Flint is what people think they’re asking for when they say, “I just want a dark grey.” Most charcoals die on the wall: flat, dead, a little depressing. Flint doesn’t. With its blue base and low LRV (11.96), Benjamin Moore Flint AF-560 works as a modern, moody neutral that actually shifts and moves with the light instead of sitting there like concrete.
If you’re designing a modern interior and you want depth without drama, Flint is one of the few dark paints that behaves well in real life, not just in photos. The key is how—and where—you use it.
What Flint Actually Looks Like in Real Rooms
On the swatch, Flint reads like a simple charcoal. On the wall, it’s more complicated. Technically it’s a dark grey with a blue undertone, but that blue isn’t neon or stormy. It shows up differently throughout the day and against different finishes.
In north light or on a cloudy day, Flint usually reads as a deep, soft charcoal. Under warm artificial light, especially in the evening, it gains a quiet, inky blue cast that feels cocooning rather than cold. Put it next to warm tones—orange oak floors, brass, terracotta—and the blue deepens a bit, which is exactly why it looks so good in modern interiors with warm woods.
The point: Flint is a chameleon. It never looks like one flat slab of dark grey, which is why designers keep going back to it while other charcoals end up repainted.
Benjamin Moore Flint vs Little Greene Flint: Not the Same Thing
Let’s clear up a common confusion: Benjamin Moore Flint AF-560 is not the same as Little Greene Flint 236, and they do not behave the same in a modern interior.
Benjamin Moore Flint is a dark, blue-based charcoal. It’s moody, architectural, and clearly intentional. Little Greene Flint and other similarly named “flint” greys generally land in a much muddier zone—more beige-greige, less crisp charcoal. In contemporary rooms, that halfway tone tends to read like “old rental that needs repainting” rather than a deliberate design choice.
If you want a genuinely modern, cocooning look, go properly dark. Don’t stop at the safe, mid-tone grey and expect it to feel current. Flint AF-560 commits to the depth, which is why it works.
How Designers Actually Use Flint in Modern Interiors
Most people underuse dark colors and then complain they look cheap. Flint is the opposite: it looks more expensive the more you commit to it.
1. Full Flint Walls, Not Random Accent Walls
Flint is a low-LRV color. That depth needs continuity. One random accent wall in Flint with three pale walls around it looks like a paint sale experiment, not a design move. Wrap the room—at least all four walls, and in smaller rooms sometimes ceiling too—and it suddenly feels intentional and architectural.
In living rooms and bedrooms, full Flint walls create a backdrop that makes lighter furniture, art, and wood tones pop. It’s especially strong in TV rooms, home offices, and dining rooms where a darker envelope feels right.
2. The Right Rooms for Flint
Flint works best where you want intimacy or drama:
- Bedrooms: cocoon-like, especially with ivory bedding and warm wood nightstands
- Dining rooms: adds formality and warmth under dimmer lighting
- Home offices or libraries: makes books, art, and joinery read sharper and more deliberate
- Hallways and entryways: creates a strong transition moment, especially paired with lighter adjoining rooms
Can you use it in kitchens and bathrooms? Yes, but use it strategically. Think Flint on lower cabinets or a feature wall, with softer surrounding colors and plenty of natural or layered artificial light.
Flint Paint Color Combinations That Actually Work
Flint paint color combinations is a backdrop, not the star of the show. The success of a flint grey interior paint scheme lives or dies with what you put next to it.
Warm Whites and Creamy Neutrals (Non‑Negotiable)
Pairing Flint with crisp, blue-leaning whites is a beginner error. You’ll amplify the blue undertone and end up with a corporate-lobby vibe—cold, high contrast, and a bit sterile. The better choice is warm whites and soft neutrals that take the edge off the blue and make the whole room feel grounded.
Think creamy off-whites and warm, soft neutrals: sand, beige, ivory. These sit quietly against Flint and keep it feeling rich rather than harsh. Benjamin Moore’s warmer whites like White Dove and similar tones are good reference points: they don’t fight the blue; they soften it.
Wood Tones and Flooring that Love Flint
Flint is excellent with light to mid-tone woods. It’s particularly good with floors that have an orange or honey undertone—classic oak, for instance—because the charcoal cuts the orange and the orange warms the blue. The result is balanced and modern instead of dated and yellow.
Light oak, whitewashed planks, and pale walnut also look strong against Flint. The contrast feels contemporary but not stark. This is exactly the kind of pairing that makes Flint feel like a deliberate designer choice.
