Sherwin Williams Dard Hunter Green Review

The trim of our cabin bunk room, painted Dard Hunter Green. Image by Dirt & Glass

First of all: Yep, it’s Dard Hunter Green, not Dark Hunter Green, which I thought was a typo when I first found this paint color online 🙂 After looking at about a dozen dark green paint colors for our Vermont cabin, I settled on three contenders, Sherwin Williams Dard Hunter Green, Sherwin Williams Isle of Pines, Sherwin Williams Evergreens, and eventually picked Dard Hunter Green for a very specific reason (which I’ll share in a moment.)

But first, let’s look a little closer at this lovely Sherwin Williams dark green hue.

Sherwin Williams Dard Hunter Green: LRV

Dard Hunter Green will definitely add drama to a room because it is dark. It has an LRV, or light reflectance value, of 6, 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, which puts Dard Hunter Green squarely in the “very dark paint color” category.

Because I was only painting the lower half of a room (a room that is white on the top half), and the room gets lots of natural light, I was OK with it being so dark. But, make no mistakes, this is a bold paint color choice.

Dard Hunter Green Undertones

From left: Sherwin Williams Dard Hunter Green, Sherwin Williams Isle of Pines, Sherwin Williams Evergreens.

Now, let’s talk about undertones, which is the reason I went with this color over the other two I was considering. Dard Hunter Green has pretty neutral undertones for a dark green, which is what I was going for. Sometimes dark hunter greens have a lot of blue undertones, or a lot of yellow undertones, so they start to read a bit teal or olive, and I didn’t want that. I wanted a true green, but just a very dark one. Like if you tinted Kelly green super dark. If you’re looking for a dark green with a balance of yellow and blue tones, this is a great pick.

Where to Use Dard Hunter Green

Personally, I love this color as an accent color in a room. This can mean using it similar to how I did, as a trim color on some paneling, wainscoting or board-and-batten, or as a cabinet color in a kitchen, bathroom or laundry room. It would also be fabulous on some built-ins in a home office. Finally, this is a great exterior color for either shutters or a front door (or both).

That’s not to say that you flat out can’t use Dard Hunter Green as a wall color for an entire room. You definitely can. My husband’s office is currently painted Benjamin Moore Hale Navy, which has a similar LRV to Dard Hunter Green. If you are going for a moody, dark academia or dark office vibe, this is a great color for that. Also, if you are planning to use it in a room that gets lots of natural light, the color will look a whole lot lighter and more saturated, so using this color doesn’t even mean you’re destined to have a moody space. It all depends on your home and your goals.

This is why I always recommend sampling a color first. I LOVE Samplize Peel-and-Stick paint samples for testing dark colors, to make sure it’s what you really want.

What Colors go With Dard Hunter Green?

Dard Hunter Green is fairly versatile thanks to its neutral undertones. It works well with other neutral-leaning whites, like Sherwin Williams Alabaster and Benjamin Moore White Dove, along with shades of dark blue, like Benjamin Moore Polo Blue. It’s also a natural fit for earth-tones, like sandy beiges, rich browns and charcoal grays.

As far as choosing an overall color scheme to pair with Dard Hunter Green (and similar shades of true hunter green), there are a few that instantly stand out as winners.

The first is a woodsy, mountain home palette of dark green, rich red, navy blue, and mustard yellow. This color scheme reminds me of a Hudson Bay blanket, which was the inspiration behind the kids loft at our Vermont cabin.

The second is a more contemporary, neutral scheme in which Dard Hunter Green is the focal point or accent color among a paler palette. Think: white walls, light oak floors, black hardware, and cognac leather

Another color scheme I love, that’s sort of similar to the first one, is a look I can only describe as “Ralph Lauren’s townhouse in New York,” or “Ivy League Alumnus.” i.e., pairing deep green with crimson red, golden yellow and a richer navy. It’s a perfect vibe for an office/study, or perhaps a game room in a basement, and I love it for a nursery or boy’s room.