reads as charcoal there, which is still a good color. Four walls of it need a big window and a white ceiling, and they suit a study or a dining room more than a bedroom. A whole house, a hallway or a windowless bathroom would swallow it; keep it to one room or one surface. Where a navy would be too much of a color, this is the answer.
Charcoal Blue on an exterior
Charcoal Blue is searched as an exterior color more than for any room, and it earns it: on siding it reads as a deep charcoal in shade and shows its blue in full sun, so the sunny side of the house looks navy and the shaded side looks charcoal. That makes it a softer whole-house dark than a true black. White trim in Extra White SW 7006 or a warm white keeps the lines crisp, and it sits well with cedar, gray stone and red brick. On a front door it reads as a moody blue-black.
Try Charcoal Blue on your own walls
Upload a photo of your room, or the outside of your house, and TryMyHome renders Charcoal Blue onto the walls so you can judge it in your light, with your floors and furniture. Your first five renders are free.
Trusted by 19,897+ happy homeowners
Charcoal Blue vs Naval, Iron Ore, Cyberspace and Tricorn Black
NavalCharcoal BlueCharcoal Blue vs Naval SW 6244
Charcoal Blue is a touch lighter; both have a noticeable blue undertone.
Naval SW 6244 is the color searched against Charcoal Blue most, and it is a touch darker, an LRV of 5 to Charcoal Blue's 6, with clearly more blue: it reads as navy where Charcoal Blue reads as a charcoal that hints at blue. Naval is the pick when the door, island or wall should say navy; Charcoal Blue is the pick when it should say dark and only whisper blue.
Iron OreCharcoal BlueCharcoal Blue vs Iron Ore SW 7069
Charcoal Blue is a touch lighter; undertone noticeable blue vs none (a true neutral).
Iron Ore SW 7069 is the same depth, an LRV of 6 for both, and it has almost no color at all, a true neutral charcoal. Side by side, Charcoal Blue looks blue and Iron Ore looks black; on its own in weak light Charcoal Blue can pass for Iron Ore. Iron Ore is the one that suits any trim and any brick; Charcoal Blue wants white or warm wood beside it and gives back a cooler, bluer look.
CyberspaceCharcoal BlueCharcoal Blue vs Cyberspace SW 7076
Charcoal Blue is a touch darker; undertone noticeable blue vs faint blue.
Cyberspace SW 7076 is a whisker lighter, both at an LRV of about 6, and it holds a fraction of the blue: a charcoal with a cool whisper rather than a charcoal with a blue cast. On a wall Cyberspace reads gray and Charcoal Blue reads blue-gray. Choose Cyberspace for a dark neutral that will not be read as a color; choose Charcoal Blue when a cool blue cast is the point.
Tricorn BlackCharcoal BlueCharcoal Blue vs Tricorn Black SW 6258
Charcoal Blue is a touch lighter; undertone noticeable blue vs none (a true neutral).
Tricorn Black SW 6258 is darker, an LRV of 3 to Charcoal Blue's 6, and a true black with no blue in it. Charcoal Blue beside it looks distinctly blue and a shade softer. Tricorn Black is for clean black lines: window frames, a door on a white house, a crisp accent wall; Charcoal Blue is for a dark that reads softer than black and shows a blue cast where the light hits.
Questions about Charcoal Blue
Is Charcoal Blue a good front door color?
Yes. At a door's size, in a semi-gloss or gloss finish, it reads as a deep blue-black that looks intentional against white, cream, light gray or brick, with brass or black hardware. It is the pick for people who want a dark door that is not quite black and not quite navy. On a dark gray or charcoal house it disappears.
What colors go with Charcoal Blue?
Sherwin-Williams pairs it with Creamy SW 7012 on trim and ceilings and names Gossamer Veil SW 9165, a light greige, and Moonlit Orchid SW 9153, a muted gray-purple, as accents; the warm white and greige are what keep a dark blue-gray room from feeling cold. In practice it also sits with white oak, walnut, brass, tan leather and cream.
Does Charcoal Blue look black or navy?
Charcoal in most light, navy in bright light, black in none. Measured, it is a dark gray with a clear blue cast and nothing else, so daylight and warm whites bring the blue up and dim rooms, 2700K bulbs and gray or black surroundings hide it. Put a sample next to your trim white; that decides which of the three you get.
Does Charcoal Blue work on kitchen cabinets?
It does, as a softer alternative to black cabinets. In a satin finish it reads as a near-black with a cool blue cast, and it pairs with white walls, a light counter and brass or black hardware. On every cabinet it darkens a kitchen quickly; keep it to the island or the lowers unless the room is big and bright.
What is one shade lighter than Charcoal Blue?
Mineral Gray SW 2740 is the next step up its fan-deck strip by lightness, a real jump into a medium blue-gray, because Charcoal Blue is already the second lightest color there. Going darker, Dress Blues SW 9176 is a touch deeper and much bluer, then Naval SW 6244. Among its closest matches, Sea Mariner SW 9640 and Cyberspace SW 7076 are each a touch lighter 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 Charcoal Blue, checked in morning and evening light, is the last step before a gallon.
- Made with real paint
- Delivered next day
- Peels off clean
4.8 · 1,842 reviews
