Coffeehouse Chocolate
What Coffeehouse Chocolate Actually Looks Like
Coffeehouse Chocolate is a very deep, rich brown, the color of dark roasted coffee grounds or bitter chocolate. At full strength it reads almost black in low or artificial light, pulling toward a warm, red-tinged brown only when daylight hits it directly. It is a serious, grounding color with real depth.
Coffeehouse Chocolate Undertones
The RGB values tell the story clearly: there is more red in this color than green or blue, which gives it a warm, faintly reddish cast beneath the dominant dark brown. In strong natural light that warmth becomes more visible. In shadow or low light the color closes down and the warmth nearly disappears.
Where Coffeehouse Chocolate Works Best
Because its LRV sits below 7, this color absorbs a lot of light. It works best where you want enclosure and intimacy: a dining room, a library, a home office, a powder room, or an accent wall in a living room. It is less suited to small windowless spaces where darkness would feel oppressive rather than cozy. Ceilings and large open-plan rooms are a harder sell unless you are deliberately going for a dramatic, enveloping effect.
Where to put Coffeehouse Chocolate
A dark brown this deep can make a dining room feel intimate and theatrical at the same time. Use candlelight or warm-toned bulbs to bring out the reddish undertone and keep the space inviting rather than cave-like.
Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and dark wood furniture read naturally against Coffeehouse Chocolate. The color creates a focused, settled atmosphere that suits a workspace meant for concentration.
A small powder room is one of the best places to use a very low LRV color without apology. The darkness feels intentional and enveloping, especially paired with warm metallic fixtures.
On a single focal wall behind a sofa or bed, this color anchors the room without committing every surface to its depth. Keep adjacent walls lighter to let it do its work without overwhelming the space.
What to Pair With Coffeehouse Chocolate
No coordinating colors are listed in our database for this color, so pair with intention. Crisp off-white or warm cream trim keeps the dark brown from feeling heavy. Natural materials like linen, leather, raw wood, and aged brass work well alongside it.
Colors that clash with Coffeehouse Chocolate
Cool neutrals in an adjoining room or on trim will fight the warm reddish undertone in Coffeehouse Chocolate, making both colors look off.
With an LRV this low, a north-facing or basement room can feel genuinely dark and flat rather than moody and intentional.
Gray-washed or ash-toned wood floors can feel disconnected from a warm dark brown on the walls.
Common questions
The Benjamin Moore code is CW-165, the hex is #50382D, and the LRV is 6.61, which is very low and means the color absorbs most of the light in a room.
For walls, a matte or eggshell finish suits most living spaces and hides imperfections well. If you want to bring out a little more depth and make cleaning easier, an eggshell is a practical choice. In a powder room or on trim, a satin finish adds a subtle sheen that works well with such a dark color.
It can, if the room has little natural light and no compensating warm artificial light. The key is layering light sources and keeping furnishings and trim lighter so the walls recede intentionally rather than just closing in.
Yes. The CW prefix indicates it is part of the Benjamin Moore Colonial Williamsburg collection, a palette inspired by historic paint colors from Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.