BLACKS

Black Blue

#18171C

RGB 24, 23, 28 · HSL 252°, 10%, 10% · CMYK 14, 18, 0, 89

Black Blue is #18171C in HEX — rgb(24, 23, 28), hsl(252°, 10%, 10%), cmyk(14%, 18%, 0%, 89%).

Black Blue pulls into the deep end of the blacks spectrum — HSL 252°, 10%, 10%. The neutral saturation makes it near-neutral and forgiving, 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#18171C

RGB24, 23, 28

HSL252°, 10%, 10%

HSV252°, 18%, 11%

CMYK14, 18, 0, 89

Decimal1578780

CSS RGBrgb(24, 23, 28)

CSS HSLhsl(252, 10%, 10%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

RAL

Black Blue 5004

Exact match

Dulux

Te Kuiti NZ10H1

ΔE 7.3 · #242322

Kilz

Deep Onyx TB-40

ΔE 7.3 · #242322

Vista Paint

Silent Sea C-514

ΔE 7.8 · #262627

Hallman-Lindsay

Silent Sea 515

ΔE 10 · #2A2B2C

Sherwin-Williams

Tricorn Black SW6258

ΔE 11.8 · #2F2F30

IKEA

IKEA186 186

ΔE 12.1 · #302F2F

Behr

Beluga 770F-7

ΔE 12.4 · #273031

Benjamin Moore

Black HC-187

ΔE 12.7 · #252F2D

Dutch Boy

Dark Chocolate D-6782

ΔE 14.1 · #392A27

Colorhouse

Nourish .06 Nourish-06

ΔE 14.3 · #313536

Kobra

Black 44

ΔE 15.6 · #383737

Farrow & Ball

Pitch Black 256

ΔE 16.7 · #3B3938

Dunn-Edwards

Black DEA187

ΔE 16.9 · #3B3A3A

Valspar

Twilight Purple 4010-2

ΔE 17.9 · #3E3B46

PPG

Black Magic 1001-7

ΔE 19.5 · #414040

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

A near-neutral with a subtle cool violet undertone — it will pick up colour from surrounding surfaces and shift noticeably under different light.

Color Theory

Complementary

#18171C

#1B1C17

Analogous

#17181C

#18171C

#1B171C

Triadic

#18171C

#1C1817

#171C18

Split-Complementary

#18171C

#1C1B17

#181C17

Tetradic

#18171C

#1C1718

#1B1C17

#171C1B

Monochromatic

#0C0B0E

#18171C

#3C3946

#605C70

Rectangle

#18171C

#1C171B

#1B1C17

#171C18

Compound

#18171C

#1B171C

#1B1C17

#181C17

Variations

Lighter

#43404F

#6F6B7F

#ABA9B4

Darker

#131217

#0D0C10

#080709

Saturation

#19191A

#18171C

#110B28

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

17.82:1

AAA

vs Black

1.18:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#18171C

#17181C

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#18171C

#17171B

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#18171C

#181817

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Dramatic · Grounding

Black Blue 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

#513E30

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#18171C

Daylight 5500K

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

#3F4354

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.

#353922

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: #18171C;

CSS — background

background-color: #18171C;

CSS Variable

--color-black-blue: #18171C;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'black-blue': '#18171C' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#18171C] text-[#18171C]

SCSS

$black-blue: #18171C;

Similar Colors

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#2B2C2D · ΔE 10.4

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#242E2C · ΔE 12.4

Velvet Cloak

#382930 · ΔE 12.5

Black

#313132 · ΔE 12.7

Bucktrout Brown

#352D2B · ΔE 12.8

Jet Black

#333334 · ΔE 13.6

Midnight Dream

#323436 · ΔE 13.8

Black Satin

#313435 · ΔE 13.9

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 #18171C?

#18171C is Black Blue, a near-black black with a cool undertone.

Is #18171C warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Black Blue?

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

What colors pair well with Black Blue?

Black Blue 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 Blue?

You can download Black Blue 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 Blue?

The hex code is #18171C. In RGB it's 24, 23, 28, and in HSL it's 252°, 10%, 10%.

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