Cold grey flooring, on the other hand, is where things go wrong. Flint next to flat, blue-grey tiles or vinyl plus cool LED lighting turns the room into a dentist’s office in charcoal. If your floors skew cold grey and you’re stuck with them, you need warmer lighting and textiles to rescue the look, or a different wall color.
Earthy Neutrals and Soft Green Accents
Because Flint already has blue in it, strong, saturated blues around it can make the palette feel one-note. Earthy neutrals are safer and more interesting: sand, taupe, and warm stone shades play very well with Flint’s charcoal base.
Soft, muted greens (not mint, not emerald) also work as supporting players. Olive, sage, and fern-like tones sit comfortably with Flint and give a calm, grounded feel. Keep them gentle; treat them like supporting textiles or cabinetry colors, not big, competing wall blocks.
Technical Side: Light, Sheen, and Why Gloss is a Bad Idea
Flint’s LRV of 11.96 means it absorbs a lot of light. That’s part of its appeal—it creates depth—but you need to respect that when you pick sheen and lighting.
Best Sheens for Flint
On real, imperfect walls, high-gloss Flint is a punishment. Dark, low-LRV colors in glossy finishes exaggerate every roller mark, patch, and drywall wave. In person, it looks busy and cheap.
For most modern interiors, the sane choices are:
Matte or flat: Ideal for bedrooms and living rooms. Soft, velvety, hides a lot of sins. Great for wrapped rooms in Flint because it absorbs light evenly.
Eggshell: Good for higher-traffic rooms or where you need a little more wipeability—hallways, dining rooms, some home offices. Still soft enough that the walls don’t look shiny or bumpy.
Save satin or semi-gloss for trim and doors if you really want contrast, and even then, with Flint, a soft satin is usually plenty.
Lighting Flint Correctly
Because Flint is dark, one sad central pendant is not enough. To keep it from feeling like a cave, you need layered lighting:
Ambient: recessed downlights or a good ceiling fixture to provide base brightness.
Task: desk lamps, reading lamps, under-cabinet lights where needed.
Accent: wall sconces, picture lights, or shelf lighting to bring out texture and objects against the dark backdrop.
Warmer bulbs—2700K to 3000K—tend to flatter Flint and keep it on the moody, inviting side. Cooler temperatures push it into a harder, bluer zone that usually fights modern residential interiors.
Where Flint Sits Among Similar Dark Greys
If you’re comparing Flint to other dark Benjamin Moore greys, here’s the quick logic.
Deep Space is like Flint’s more saturated cousin—similar charcoal-blue story, but stronger color presence. Temptation is extremely close to Flint, just a touch deeper. Ocean Floor leans more obviously blue and steely, less neutral charcoal, so it feels cooler and more coastal.
Anchor Gray, Gray 2121-10, and Shark Gray sit in the same neighborhood but often read flatter or more straightforwardly grey. If you want that subtle color shift and warmth-flip that makes Flint interesting, they usually won’t give you as much movement through the day.
One Practical Checklist: Using Flint the Right Way
If you want Flint to look like a designer chose it—and not like you grabbed a random dark grey—run through this once before you commit:
- Use it on full walls (ideally all four), not a lone accent wall.
- Pair it with warm whites and creamy neutrals, never stark, cool whites.
- Check your floors: aim for light to mid-tone wood, not flat, cold grey.
- Choose matte or eggshell; skip high-gloss unless you enjoy seeing every wall flaw.
- Plan layered lighting with warm bulbs (around 2700–3000K) to avoid a cold, blue cast.
- Add warmth through wood, textured textiles, and earthy tones so Flint can sit back as the backdrop.
Using Flint in Different Room Types
Living Rooms
In modern living rooms, Flint on all walls with a warm white ceiling works well with pale sofas, wood coffee tables, and layered rugs. If you have built-ins, you can paint them Flint too and let decor and books bring the lighter contrast. Just avoid pairing it with shiny, chrome-heavy furniture unless you want a more severe, gallery feel.
Bedrooms
Bedrooms are where Flint really shines. Deep walls with ivory or off-white bedding, linen drapes, and warm bedside lighting feel calm and expensive, not heavy. Dark charcoal behind a bed also makes upholstered headboards and artwork feel more substantial without needing oversized pieces.
Kitchens and Bathrooms
In kitchens, Flint works best on cabinetry, islands, or one feature wall—then balance it with warm counters (wood, warmer stone, or stone-look) and softer wall colors. Cold white quartz plus Flint plus cold downlights is a hard fail: it starts to look like a cafeteria redo. Bathrooms are similar; Flint can be great on vanity units or a single wall, but only if your tiles and lighting skew warm and tactile.