Desert Clay (S250-6)

Desert Clay (S250-6) is a dramatic, near-dark, warm paint color from Behr (#9E6E43, LRV 18.8). See how it shifts in different light, the colors it pairs with, and its closest matches in other brands.

Desert Clay (S250-6) is a dramatic, near-dark, warm-toned paint color from Behr. It brings depth and a sense of intention, and looks its richest in rooms with good natural light. Below you'll see it in real rooms, the colors it pairs with, the finishes that suit it, and its closest matches in other brands — everything you need before you commit a wall to it.

The kind of dramatic, near-dark shade that makes a room feel considered rather than accidental — easy to live with, and hard to get wrong.

Desert Clay at a glance

Brand: Behr
Color code: S250-6
Hex: #9E6E43
RGB: 158, 110, 67
HSL: 28°, 40%, 44%
LRV (Light Reflectance Value): 18.8 — very dark and light-absorbing
Undertone: warm undertone leaning yellow-red
Color family: warm, orange

How it behaves in light

Desert Clay is deep enough that light has a real say in how it reads — crisp and saturated in bright rooms, moodier and more enveloping where light is low. The honest test is simple: paint a poster-board sample, move it to the wall you care about, and look at it in the morning, midday, and after dark. Undertones almost always show up more on a full wall than they do on a tiny chip.

Where it works

Desert Clay is an easy color to build a home around. Let it carry the main living spaces and keep trim a step lighter in the same warm-or-cool family, so the room feels intentional rather than busy. It flows nicely from an entry through to bedrooms, and it gives deeper accent colors something calm to sit against in dining rooms, studies, and media spaces.

What to pair it with

For a little contrast — a front door, a single accent wall — reach for a color on the opposite side of the wheel. For a calm, flowing palette, stay with its close neighbors so rooms blend gently into one another. And the fastest way to plan trim, walls, and cabinets is to use lighter and deeper versions of Desert Clay itself; that built-in range almost always reads as harmonious because it shares the same DNA.

How it compares across brands

No two paint lines mix a color quite the same way, so a "match" from another brand is rarely identical on the wall. We line up the closest options from Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, Behr, and others and rank them by how close they actually look — not by similar-sounding names. If you're switching an existing palette over to Behr, that ranking is the shortcut: start from the closest match and sample from there.

Before you commit

Sample on two walls — Brush Desert Clay on a wall that gets morning light and one that gets afternoon light before you order gallons. Color shifts more than a swatch ever suggests.
Get the trim right — With a deeper wall color, a soft off-white trim keeps the room from feeling heavy or boxed in.
Match the finish to the room — Satin — dark colors need some sheen to avoid looking flat and chalky.
Order it by code — Ask for S250-6 at the paint counter. Names drift between fan decks, but the code keeps your touch-ups matching for years.

Desert Clay, answered

Is Desert Clay warm or cool?

Warm. Desert Clay carries a gentle warm base, which keeps it from feeling stark next to wood and warm light.

What undertone does Desert Clay have?

Yellow undertone — glows in sunny, south-facing rooms. It can read creamier in low light and against cool-white fixtures — worth sampling on your own wall before you commit.

What is Desert Clay's LRV?

18.8.

What trim goes with Desert Clay walls?

A lighter, warm-toned off-white trim keeps a wall this deep from feeling boxed in — stay in the same warm family so the two don't fight.

Does Desert Clay make a room feel smaller?

Not on its own — depth reads as coziness, not confinement, as long as the room has decent light or a lighter ceiling to balance it. It's the color to reach for when you want a room to feel enveloping rather than expansive.