The 8 Best Moderate Brown Paint Colors -

The Top Shades of Darker Brown For Your Home

Gone are the days of gray on gray—the oven’s turned on, and we’re warming things up, baby! That’s right, it’s time to get down with brown, as we’re heading to brown town.

But not all browns are created equal. Like other colors, they have a range of depths, undertones, and nuances, all of which we’ll explore below.

THE TYPES OF BROWN PAINT COLORS

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Surprisingly, there’s a wide range of browns to choose from. It’s not enough to say, ‘I want a brown paint color‘ – you need to at least loosely define what the perfect brown looks like, and here’s a great place to start.

RICH DARK BROWN

Rich, dark brown paint colors are the most popular these days. Found on trims and exteriors, these dark browns are the ‘classics,’ and what most people think of when they picture a ‘dark shade of brown. ‘

MUTED DARK BROWN

While many love a rich, dark shade of brown, others want a more muted approach and choose browns with a soft gray backdrop that calms them down. Think milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate.

MODERATE BROWNS

The most popular browns are darker, with LRVs usually lower than 10. However, there’s often a place for more moderate shades, both in depth and degree of warmth!

This blog post focuses mostly on muted and moderate browns. This means they might be medium, medium-dark, or dark, but none are overly rich and fudgy (technical term).

WHAT UNDERTONES CAN BROWN PAINT COLORS HAVE?

Brown comes with many potential undertones. While you won’t find blue, brown can be…

BROWN-YELLOW
BROWN-ORANGE
BROWN-RED
BROWN-VIOLET
BROWN-GREEN

Or even a blend of two of the above!

HOW LIGHT CAN BROWN BE?

There’s no clear line between a ‘light shade of brown’ and a ‘dark shade of beige’ – it’s open to perception. If you ask me, the tipping point is an LRV between 25 and 35 (again, open to perception). Above 35, colors are more likely to read like ‘dark beiges’, whereas under 25, they’re more inclined towards brown.

If you don’t know what LRV is, check this out.

Benjamin Moore Smoky Ash (green undertone) is a beautiful, moderate shade of brown with its LRV of 26.8

So, let’s find a brown hue for you without further ado!

1. BENJAMIN MOORE BRANCHPORT BROWN

Branchport Brown is a darker shade of brown with a purple undertone, making it reasonably popular for exterior trims.

Here’s your Peel & Stick sample of Branchport Brown…

With an LRV of 10.02, Branchport Brown is certainly dark…ish, but not as dense as a few other shades in this blog post.

2. BENJAMIN MOORE MIDDLEBURY BROWN HC-68

Middlebury Brown is a beauty of a brown and is quite appropriately named. Its depth is in the middle of dark and moderate, and its richness is the same—not super rich nor grayed-out, either.

Here’s your Peel & Stick sample of Middlebury Brown…

With an LRV (depth) of 10.72, it’s similar to Branchport Brown but with a bit of a brighter, less violet backdrop.

I rely 99% on my Online Color Consulting (and readers’) photos to power my blog. I don’t have images of all these browns, but I’ll add them when they come in!

3. BENJAMIN MOORE WILLOW CC 542

Willow is my favorite shade of brown. Its gray base reduces its potentially chocolatey warmth, making it a great way to approach brown without a traditional ‘brown’ look.

Of the undertones, Willow is slightly inclined toward purple, but not by much…at all.

Willow trim with a popular, warm off-white on the painted brick and siding

As for depth, Willow has an LRV of 9.06, meaning it’s in the dark range, but not by much. I find that it’s more about its lack of ‘color’ and warmth that makes it look more muted and dark.

4. SHERWIN WILLIAMS BLACK FOX

When looking for the best shade of brown, Black Fox is often missed. In the fan deck, it’s tucked under Gauntlet Gray—a color that’s most definitely NOT brown, as it’s gray. However, at this depth, Black Fox picks up a beautiful brown backdrop with some gray to calm it down.

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Black Fox has an LRV of 7, making it darker than Willow. The other main difference is that, whereas Willow can wink at purple, Black Fox can grab a vague green undertone.

Black Fox French doors with Sherwin Williams Canvas Tan walls

If you love richer, darker brown paint colors like this, check out: The Best Chocolate, Sable, & Rich Brown Paint Colors

5. SHERWIN WILLIAMS HOMESTEAD BROWN 7515

Homestead Brown is similar to Whitall Brown (below), as they both have a smoky, chocolatey vibe. The two big differences are that Homestead has a bit more depth than Whittal Brown, thanks to its LRV of 12, and it’s a bit more muted/grayed-out when you compare them side by side.

Get your Peel & Stick sample of Homestead Brown HERE!

6. BENJAMIN MOORE WHITALL BROWN HC-72

Whitall Brown is a great shade for those who want a soft, chocolate-inspired look without dipping into a vat of dark chocolate (which wouldn’t be the WORST thing in the world to happen, really). Think about hot chocolate, but one that’s LOADED with chocolate and a more moderate amount of milk (and a touch of Baileys, of course), and you’ll have a good idea of what Whittal Brown looks like.

Get your Peel & Stick sample of Whittal Brown HERE.

With an LRV of 16.53, Whittal Brown is one of the more muted, moderate shades compared to most of the browns shown here.

7. BENJAMIN MOORE BROWN HORSE 2108-30

Yeee friggin’ ha, strap on your chaps, as I love this color! Brown Horse is ready for you to saddle up and hop on, as it’s coming at brown with the perfect blend of depth and color.

A great comparison with Brown Horse is Middlebury Brown. Both are similarly neutral, but notice how Brown Horse doesn’t have that same purple undertone and comes across more ‘neutral’ because of it.

As for LRV, Brown Horse sits at 12.02, which is a good depth without the visual weight of some other shades on this page.

Find more rich, sultry browns here: The Best Chocolate, Sable, & Rich Brown Paint Colors

8. SHERWIN WILLIAMS SMOKEHOUSE 7040

Smokehouse is a great, moderate shade of brown for those who don’t love a purple undertone, but also don’t want an overly golden tone.

With its LRV of 13, it’s only fractionally lighter than the Homestead Brown (#5), but offers a slightly richer type of warmth.

Here’s your Peel & Stick sample of Smokehouse…

But aside from finding your best shade of brown, there’s one crucial question we need to cover…

IS BROWN TRENDY OR IN STYLE FOR 2025?

It sure is! I see a lot of it popping up in the Design world, but it could be a bit more before it becomes mainstream enough to show up consistently in the average home. This said, I expect to see more requests for it on accent walls and even in entire rooms (but not for cabinets).

However, while dark browns aren’t huge yet, lighter, more muted browns (dark beiges) and taupe-greige-brown blends are back, big time. If you want to try a softer approach, check out The Best Stone-Inspired Medium Beige, Greige, & Taupe Paint Colors.

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Get the best color advice…

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