Considering blue for your home? Don’t miss this take on the best navy blue paint currently available on the market.
A preppy classic and always on trend, navy blue is the perfect color for creating a timeless look. It can easily be used in any indoor or outdoor space as a neutral base or as an accent, because it pairs so well with other colors. At least, that’s what I tell myself as I incorporate it into yet another space in my house…
This time it’s the master bedroom that’s getting a little lift with some NAVY PAINT! Yep. That’s right. We’re going dark and moody on the walls and there’s no turning back! Well, I mean technically, if it went horribly wrong, we could turn back time and paint over the navy, but I am pretty committed to a high contrast accent wall in the space.
After I put together my navy and blush master bedroom mood board, I took quite a bit of time researching and selecting the PERFECT navy blue paint. I narrowed things down to eight shades of navy, from a variety of manufacturers. Ultimately I selected Sherwin Williams Naval 6244. It’s a deep dark navy blue that looks velvety-rich on my wall. I might even go so far as to say it’s the best navy blue paint out there…
Even if I hadn’t picked a SW color, I would have purchased the brand’s Emerald Interior Matte paint. The coverage is excellent and I didn’t have to worry about many of the issues that come with painting a dark color evenly on the wall.
Because each of the eight finalists were beautiful in their own way, I wanted to share the best navy blue paints currently available on the market, along with a little inspiration.
The Best Navy Blue Paint
Here’s a little cheat with all eight of the best navy blue paint colors. Don’t want to miss the inspiration, along with color characteristics of each, included below.
It’s not easy to pick the perfect shade of navy, but with some photos and a bit of information about what undertone’s tend to surface, it’s a lot easier. Here are the details on eight great shades of navy blue paint.
Benjamin Moore Hale Navy (HC 154) – Hale Navy is a deeply saturated, traditional take on navy. It’s a popular choice with my design friends and a true paint classic. It tends to show a little more gray, which works well when it’s used as a neutral base (think walls, cabinets, etc.).
I see Hale Navy pop up in the Instagram feed of one of my favorite local designers, Studio McGee, fairly often. This bathroom vanity designed by SM? All the heart eyes…
Pacific Palisades Guest Bath via Studio McGee
Benjamin Moore New York State of Mind (805) – New York State of Mind is a bit brighter and perhaps a touch more of a cobalt than a traditional navy blue, but I like the idea of this pretty patriotic blue. It is a keeper.
New York State of Mind via Better Homes and Gardens
Farrow and Ball Drawing Room Blue (253) – This rich blue looks amazing when paired with a crisp white trim. While the paint chip is pretty dark, this pretty blue goes on fairly bright. It’s perfect for achieving a classic blue and white look.
Drawing Room Blue Door via Farrow and Ball
Farrow and Ball Hague Blue 30 – One of the most popular dark navy blues, Hague Blue’s green undertone looks almost black in some light. It makes for dramatic contrast when used in a well-lit room.
This is one of the most popular colors on design sites and in chat discussions about navy blue and so I included it in my top eight, but truthfully it’s my least favorite of the bunch. It’s just too green for me. What do you think?
Farrow and Ball Hague Blue Bath
Ralph Lauren Club Navy (RLTH228) – It should be no surprise that Club Navy, by Ralph Lauren, is just about the best nautical navy blue I came across. I love the traditional paint colors developed for the Ralph Lauren brand and painted most of my first home in the rich hues. At the time, Ralph Lauren paints were sold in Home Depot, though they’ve since been discontinued. It may be difficult to source RL paint or paint chips, but most paint stores should be able to mix a test color for you.
Source Unknown
Sherwin Williams Inkwell 6992 – Okay. Truth be told Inkwell shows up under the black paints on the Sherwin Williams site. However, it has just enough blue in it that it bears inclusion in this list. It’s the perfect color if you’re looking for a dark, dark contrasting color that’s not quite as vibrant as a traditional navy blue and not nearly as harsh as a true black would be.
Inkwell Bedroom via Addison’s Wonderland
Sherwin Williams Naval 6244 – Naval is the PERFECT deep, dark navy and I am convinced it will stand the test of time. It strikes a balance between preppy and sophisticated. In addition, the rich tone keeps it from looking too juvenile in a bedroom.
As I mentioned, it’s the color I finally settled on for the accent wall in my master bedroom and I just love how cozy it makes the room feel.
Sherwin Williams Salty Dog 9177 – Salty dog. It’s so descriptive of this traditional naval blue. The color has just a hint of sea green and translates well onto any surface. It’s not as deep a navy as some and can look quite bright in some light.
Salty Dog Cabinet Door via Dura Supreme Cabinets
What do you think? Do you tend to lean toward one shade of navy over another? Got an additional color to add to my list of the best navy blue paint colors?
What do you think about doing a kitchen in the Hale Navy or Naval. My friends and family are screaming it will be too dark. I have very little wall space and my cabinets, back splash, counter-tops and trim are white or a very light color. I also have all the decor ready also and I went with white or distressed white with those.
Hey Kelly! I love the ideal of using Naval in the kitchen – it’s trending after all. Both of these colors are a very very dark deep blue. I feel like the Hale Navy has a bit more green in it, so depending on your lighting I might consider going with Naval. There’s a new house right down the street who came over to view the color on my bedroom walls and then had their cabinets painted in Naval. If painting the entire kitchen in a dark color is scary, consider painting just the base cabinets or islands in navy and using white for the upper cabinets? xo Tauni