Learn all about Benjamin Moore Cheating Heart in this color review (Sample Here). This soft black paint color with subtle deep blue undertones is a beautiful option for exteriors with red brick or warm stone colors. It looks much brighter outside than on the page. It’s too blue to be black and too black to be gray. It is complex and beautiful. It changes in the light, all day long.
This color is also an excellent option for interior accents. It’s pretty dark so should be used in rooms with tons of light.
Please note that all the photos in this post are from Color Concierge projects.
LRV of Cheating Heart
The LRV of Cheating Heart is 6.9, which makes it a soft black that will look like a dark charcoal with rare flashes of blue. LRV (Light Reflectance Value) is a measurement used to identify how light or dark a color is. The scale goes from 1 (pure black) to 100 (pure white) and indicates how dark or light a color is.
Cheating Heart for Exteriors
This palette is super simple. It’s the Cheating Heart paint color, and nothing else. We recommend this color with either black windows, or paintable windows. White vinyl windows would look harsh and discordant.
And check out this transformation! The previous color was perfectly fine, but the new soft black color elevated the design. We tried several darker black paint colors, but for this design, the softness of Cheating Heart was perfect.
This was the back, after and before.
We even painted the gutters and the downspouts the same color as the body. The homeowner took it an extra step further and painted the back porch ceilings Cheating Heart. It looks intentional and amazing!
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What are the Best Exterior White Trim Colors for Cheating Heart?
The black monochromatic palette looks amazing in this project, but if you want “white” trim I would stick with white trim colors with an LRV between 70 and 75. We like SW Egret White (LRV=70) , but also Oyster White or Pearly White. A very light white would have been too stark a contrast.
TIP: When using dark paint colors consider a warmer white or light greige so that the contrast doesn’t look too stark. Check out the sweet diamond accent on the peak! We often see those on houses painted the same color as the roofline.
Best front Door and Shutter Colors with Cheating Heart and Red Brick
We loved repeating the same color for this monochromatic palette. You could also try a very dark black such as BM Onyx for a very slight contrast, or a dark green-gray like BM Kendall Charcoal.
Cheating Heart for Interiors
This paint color is best as an accent, or a wall color in a small rooms with tons of natural or artificial light and lots of white trim and surfaces. I am a sucker for an office with black walls because its restful if you are on a computer for a long time.
If you don’t have enough light, it will look black. Don’t forget to test your paint colors!
Best Interior White Trim & Ceiling Colors with Cheating Heart
Use warmer whites such as BM Swiss Coffee, BM Cloud White, or BM White Dove. If you pick a trim color that is too creamy, it can start to look yellow.
When To Avoid Cheating Heart
For interiors, avoid in rooms with low light unless you have LOTS of natural light or artificial lighting. For exteriors its pretty versatile, but as always you should always test your paint colors.
You can absolutely use this color for cabinets. If you want to use it for both upper and lower cabinets, make sure that you install soft white countertops and a white backsplash to keep the look light and balanced. You can also use it as a lower cabinet with white upper cabinets. Ideally, the upper cabinet white should be the same as your white trim color.
What is the easiest way to test Cheating Heart?
We always recommend that you test paint colors in your house because lighting can change a color completely.
In the old days, this meant we painted a large poster board with sample pots and a huge mess.
Now we have SAMPLIZE, 9X14″ Pre-Painted peel-and-stick paint samples. Check out the SAMPLIZE website HERE.
Comparisons with Other Black Paint Colors
Cheating Heart vs. Wrought Iron
Wrought Iron is the darker paint color. They are both soft blacks with blue undertones, but Cheating Heart will look bluer outside.
Cheating Heart vs. Hale Navy
Although they both have blue undertones, Hale Navy is the darker color and a deep rich blue outside.
SW Peppercorn vs. Cheating Heart
Peppercorn is pretty different – it is much lighter and has violet undertones. They would read pretty similarly, though.
Which Sherwin-Williams Colors are like Cheating Heart?
Sherwin-Williams doesn’t have any colors that are close to Cheating Heart, and it is very difficult to copy because of its subtle undertones. If you want a Sherwin-Williams color, you will need to compromise.
Learn more about matching paint colors here.
Key Learning Points – Cheating Heart
Benjamin Moore’s Cheating Heart is a complex charcoal-ish black with blue undertones. It’s too blue to be black and too black to be gray. It is complex and beautiful. It changes in the light, all day long. It’s gorgeous with red brick outside, and nice as an interior accent in a room with tons of light.
No matter what, don’t forget to test your paint colors. It’s a standard best practice. Whenever I test my paint colors, they are perfect, and when I don’t test they turn out wrong. We love to test with SAMPLIZE peel-and-stick samples. Check out the SAMPLIZE website HERE.
NEVER, EVER use paint matches from a different brand than the one specified. Results are poor and there are no standards for the sheens. Even though your painter may truly believe it can be done, don’t do it. See results from paint matching here.
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About the Author
Hi, I’m Michelle Marceny, founder, owner, and Principal Color Designer at The Color Concierge. I believe a fresh coat of paint can completely transform a space. The Color Concierge was born out of my drive to help clients fall back in love with their homes. My clients trust me to help them find the perfect paint color for their home – whether it’s a whole-house paint color scheme or ideas for a single room.
Since The Color Concierge was founded in 2017, we have completed over 3000 color consultations, both online and in-person. I am a Certified Color Expert with 7 years of experience creating interior and exterior color palettes throughout North America.
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One Response
Thank you for the great article addressing red brick. Great ideas! Have always been drawn to the old red brick but when it comes to interior and exterior colors that work I’m at a loss.