BLACKS

Illicit Darkness

#00022E

RGB 0, 2, 46 · HSL 237°, 100%, 9% · CMYK 100, 96, 0, 82

Illicit Darkness is #00022E in HEX — rgb(0, 2, 46), hsl(237°, 100%, 9%), cmyk(100%, 96%, 0%, 82%).

Illicit Darkness pulls into the deep end of the blacks spectrum — HSL 237°, 100%, 9%. The saturated saturation makes it bold and immediate, and the hue reads cool. In interior projects it shines on doors, frames, hardware, accent walls — for definition and gravitas. Reads best alongside warm white walls, oak, brass, leather.

Color Codes

HEX#00022E
RGB0, 2, 46
HSL237°, 100%, 9%
HSV237°, 100%, 18%
CMYK100, 96, 0, 82
Decimal558
CSS RGBrgb(0, 2, 46)
CSS HSLhsl(237, 100%, 9%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

RAL

Ultramarine Blue 5002

ΔE 13.7 · #20214F

Behr

Soulful Music 600F-7

ΔE 19.3 · #1D315D

Dulux

Royal Celebration S42E9

ΔE 19.9 · #273050

Benjamin Moore

Midnight 2067-10

ΔE 21.8 · #343457

Dutch Boy

Royal Blue D-6740

ΔE 22.3 · #1D375C

Kilz

Ruling Royalty TB-50

ΔE 22.6 · #313048

Sherwin-Williams

Dewberry SW6552

ΔE 24.3 · #3E385A

Hallman-Lindsay

Newport Indigo historic-newport-indigo

ΔE 25 · #313D6C

Dunn-Edwards

Magic Night DEA191

ΔE 25.2 · #3A3B5B

Vista Paint

Newport Indigo C-1378

ΔE 26 · #363F63

PPG

Victory Blue 1165-7

ΔE 28.2 · #3A405A

Kobra

Blue 31

ΔE 28.3 · #334059

Valspar

Spirit Blue 4011-9

ΔE 29.3 · #49456F

IKEA

IKEA163 163

ΔE 31.9 · #423A45

Colorhouse

Create .06 Create-06

ΔE 33 · #5E3D5A

Farrow & Ball

Pelt 254

ΔE 35.2 · #50414C

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

0/100

Very Dark

0 · DarkLight · 100

Absorbs almost all light — dramatic and cocooning. Needs strong artificial lighting and works best as an accent or in well-lit rooms.

Undertone

TemperatureCool MasstoneBlue UndertoneViolet

Reads as a cool blue with a violet undertone showing through, especially in daylight. Pair trim and adjacent colours to either calm or amplify that undertone.

Color Theory

Complementary

#00022E
#2E2C00

Analogous

#00192E
#00022E
#15002E

Triadic

#00022E
#2E0002
#022E00

Split-Complementary

#00022E
#2E1500
#192E00

Tetradic

#00022E
#2E0019
#2E2C00
#002E15

Monochromatic

#00011A
#00011A
#00022E
#00067A
#000AC7

Rectangle

#00022E
#2C002E
#2E2C00
#022E00

Compound

#00022E
#15002E
#2E2C00
#192E00

Variations

Lighter

#00078B
#111BD6
#757BE7

Darker

#000225
#000119
#00010F

Saturation

#10111E
#00022E
#00022E

Interior Use

Best Rooms

libraries, home offices, dramatic accents

Best Uses

doors, frames, hardware, accent walls

Pairs With

warm white walls, oak, brass, leather

Accessibility (WCAG)

Aa

vs White

20.04:1

AAA

Aa

vs Black

1.05:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#00022E
#00092E

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#00022E
#02022B

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#00022E
#000F07

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Dramatic · Grounding

Illicit Darkness reads as punctuation — it defines edges, draws a line under a room, and makes surrounding colors look more saturated. Use it sparingly on doors, frames, hardware, and the occasional accent wall.

