GREENS

Black Emerald

#12221D

RGB 18, 34, 29 · HSL 161°, 31%, 10% · CMYK 47, 0, 15, 87

Black Emerald is #12221D in HEX — rgb(18, 34, 29), hsl(161°, 31%, 10%), cmyk(47%, 0%, 15%, 87%).

Black Emerald pulls into the deep end of the greens spectrum — HSL 161°, 31%, 10%. The muted saturation makes it quiet but present, and the hue reads cool. In interior projects it shines on bedrooms, bathrooms, libraries — for grounding, restorative spaces. Reads best alongside soft white walls, oak floors, brass, warm clay accents.

Color Codes

HEX#12221D

RGB18, 34, 29

HSL161°, 31%, 10%

HSV161°, 47%, 13%

CMYK47, 0, 15, 87

Decimal1188381

CSS RGBrgb(18, 34, 29)

CSS HSLhsl(161, 31%, 10%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Benjamin Moore

Black HC-187

ΔE 7.7 · #252F2D

RAL

Traffic Black 9017

ΔE 8.1 · #1E1E1D

Dulux

Te Kuiti NZ10H1

ΔE 8.8 · #242322

Kilz

Deep Onyx TB-40

ΔE 8.8 · #242322

Behr

Beluga 770F-7

ΔE 9.3 · #273031

Vista Paint

Silent Sea C-514

ΔE 9.4 · #262627

Hallman-Lindsay

Silent Sea 515

ΔE 10.1 · #2A2B2C

IKEA

IKEA186 186

ΔE 11.7 · #302F2F

Sherwin-Williams

Tricorn Black SW6258

ΔE 11.7 · #2F2F30

Colorhouse

Wood .06 Wood-06

ΔE 12 · #312F24

Kobra

Black 44

ΔE 14.4 · #383737

Dutch Boy

Dark Green D-6751

ΔE 14.9 · #214136

Farrow & Ball

Pitch Black 256

ΔE 15.3 · #3B3938

Dunn-Edwards

Black DEA187

ΔE 15.5 · #3B3A3A

PPG

Black Magic 1001-7

ΔE 17.8 · #414040

Valspar

Dark Kettle Black 4011-2

ΔE 17.9 · #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

#12221D

#211217

Analogous

#122114

#12221D

#121F21

Triadic

#12221D

#1C1221

#211C12

Split-Complementary

#12221D

#21121F

#211412

Tetradic

#12221D

#141221

#211217

#1F2112

Monochromatic

#09110E

#12221D

#2C5447

#468672

Rectangle

#12221D

#121721

#211217

#211C12

Compound

#12221D

#121F21

#211217

#211412

Variations

Lighter

#315E50

#569481

#9DC0B5

Darker

#0E1B17

#091310

#050B09

Saturation

#171C1A

#12211C

#092A20

Interior Use

Best Rooms

bedrooms, bathrooms, libraries

Best Uses

main walls, cabinetry, soft furniture

Pairs With

soft white walls, oak floors, brass, warm clay accents

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

16.51:1

AAA

vs Black

1.27:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#12221D

#1D1D1E

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#12221D

#20201E

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#12221D

#132121

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Calm · Restorative

Black Emerald sits in the part of the spectrum the eye relaxes into. Designers reach for green when a room needs to feel like a refuge — bedrooms, libraries, bathrooms — because it lowers visual blood-pressure without flattening the space.

SymbolismGrowth, balance, nature

PersonalitySteady, grounded, thoughtful

calmnaturerestorativebalancebedroomlibrary

How it looks under different light

#4D4631

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#12221D

Daylight 5500K

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

#3A4B55

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#E9ECEB

Trim

Matched off-white

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

#F7F8F7

Ceiling

Whisper tint

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

#3A2229

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: #12221D;

CSS — background

background-color: #12221D;

CSS Variable

--color-black-emerald: #12221D;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'black-emerald': '#12221D' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#12221D] text-[#12221D]

SCSS

$black-emerald: #12221D;

Similar Colors

Black Forest Green

#242E2C · ΔE 7.3

Essex Green

#27362E · ΔE 9.6

Black

#2B2C2D · ΔE 10.4

Black Knight

#303536 · ΔE 12.2

Black

#313132 · ΔE 12.3

Black Satin

#313435 · ΔE 12.4

Jet Black

#333334 · ΔE 12.9

Midnight Dream

#323436 · ΔE 13.0

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 #12221D?

#12221D is Black Emerald, a near-black green with a cool undertone.

Is #12221D warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Black Emerald?

Black Emerald works well in bedrooms, bathrooms, libraries. Designers typically use it for main walls, cabinetry, soft furniture.

What colors pair well with Black Emerald?

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

Where can I download Black Emerald?

You can download Black Emerald 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 Emerald?

The hex code is #12221D. In RGB it's 18, 34, 29, and in HSL it's 161°, 31%, 10%.

← All colors