NEUTRALS

Inkwell Inception

#1E1E21

RGB 30, 30, 33 · HSL 240°, 5%, 12% · CMYK 9, 9, 0, 87

Inkwell Inception is #1E1E21 in HEX — rgb(30, 30, 33), hsl(240°, 5%, 12%), cmyk(9%, 9%, 0%, 87%).

Inkwell Inception pulls into the deep end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 240°, 5%, 12%. The neutral saturation makes it near-neutral and forgiving, and the hue reads cool. In interior projects it shines on main walls, trims, ceilings — versatile across nearly any style. Reads best alongside soft whites, natural wood, matte black trim, linen.

Color Codes

HEX#1E1E21
RGB30, 30, 33
HSL240°, 5%, 12%
HSV240°, 9%, 13%
CMYK9, 9, 0, 87
Decimal1973793
CSS RGBrgb(30, 30, 33)
CSS HSLhsl(240, 5%, 12%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

RAL

Graphite Black 9011

ΔE 2.5 · #1C1C1C

Dulux

Black SG6G9

ΔE 3.8 · #242322

Kilz

Deep Onyx TB-40

ΔE 3.8 · #242322

Vista Paint

Silent Sea C-514

ΔE 4.1 · #262627

Hallman-Lindsay

Silent Sea 515

ΔE 6.3 · #2A2B2C

Sherwin-Williams

Tricorn Black SW6258

ΔE 8.2 · #2F2F30

IKEA

IKEA186 186

ΔE 8.4 · #302F2F

Behr

Beluga 770F-7

ΔE 8.9 · #273031

Benjamin Moore

Black HC-187

ΔE 9.2 · #252F2D

Colorhouse

Nourish .06 Nourish-06

ΔE 10.7 · #313536

Dutch Boy

Dark Chocolate D-6782

ΔE 11.4 · #392A27

Kobra

Black 44

ΔE 12 · #383737

Farrow & Ball

Pitch Black 256

ΔE 13.1 · #3B3938

Dunn-Edwards

Black DEA187

ΔE 13.3 · #3B3A3A

Valspar

Twilight Purple 4010-2

ΔE 15.1 · #3E3B46

PPG

Black Magic 1001-7

ΔE 16 · #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

TemperatureNeutral MasstoneBlue UndertoneViolet

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#1E1E21
#20201D

Analogous

#1D1F20
#1E1E21
#1F1D20

Triadic

#1E1E21
#201D1D
#1D201D

Split-Complementary

#1E1E21
#201F1D
#1F201D

Tetradic

#1E1E21
#201D1F
#20201D
#1D201F

Monochromatic

#0C0C0D
#0C0C0D
#1E1E21
#414148
#666670

Rectangle

#1E1E21
#201D20
#20201D
#1D201D

Compound

#1E1E21
#1F1D20
#20201D
#1F201D

Variations

Lighter

#48484F
#73737D
#AEAEB3

Darker

#17171A
#101012
#09090A

Saturation

#1E1E1F
#1D1D20
#0F0F2F

Interior Use

Best Rooms

living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens

Best Uses

main walls, trim, accents

Pairs With

soft whites, natural wood, brass, matte black trim

Accessibility (WCAG)

Aa

vs White

16.63:1

AAA

Aa

vs Black

1.26:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#1E1E21
#1E1E21

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#1E1E21
#1E1E21

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#1E1E21
#1E1E1E

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Inkwell Inception gets out of the way so the architecture and the people in the room do the work. The right neutral is never a default — it reads warm or cool, dusty or sharp depending on its undertone, and that undertone is what makes or breaks the room.

SymbolismBalance, sophistication, calm
PersonalityAdaptable, considered, timeless
versatileneutraltimelessbackdroptrimwall

How it looks under different light

#564334

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#1E1E21

Daylight 5500K

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

#434858

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.

#393922

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: #1E1E21;
CSS — background 
background-color: #1E1E21;
CSS Variable 
--color-inkwell-inception: #1E1E21;
Tailwind v3 — config 
colors: { 'inkwell-inception': '#1E1E21' }
Tailwind — arbitrary 
bg-[#1E1E21] text-[#1E1E21]
SCSS 
$inkwell-inception: #1E1E21;

Similar Colors

Black

#2B2C2D · ΔE 6.8

Black Forest Green

#242E2C · ΔE 8.8

Black

#313132 · ΔE 9.1

Bucktrout Brown

#352D2B · ΔE 9.5

Jet Black

#333334 · ΔE 10.0

Midnight Dream

#323436 · ΔE 10.3

Black Satin

#313435 · ΔE 10.3

Velvet Cloak

#382930 · ΔE 10.4
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 #1E1E21?

#1E1E21 is Inkwell Inception, a near-black neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #1E1E21 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Inkwell Inception?

Inkwell Inception works well in living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens. Designers typically use it for main walls, trim, accents.

What colors pair well with Inkwell Inception?

Inkwell Inception pairs naturally with soft whites, natural wood, brass, matte black trim. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Inkwell Inception?

You can download Inkwell Inception 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 Inkwell Inception?

The hex code is #1E1E21. In RGB it's 30, 30, 33, and in HSL it's 240°, 5%, 12%.

← All colors