We recently painted our game room Benjamin Moore Dragon’s Breath, and I am sharing the results with you today! If you recall from our home goals for 2023, I wanted to repaint this room from a darkish gray (BM Kendall Charcoal) to an even darker, almost black, gray to turn up the cozy, pub-like vibes. The room gets a ton of natural light, so it still feels pretty bright, even with the dark color.
Full disclosure: this is not a dramatic before-and-after. We went from dark gray to darker gray. That said, I wanted to show this room to highlight a few important points.
BM Kendall Charcoal vs. Dragon’s Breath
Kendall Charcoal (HC-166) and Dragon’s Breath (1547) are versatile medium-dark and dark grays, respectively. Kendall Charcoal has an LRV of 12.96, which puts it on the upper end of medium on the dark-to-light scale. Dragon’s Breath has an LRV of 7, making it darker. Kendall Charcoal has very subtle cool green undertones, but for the most part, it is a neutral, middle-of-the-road gray. Dragon’s Breath, on the other hand, leans substantially more green and brown. (For a primer (or refresher) on LRV and undertones, check out this article.)
natural light makes all the difference
As you can see, the game room gets substantial natural light, coming from three sides: three tall windows on the west-facing side of the room; a large window on the north side; and two sets of patio doors on the east-facing side (not pictured). When you have that much light, you can go darker with your paint than you think! In fact, choosing a color that is too light for a room with abundant natural light can wash out the color. When selecting, try sampling the color you think you want, as well as colors a shade or two darker. Read more about how the amount and direction of natural light affects the expression of paint colors here.
you need to sample!
The photos below are both “after” shots, taken on the same day, at the same time, one right after the other. Note how much darker the walls look in the photo on the right! I edited them lightly, but my edits did not affect the color expression. So what’s the difference? Phone camera vs. camera camera.
One cannot trust that the color that appears on our screens is a true representation of the actual color. Different cameras and settings can result in different color expressions, and you can forget it if the images have been edited. This is one of the many reasons why sampling potential paint colors in your own home is critical! I love to use Samplize samples for this purpose. Peel-and-stick, no muss, no fuss, easier to store than a million sample pots, and they use real paint to make them (not color-matched), so you will see what the actual paint will look like on your walls.
Looking for other dark grays to sample next to Dragon’s Breath? Try BM Tavern Charcoal (CW-90; undertones are even more green-olive), BM Wrought Iron (2124-10; undertones are much cooler), or BM Iron Mountain (2134-30; warm undertones, but definitely more neutral than Dragon’s Breath and Tavern Charcoal).
I hope you enjoyed this color story and our (not so dramatic) game room paint reveal!