BLACKS

Black

#042525

RGB 4, 37, 37 · HSL 180°, 80%, 8% · CMYK 89, 0, 0, 85

Black is #042525 in HEX — rgb(4, 37, 37), hsl(180°, 80%, 8%), cmyk(89%, 0%, 0%, 85%).

Black pulls into the deep end of the blacks spectrum — HSL 180°, 80%, 8%. 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#042525

RGB4, 37, 37

HSL180°, 80%, 8%

HSV180°, 89%, 15%

CMYK89, 0, 0, 85

Decimal271653

CSS RGBrgb(4, 37, 37)

CSS HSLhsl(180, 80%, 8%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

RAL

Pearl Opal Green 6036

ΔE 8.4 · #193737

Dulux

Cruel Sea S29A9

ΔE 9.5 · #213738

Benjamin Moore

Black HC-187

ΔE 9.6 · #252F2D

Behr

Beluga 770F-7

ΔE 10.5 · #273031

Sherwin-Williams

Dark Night SW6237

ΔE 11.6 · #23383F

Vista Paint

Silent Sea C-514

ΔE 12.5 · #262627

Kilz

Deep Onyx TB-40

ΔE 12.7 · #242322

Hallman-Lindsay

Silent Sea 515

ΔE 12.7 · #2A2B2C

Colorhouse

Nourish .06 Nourish-06

ΔE 14 · #313536

IKEA

IKEA186 186

ΔE 14.4 · #302F2F

Dutch Boy

Dark Green D-6751

ΔE 14.4 · #214136

Kobra

Black 44

ΔE 16.5 · #383737

Dunn-Edwards

Deep Pine DEA180

ΔE 16.5 · #254A47

Farrow & Ball

Pitch Black 256

ΔE 17.5 · #3B3938

PPG

Dark As Night 14-05

ΔE 18.4 · #3D4645

Valspar

Dark Kettle Black 4011-2

ΔE 18.9 · #3F4043

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

1/100

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 MasstoneTeal UndertoneGreen

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#042525

#250404

Analogous

#042514

#042525

#041425

Triadic

#042525

#250425

#252504

Split-Complementary

#042525

#250414

#251404

Tetradic

#042525

#140425

#250404

#142504

Monochromatic

#031717

#042525

#0C6A6A

#13AEAE

Rectangle

#042525

#040425

#250404

#252504

Compound

#042525

#041425

#250404

#251404

Variations

Lighter

#0D7979

#25C0C0

#7FDBDB

Darker

#031E1E

#011515

#010D0D

Saturation

#101919

#042525

#022727

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)

vs White

16.20:1

AAA

vs Black

1.30:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#042525

#1B1D26

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#042525

#212125

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#042525

#062524

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Dramatic · Grounding

Black 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

#424837

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#042525

Daylight 5500K

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

#304D5B

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#E8EEEE

Trim

Matched off-white

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

#F7F8F8

Ceiling

Whisper tint

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

#4D0F0F

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

Wall area (m²)

Coats

Coverage (m² / L)

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: #042525;

CSS — background

background-color: #042525;

CSS Variable

--color-black: #042525;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'black': '#042525' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#042525] text-[#042525]

SCSS

$black: #042525;

Similar Colors

Black Forest Green

#242E2C · ΔE 9.4

Essex Green

#27362E · ΔE 11.3

Black

#2B2C2D · ΔE 12.9

Pacific Sea Teal

#274043 · ΔE 13.2

Black Knight

#303536 · ΔE 13.6

Salamander

#2F3E3E · ΔE 13.7

Black Satin

#313435 · ΔE 14.1

Bavarian Forest

#1D4543 · ΔE 14.3

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 #042525?

#042525 is Black, a near-black black with a cool undertone.

Is #042525 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Black?

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

What colors pair well with Black?

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

Where can I download Black?

You can download Black 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 Black?

The hex code is #042525. In RGB it's 4, 37, 37, and in HSL it's 180°, 80%, 8%.

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