BLUES

Blue Whale

#1E3442

RGB 30, 52, 66 · HSL 203°, 38%, 19% · CMYK 55, 21, 0, 74

Blue Whale is #1E3442 in HEX — rgb(30, 52, 66), hsl(203°, 38%, 19%), cmyk(55%, 21%, 0%, 74%).

Blue Whale pulls into the deep end of the blues spectrum — HSL 203°, 38%, 19%. The muted saturation makes it quiet but present, 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#1E3442
RGB30, 52, 66
HSL203°, 38%, 19%
HSV203°, 55%, 26%
CMYK55, 21, 0, 74
Decimal1979458
CSS RGBrgb(30, 52, 66)
CSS HSLhsl(203, 38%, 19%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Adept S36B9

ΔE 3.4 · #293A47

Sherwin-Williams

In the Navy SW9178

ΔE 3.8 · #283849

Behr

Sorcerer 760F-7

ΔE 4.2 · #2B3645

Benjamin Moore

North CC-932

ΔE 5 · #2C3C4D

Vista Paint

In the Navy K-800

ΔE 6.1 · #313B45

RAL

Ocean Blue 5020

ΔE 6.4 · #1D334A

Dunn-Edwards

Old Mill DEA185

ΔE 7.8 · #343B4E

Hallman-Lindsay

Octavius 522

ΔE 9.8 · #38393F

PPG

Sailor's Coat 1153-7

ΔE 10.1 · #334B58

Kobra

Blue 31

ΔE 10.3 · #334059

Colorhouse

Nourish .06 Nourish-06

ΔE 10.6 · #313536

Valspar

Twilight Purple 4010-2

ΔE 10.7 · #3E3B46

Kilz

Night Magic RM230

ΔE 10.8 · #3C4348

Farrow & Ball

Hague Blue 30

ΔE 12.2 · #3D4E57

IKEA

IKEA186 186

ΔE 12.5 · #302F2F

Dutch Boy

Royal Blue D-6740

ΔE 15.8 · #1D375C

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

3/100

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

#1E3442
#432C1E

Analogous

#1E433F
#1E3442
#1E2243

Triadic

#1E3442
#431E35
#35431E

Split-Complementary

#1E3442
#431E22
#433F1E

Tetradic

#1E3442
#3F1E43
#432C1E
#22431E

Monochromatic

#080E12
#080E12
#1E3442
#365E78
#4D88AC

Rectangle

#1E3442
#2C1E43
#432C1E
#35431E

Compound

#1E3442
#1E2243
#432C1E
#433F1E

Variations

Lighter

#38627C
#5B8CAB
#A3BBCA

Darker

#172A36
#101D26
#091116

Saturation

#2B3236
#1E3543
#0F3852

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)

Aa

vs White

12.92:1

AAA

Aa

vs Black

1.63:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#1E3442
#292F42

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#1E3442
#313140

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#1E3442
#1D3634

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Focused · Cooling

Blue Whale 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

#56544D

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#1E3442

Daylight 5500K

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

#435971

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#E9EBEC

Trim

Matched off-white

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

#F7F7F8

Ceiling

Whisper tint

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

#3D2A1F

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: #1E3442;
CSS — background 
background-color: #1E3442;
CSS Variable 
--color-blue-whale: #1E3442;
Tailwind v3 — config 
colors: { 'blue-whale': '#1E3442' }
Tailwind — arbitrary 
bg-[#1E3442] text-[#1E3442]
SCSS 
$blue-whale: #1E3442;

Similar Colors

North Sea

#2B3B4C · ΔE 4.7

Deep Royal

#2F394B · ΔE 6.1

Polo Blue

#323A43 · ΔE 6.7

Old Navy

#2E3549 · ΔE 7.3

Twilight

#254455 · ΔE 7.3

Hidden Sapphire

#023B4E · ΔE 7.3

Washington Blue

#304656 · ΔE 8.1

After Midnight

#33383E · ΔE 8.3
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 #1E3442?

#1E3442 is Blue Whale, a near-black blue with a cool undertone.

Is #1E3442 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Blue Whale?

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

What colors pair well with Blue Whale?

Blue Whale 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 Blue Whale?

You can download Blue Whale 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 Blue Whale?

The hex code is #1E3442. In RGB it's 30, 52, 66, and in HSL it's 203°, 38%, 19%.

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