Benjamin Moore River Rock Review – The Perfect Moss Green Paint Color

Wondering if Benjamin Moore River Rock is the perfect paint shade for you? Here’s a closer look at the color, my personal experience with it, and photos from my home and elsewhere.

A few months ago, when I decided to paint the kitchen cabinets in our Vermont cabin, I went on a search for the perfect shade of moss green paint. I wanted something deep, but not so deep that it read as black or brown, and a color that leaned more heavily on yellow undertones than blue ones.

My eventual pick? Benjamin Moore River Rock. As soon as I tried the sample, I knew it was the one. It’s rich, sophisticated, earthy and deep, and the perfect color for our kitchen cabinets.

Here’s a look at the color in our home, plus more about this lovely shade of green.

What color is Benjamin Moore River Rock?

Benjamin Moore River Rock is a deep moss green. Benjamin Moore describes the color as “Nearly as dark as black, this nuanced hue reveals rich depths of green, yellow and brown.”

I will say that in our home, it doesn’t read nearly as dark as black, and is very obviously green, but it’s used in a space where there is a ton of natural light in our kitchen thanks to a wall of windows opposite the space.

I’ve tried other shades of super dark green, like Benjamin Moore Southern Vine, which actually looked almost like a deep brown even in a light-filled room. I think it depends more on the tone of the color than the darkness, if that makes sense. River Rock has enough green pigment to still look green despite being a very dark paint color. Which brings me to my next point…

Benjamin Moore River Rock Undertones

River Rock is a shade of green with yellow and brown undertones that make it a true mossy green. It has very little blue cast, which I wanted for my space. The brown and yellow undertones also mean that River Rock is a warm paint color that’ll pair better with other warm tones like cream paint colors and earth tones.

Benjamin Moore suggests pairing the shade with Icicle, Dry Sage, White Dove or Broadstreet Beige. It would also work well with classic Benjamin Moore neutrals like Simply White, Balboa Mist or Swiss Coffee.

Benjamin Moore River Rock LRV

Whenever I start researching paint colors, one of the first things I look at is LRV, or Light Reflectance Value. If you’re not familiar with LRV, it’s a measure of how bright a paint color is, with 0 being absolute black, and 100 being pure white. Most paint colors fall somewhere on the LRV scale from 4 to 93.

River Rock has an LRV, or light reflectance value, of 6.6, which makes it a very dark paint color. To give you an idea of how dark the color is, paint colors with similar LRVs include Benjamin Moore Hale Navy and Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron.

Despite how dark the color is, though, I don’t feel like it’s an overpowering shade, especially if you use it in a room with lots of light. Which brings me to:

How Benjamin Moore River Rock Looks in Our Kitchen

I always think it’s helpful to see a paint color in action, in a real home, so here’s a video of our kitchen after I painted it. As I noted, I chose Benjamin Moore River Rock in the kitchen of our Vermont cabin, and the space gets a lot of natural light thanks to a wall of windows opposite the kitchen.

You can see in the video how the light allows River Rock’s green tones to shine through. I’d image in a darker room with less light, or in a North or East-facing room, the color would read darker, or its brown tones would be more apparent, which is why It’s always important to test any paint color in you home before you choose it.

Moss Green Paint Colors Like River Rock

I love moss green and olive green paint colors – and I’ve used them and tested them a bunch in my homes before., so I’ve rounded up a few alternatives if you find that River Rock isn’t the perfect pick for your home.

Sherwin Williams Palm Leaf

I used Sherwin Williams Palm Leaf in my powder room. It’s a lighter, brighter hue without so much brown, so it manages to read like a mossy green in rooms with little natural light or no windows (like my powder room above).

Benjamin Moore Southern Vine

Southern Vine is another dark, green-brown paint color that’s similar to River Rock, but with more brown tones. Like I mentioned, I tried this in my home during our renovation, but found it to be too brown. However, if you’re looking for something more neutral/less green, it could be a perfect fit.

Benjamin Moore Dark Olive

Dark Olive is a beautiful shade of deep green that’s not quite as dark as River Rock. Instead of the brown and yellow undertones that River Rock has, Dark Olive has more gray and neutral undertones that make it feel more subdued and not quite as bold as River Rock.

River Rock – My Final Thoughts

I tried about 6 or 7 moss green paint colors before landing on River Rock, so I can truly say this is my favorite moss green paint color I’ve found. Because green is my favorite color, I’m also going to go as far as saying it’s one of my favorite paint colors, period. If you’re after that true moss green color, definitely add this one to your sample list.