Red Raisin

At this depth the red undertone is not a color choice so much as a mood: it shows at the edges, in raking light, and nowhere else. AC127 in the Vista Paint range.

With an LRV this low (9.0), a room relies entirely on its fixtures; the paint gives nothing back. This is a color that changes more with the time of day than with the season - the red undertone is more visible in long, low evening light than at noon.

If the room already has blues and cool greys in the floor, a rug, or the furniture, this color will fight it rather than sit well beside it - the two sit at opposite ends of the color spectrum, which is exactly why they clash instead of blend.

Warm metals - brass, aged gold, unlacquered fixtures - gain a contrast against this that they do not have against a lighter wall; it is a common reason people choose a color this deep in the first place. A natural scheme here moves in three clear steps: this color on the main wall, a noticeably lighter mid-tone for a second wall or built-in, and a near-white on the ceiling. Each jump should be obvious at a glance, not something you have to squint to tell apart (roughly 9.0, 47 and 85 on the light-reflectance scale, for reference).

Behind open shelving or artwork, a wall this dark acts as a backdrop that makes whatever is in front of it stand out rather than compete. Behr Tin Foil pairs well as a second surface - close enough in feel to belong in the same room, far enough in lightness to read as two distinct walls (about 34 points apart on the reflectance scale).

A flat or matte finish hides surface imperfections that a color this dark would otherwise flag under any raking light.

Switching brands, Behr Semi Sweet (130F-7) is the closest equivalent at delta-E 1.49, near enough for most rooms. This is a relatively uncrowded spot in the spectrum - just 1 color from other brands come this close.

It is lighter than 4 percent of the Vista Paint range. This is a crowded part of the scale - 442 colors measure within a point of 9.0 - so most brands will have something close. Vista Paint lists it in the K codes, alongside 1,318 other colors.