BLUES

Black Howl

#202030

RGB 32, 32, 48 · HSL 240°, 20%, 16% · CMYK 33, 33, 0, 81

Black Howl is #202030 in HEX — rgb(32, 32, 48), hsl(240°, 20%, 16%), cmyk(33%, 33%, 0%, 81%).

Black Howl pulls into the deep end of the blues spectrum — HSL 240°, 20%, 16%. 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#202030
RGB32, 32, 48
HSL240°, 20%, 16%
HSV240°, 33%, 19%
CMYK33, 33, 0, 81
Decimal2105392
CSS RGBrgb(32, 32, 48)
CSS HSLhsl(240, 20%, 16%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

RAL

Saphire Blue 5003

ΔE 3.8 · #1D1E33

Dulux

Deep Universe S43C9

ΔE 6.2 · #2F2B3E

Behr

Dark Burgundy Wine BXC-09

ΔE 9.2 · #353343

Kilz

Ruling Royalty TB-50

ΔE 9.3 · #313048

Sherwin-Williams

Anchors Aweigh SW9179

ΔE 9.8 · #2B3441

Benjamin Moore

Old 2063-10

ΔE 10.4 · #2F364A

Vista Paint

Silent Sea C-514

ΔE 11 · #262627

Hallman-Lindsay

Silent Sea 515

ΔE 11.8 · #2A2B2C

Dunn-Edwards

Old Mill DEA185

ΔE 12.4 · #343B4E

IKEA

IKEA186 186

ΔE 13.2 · #302F2F

Valspar

Twilight Purple 4010-2

ΔE 13.3 · #3E3B46

Colorhouse

Nourish .06 Nourish-06

ΔE 14.2 · #313536

Kobra

Black 44

ΔE 15.4 · #383737

PPG

Victory Blue 1165-7

ΔE 15.7 · #3A405A

Dutch Boy

Dark Chocolate D-6782

ΔE 16.4 · #392A27

Farrow & Ball

Pitch Black 256

ΔE 16.5 · #3B3938

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

2/100

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

#202030
#313121

Analogous

#212931
#202030
#292131

Triadic

#202030
#312121
#213121

Split-Complementary

#202030
#312921
#293121

Tetradic

#202030
#312129
#313121
#213129

Monochromatic

#0A0A0F
#0A0A0F
#202030
#3F3F5F
#5E5E8D

Rectangle

#202030
#312131
#313121
#213121

Compound

#202030
#292131
#313121
#293121

Variations

Lighter

#434364
#696994
#AAAABF

Darker

#1A1A27
#12121B
#0A0A10

Saturation

#26262B
#212131
#101041

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

16.02:1

AAA

Aa

vs Black

1.31:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#202030
#1D2230

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#202030
#20202E

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#202030
#1E2321

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Focused · Cooling

Black Howl 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

#57453F

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#202030

Daylight 5500K

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

#454A63

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.

#F7F7F8

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: #202030;
CSS — background 
background-color: #202030;
CSS Variable 
--color-black-howl: #202030;
Tailwind v3 — config 
colors: { 'black-howl': '#202030' }
Tailwind — arbitrary 
bg-[#202030] text-[#202030]
SCSS 
$black-howl: #202030;

Similar Colors

Old Navy

#2E3549 · ΔE 10.0

Velvet Cloak

#382930 · ΔE 11.0

Deep Royal

#2F394B · ΔE 11.6

Deep Mulberry

#3C3845 · ΔE 11.9

Black

#2B2C2D · ΔE 12.0

Tulsa Twilight

#3B3339 · ΔE 12.4

North Sea

#2B3B4C · ΔE 12.9

Majestic Violet

#3A3450 · 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 #202030?

#202030 is Black Howl, a near-black blue with a cool undertone.

Is #202030 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Black Howl?

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

What colors pair well with Black Howl?

Black Howl 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 Black Howl?

You can download Black Howl 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 Howl?

The hex code is #202030. In RGB it's 32, 32, 48, and in HSL it's 240°, 20%, 16%.

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