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African Violet SW 6982
On-screen approximation from the published RGB value. Order a physical sample before you decide.
Undertone: Saturated purple (a color, not a neutral)
In CIELAB, African Violet sits at L* 39.1, a* 18.9, b* -25.1. Its hue angle is 307° and its chroma is 31.5, so it reads as an outright purple rather than a neutral. It classifies as neutral-cool. Among Sherwin-Williams colors with a similar LRV (±5), it is warmer (more yellow) than 4%.
LRV 10.8: very dark
Light Reflectance Value runs from 0 (absolute black) to 100 (perfect white). At 10.8, African Violet is lighter than 12% of Sherwin-Williams colors. Near-black depth. Use on doors, trim, cabinetry, exteriors or moody rooms with strong artificial lighting.
Closest Benjamin Moore match to African Violet
Ranked by CIEDE2000 color difference (ΔE) computed from published RGB values. Below 2 is hard to tell apart on the wall; above 4 is a different color.
| Color | Code | ΔE2000 | How close | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your Majesty | 1400 | 1.07 | Very close | |
| Seduction | 1399 | 2.29 | Close — difference visible side by side | |
| Mauve Bauhaus | 1407 | 2.29 | Close — difference visible side by side |
Closest Behr match to African Violet
Ranked by CIEDE2000 color difference (ΔE) computed from published RGB values. Below 2 is hard to tell apart on the wall; above 4 is a different color. Behr does not publish LRV, so Behr values here are estimates.
| Color | Code | ΔE2000 | How close | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Violet | HDC-MD-25 | 1.71 | Very close | |
| King's Court | P560-7 | 2.08 | Close — difference visible side by side | |
| Vigorous Violet | PPU16-02 | 2.10 | Close — difference visible side by side |
Similar Sherwin-Williams colors
| Color | Code | ΔE2000 | How close | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gutsy Grape | SW 6980 | 3.04 | Close — difference visible side by side | |
| Impulsive Purple | SW 6832 | 3.89 | Close — difference visible side by side | |
| Fully Purple | SW 6983 | 5.29 | Similar, clearly different | |
| Passionate Purple | SW 6981 | 5.40 | Similar, clearly different | |
| Izmir Purple | SW 6825 | 7.03 | Similar, clearly different | |
| Plummy | SW 6558 | 7.10 | Similar, clearly different |
Lighter and darker versions
Colors from Sherwin-Williams with nearly the same hue and saturation, one step lighter or darker.
- Passionate Purple SW 6981 · lighter, LRV 12.0
- Vigorous Violet SW 6838 · lighter, LRV 13.1
- Forget-Me-Not SW 6824 · lighter, LRV 15.8
- Impulsive Purple SW 6832 · darker, LRV 8.7
- Fully Purple SW 6983 · darker, LRV 8.4
- Izmir Purple SW 6825 · darker, LRV 6.6
Colors that go with African Violet
Sherwin-Williams's own coordinating colors for African Violet:
- Studio Taupe SW 7549
- Tres Naturale SW 9101
- Pure White SW 7005
Color-theory pairings — the nearest Sherwin-Williams color to each rotated hue, keeping the same lightness and saturation:
- Inverness SW 6433 · complementary (180°)
- Frank Blue SW 6967 · analogous (−30°)
- Verve Violet SW 6979 · analogous (+30°)
- Über Umber SW 9107 · triadic (120°)
- Poseidon SW 6762 · triadic (240°)
African Violet vs popular colors
- Shadow (Benjamin Moore 2117-30, ΔE 13.3) is darker (LRV 9.3 vs 10.8), more yellow/warm, more green, more muted.
- Van Deusen Blue (Benjamin Moore HC-156, ΔE 15.0) is about as light, more yellow/warm, more green, more muted.
- Hale Navy (Benjamin Moore HC-154, ΔE 16.4) is darker (LRV 8.4 vs 10.8), more yellow/warm, more green, more muted.