Key Lime
What Key Lime Actually Looks Like
Key Lime 2031-50 is a vivid, light yellow-green, the color of a ripe lime's flesh. It reads as genuinely bright and cheerful in most interior conditions, sitting comfortably between yellow and green without committing fully to either. In strong natural light it can feel almost fluorescent, glowing with real intensity. Pull back the light and it settles into a softer, more herbal tone, but it never goes neutral. This is an active, energetic color.
Key Lime Undertones
The dominant pull is green with a clear yellow foundation underneath. There is no blue in this color and no gray. What you see is essentially what you get: a warm, citrus-driven green-yellow that stays consistent across most light conditions because its chroma is high enough to resist significant shift.
Where Key Lime Works Best
Key Lime works best where you want a room to feel awake and alive. A breakfast nook, a child's bedroom, a sunroom, or a garden-facing mudroom are natural fits. Spaces that already get strong natural light will amplify the color's brightness, which can be a feature or a problem depending on how much intensity you want. In a north-facing room with limited light it reads more like a soft herbal green, which is a workable result if that is the effect you are after. Avoid using it in spaces where you need the walls to recede, because this color advances.
Where to put Key Lime
Key Lime reads as energizing next to white cabinetry and natural wood counters. The citrus quality of the color makes a morning room feel genuinely bright. Keep trim white and let the walls carry all the color so the space does not feel overloaded.
The color's brightness suits a kid's room well. Pair it with primary accents or let it stand alone against white furniture. Because the LRV is high, the room will feel light even with the bold hue on the walls.
In a glass-heavy room with heavy plant life outside, Key Lime reads as an extension of the garden. The yellow-green bridges interior and exterior in a way that softer, grayer greens cannot.
A small, windowless powder room is one place a high-chroma color like this can work as a deliberate statement. Artificial light will shift it slightly warmer, but it keeps enough green to stay lively rather than yellow.
What to Pair With Key Lime
No coordinating colors are listed in our database for Key Lime 2031-50, so pairing guidance below is drawn from general color principles. Because the color has strong chroma, it pairs most reliably with crisp white trim, warm natural wood tones, and accents in terracotta, coral, or deep navy.
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Colors that clash with Key Lime
Key Lime's warm yellow-green reads almost acidic next to cool blue-grays in an open floor plan. The contrast is jarring rather than intentional-looking.
Yellow-green and purple are complements, which sounds promising in theory, but at Key Lime's high chroma the combination can feel aggressive and hard to control.
Key Lime already reads warm and bright. Saturating the room with brass fixtures and gold hardware pushes the overall palette into overheated territory.
Common questions
The Benjamin Moore color code is 2031-50. The hex and precise LRV of 70.93 render in the color spec block at the top of this page.
This color is listed for interior use only in the Benjamin Moore lineup. If you want a similar yellow-green for an exterior project, check with your Benjamin Moore retailer about exterior-approved alternatives in the same color family.
Possibly, yes. The color has high chroma and a high LRV, so it reflects a lot of light and advances visually. In a small room with limited natural light it softens somewhat, but it will not disappear into the background. If you want the energy of the color without full intensity, consider testing it on a large sample board first before committing to four walls.
An eggshell finish is the most practical choice for walls. It gives a slight sheen that shows off the color without making imperfections obvious, and it is easier to clean than flat. In a bathroom or kitchen you can step up to satin. Avoid high-gloss on full walls because it will amplify the brightness of this color significantly.