SymbolismPower, sophistication, depth
PersonalityConfident, anchoring, definitive
dramaframedoortrimaccentdefinition

How it looks under different light

#3F2E3E

Warm Bulb 2700K

Incandescent / soft white LED — pulls colour toward yellow/amber.

#00022E

Daylight 5500K

Midday natural light or daylight-spec LED — closest to the paint chip.

#2D3362

Cool Bulb 6500K

Cool white LED / overcast daylight — pulls colour toward blue.

Pairs With

#E7E7EE

Trim

Matched off-white

Same hue at 92% lightness — trim reads coordinated, not stark.

#F7F7F8

Ceiling

Whisper tint

Near-white with a hint of the hero's undertone — ceiling feels intentional.

#534F09

Accent

Complementary punch

Hue +180°, slightly muted for paint vs. screen — use on a door, frame, or single piece.

#574738

Floor

Walnut neutral

Warm mid-brown grounds the scheme regardless of hero hue.

Paint Info

Brand · Product Line

Benjamin Moore / Aura Interior (for richer color depth in deep tones)

Recommended Finishes

Matte (walls) · Pearl (trim) · Satin (doors)

Deep colors look best in matte — gloss exaggerates surface flaws. Reserve subtle sheen for trim, doors, and high-touch areas.

Best Surfaces

Accent walls · Doors · Cabinetry · Built-ins

Coverage & Dry Time

Typical coverage 350-400 sq ft per gallon over a primed surface.

Touch-dry in ~1 hour. Recoat after 4 hours. Full cure 7-14 days.

Primer

Tinted primer in a similar value is highly recommended — saves a coat and prevents the wall colour from washing the surface.

Application Tip

Use a 9" microfiber roller on walls and a 2.5" angled sash brush for trim cuts. Two coats minimum for even depth.

Paint Calculator

You'll need

4.0 litres

1.06 US gallons · room for one touch-up coat. Buy slightly more to ensure single-batch match.

Code Snippets

CSS — color 
color: #00022E;
CSS — background 
background-color: #00022E;
CSS Variable 
--color-illicit-darkness: #00022E;
Tailwind v3 — config 
colors: { 'illicit-darkness': '#00022E' }
Tailwind — arbitrary 
bg-[#00022E] text-[#00022E]
SCSS 
$illicit-darkness: #00022E;

Similar Colors

Midnight Navy

#333356 · ΔE 21.3

Bold Blue

#2B3558 · ΔE 21.6

Admiral Blue

#2B3762 · ΔE 22.1

Blue Grotto

#353963 · ΔE 23.4

Majestic Violet

#3A3450 · ΔE 23.7

Symphony Blue

#203B5D · ΔE 24.6

Blue

#233872 · ΔE 24.8

Exotic Purple

#43334D · ΔE 25.4
Built by DSGN.HOUSE Updated 2026

Our color tools run on our own catalogue of 26,000+ real paint colors across 16 brands — Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams, Behr, Dulux, RAL and more — with the color math (HSL and CIELAB matching) computed in-house, not scraped from summaries. Every color you pick maps to a real, buyable paint with its code, so what you see here you can actually take to the store. We review and update these tools and their data regularly.

Created by Denis Kataev, founder of DSGN.HOUSE — a software engineer and digital entrepreneur building professional color-design tools for everyone.

Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #00022E?

#00022E is Illicit Darkness, a near-black black with a cool undertone.

Is #00022E warm or cool?

Illicit Darkness reads cool, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Illicit Darkness?

Illicit Darkness works well in libraries, home offices, dramatic accents. Designers typically use it for doors, frames, hardware, accent walls.

What colors pair well with Illicit Darkness?

Illicit Darkness pairs naturally with warm white walls, oak, brass, leather. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Illicit Darkness?

You can download Illicit Darkness on DSGN.HOUSE in 15 designer formats including CSS gradient, Figma, Procreate swatches, Tailwind config, Adobe ASE, SVG, and 4K wallpapers — all free.

What's the hex code for Illicit Darkness?

The hex code is #00022E. In RGB it's 0, 2, 46, and in HSL it's 237°, 100%, 9%.

← All colors