BLUES

River Styx

#161820

RGB 22, 24, 32 · HSL 228°, 19%, 11% · CMYK 31, 25, 0, 87

River Styx is #161820 in HEX — rgb(22, 24, 32), hsl(228°, 19%, 11%), cmyk(31%, 25%, 0%, 87%).

River Styx pulls into the deep end of the blues spectrum — HSL 228°, 19%, 11%. The neutral saturation makes it near-neutral and forgiving, and the hue reads cool. In interior projects it shines on bedrooms, bathrooms, home offices — for calm, focused environments. Reads best alongside warm white trim, oak or walnut, brass or matte black hardware.

Color Codes

HEX#161820

RGB22, 24, 32

HSL228°, 19%, 11%

HSV228°, 31%, 13%

CMYK31, 25, 0, 87

Decimal1447968

CSS RGBrgb(22, 24, 32)

CSS HSLhsl(228, 19%, 11%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

RAL

Black Blue 5004

ΔE 2.6 · #18171C

Vista Paint

Silent Sea C-514

ΔE 8.7 · #262627

Dulux

Black SG6G9

ΔE 8.7 · #242322

Kilz

Deep Onyx TB-40

ΔE 8.7 · #242322

Hallman-Lindsay

Silent Sea 515

ΔE 10.5 · #2A2B2C

Behr

Deep Space 750F-7

ΔE 12.2 · #253136

Sherwin-Williams

Tricorn Black SW6258

ΔE 12.3 · #2F2F30

IKEA

IKEA186 186

ΔE 12.7 · #302F2F

Benjamin Moore

Black HC-187

ΔE 13.1 · #252F2D

Colorhouse

Nourish .06 Nourish-06

ΔE 14.5 · #313536

Dutch Boy

Dark Chocolate D-6782

ΔE 15.6 · #392A27

Kobra

Black 44

ΔE 16 · #383737

Farrow & Ball

Pitch Black 256

ΔE 17.2 · #3B3938

Dunn-Edwards

Black DEA187

ΔE 17.3 · #3B3A3A

Valspar

Twilight Purple 4010-2

ΔE 17.3 · #3E3B46

PPG

Wright Midnight FLLW36

ΔE 19.4 · #404149

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 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

#161820

#211F17

Analogous

#171E21

#161820

#1A1721

Triadic

#161820

#211719

#192117

Split-Complementary

#161820

#211A17

#1E2117

Tetradic

#161820

#21171E

#211F17

#17211A

Monochromatic

#0A0B0F

#161820

#363B4F

#555D7C

Rectangle

#161820

#1F1721

#211F17

#192117

Compound

#161820

#1A1721

#211F17

#1E2117

Variations

Lighter

#3B4157

#646B8A

#A5A9BA

Darker

#12141B

#0C0D13

#07080B

Saturation

#1A1B1E

#171921

#0B122D

Interior Use

Best Rooms

bedrooms, bathrooms, home offices

Best Uses

main walls, ceilings, trim, cabinetry

Pairs With

warm white trim, oak or walnut, brass or matte black hardware

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

17.71:1

AAA

vs Black

1.19:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#161820

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#161820

#18181F

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#161820

#151918

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Focused · Cooling

River Styx lowers the temperature of a room — useful in south-facing rooms that overheat visually, and in home offices where you want a clear head. Pair with warm wood and brass to keep it from reading clinical.

SymbolismTrust, depth, stability

PersonalityClear-headed, dependable, contemplative

focustrustcalmofficebedroomdepth

How it looks under different light

#503F33

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#161820

Daylight 5500K

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

#3D4457

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EAEAEB

Trim

Matched off-white

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

#F7F7F7

Ceiling

Whisper tint

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

#393522

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: #161820;

CSS — background

background-color: #161820;

CSS Variable

--color-river-styx: #161820;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'river-styx': '#161820' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#161820] text-[#161820]

SCSS

$river-styx: #161820;

Similar Colors

Black

#2B2C2D · ΔE 10.9

Black Forest Green

#242E2C · ΔE 12.8

Velvet Cloak

#382930 · ΔE 13.0

Black

#313132 · ΔE 13.1

Bucktrout Brown

#352D2B · ΔE 13.9

Jet Black

#333334 · ΔE 14.0

Midnight Dream

#323436 · ΔE 14.0

Black Satin

#313435 · ΔE 14.1

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 #161820?

#161820 is River Styx, a near-black blue with a cool undertone.

Is #161820 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with River Styx?

River Styx works well in bedrooms, bathrooms, home offices. Designers typically use it for main walls, ceilings, trim, cabinetry.

What colors pair well with River Styx?

River Styx pairs naturally with warm white trim, oak or walnut, brass or matte black hardware. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download River Styx?

You can download River Styx 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 River Styx?

The hex code is #161820. In RGB it's 22, 24, 32, and in HSL it's 228°, 19%, 11%.

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