BLUES

Imperial Primer

#21303E

RGB 33, 48, 62 · HSL 209°, 31%, 19% · CMYK 47, 23, 0, 76

Imperial Primer is #21303E in HEX — rgb(33, 48, 62), hsl(209°, 31%, 19%), cmyk(47%, 23%, 0%, 76%).

Imperial Primer pulls into the deep end of the blues spectrum — HSL 209°, 31%, 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#21303E
RGB33, 48, 62
HSL209°, 31%, 19%
HSV209°, 47%, 24%
CMYK47, 23, 0, 76
Decimal2175038
CSS RGBrgb(33, 48, 62)
CSS HSLhsl(209, 31%, 19%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Sherwin-Williams

Anchors Aweigh SW9179

ΔE 3.2 · #2B3441

Behr

Sorcerer 760F-7

ΔE 3.5 · #2B3645

Dulux

Poor Knights NZ10F9

ΔE 3.7 · #2B3746

Benjamin Moore

North CC-932

ΔE 5.7 · #2C3C4D

Vista Paint

In the Navy K-800

ΔE 6.2 · #313B45

RAL

Ocean Blue 5020

ΔE 6.3 · #1D334A

Dunn-Edwards

Old Mill DEA185

ΔE 7.3 · #343B4E

Hallman-Lindsay

Octavius 522

ΔE 9 · #38393F

Kilz

Ruling Royalty TB-50

ΔE 9.7 · #313048

Valspar

Twilight Purple 4010-2

ΔE 9.7 · #3E3B46

Colorhouse

Nourish .06 Nourish-06

ΔE 9.9 · #313536

Kobra

Blue 31

ΔE 10.5 · #334059

PPG

Wright Midnight FLLW36

ΔE 10.9 · #404149

IKEA

IKEA186 186

ΔE 11.2 · #302F2F

Farrow & Ball

Pitch Black 256

ΔE 13 · #3B3938

Dutch Boy

Royal Blue D-6740

ΔE 15.7 · #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

#21303E
#3F3021

Analogous

#213F3F
#21303E
#21223F

Triadic

#21303E
#3F2131
#313F21

Split-Complementary

#21303E
#3F2122
#3F3F21

Tetradic

#21303E
#3F213F
#3F3021
#223F21

Monochromatic

#090D11
#090D11
#21303E
#3C5872
#567EA4

Rectangle

#21303E
#30213F
#3F3021
#313F21

Compound

#21303E
#21223F
#3F3021
#3F3F21

Variations

Lighter

#3E5B76
#6284A4
#A7B7C6

Darker

#1A2733
#121B24
#0A1015

Saturation

#2C3135
#21313F
#113250

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

13.49:1

AAA

Aa

vs Black

1.56:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#21303E
#272D3E

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#21303E
#2E2E3C

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#21303E
#203230

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Focused · Cooling

Imperial Primer 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

#58514A

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#21303E

Daylight 5500K

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

#45566E

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.

#3A2D22

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: #21303E;
CSS — background 
background-color: #21303E;
CSS Variable 
--color-imperial-primer: #21303E;
Tailwind v3 — config 
colors: { 'imperial-primer': '#21303E' }
Tailwind — arbitrary 
bg-[#21303E] text-[#21303E]
SCSS 
$imperial-primer: #21303E;

Similar Colors

North Sea

#2B3B4C · ΔE 5.3

Deep Royal

#2F394B · ΔE 5.6

Old Navy

#2E3549 · ΔE 6.1

Polo Blue

#323A43 · ΔE 6.4

After Midnight

#33383E · ΔE 7.7

Deep Mulberry

#3C3845 · ΔE 9.1

Soot

#373C41 · ΔE 9.2

Twilight

#254455 · ΔE 9.5
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 #21303E?

#21303E is Imperial Primer, a near-black blue with a cool undertone.

Is #21303E warm or cool?

Imperial Primer reads cool, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Imperial Primer?

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

What colors pair well with Imperial Primer?

Imperial Primer 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 Imperial Primer?

You can download Imperial Primer 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 Imperial Primer?

The hex code is #21303E. In RGB it's 33, 48, 62, and in HSL it's 209°, 31%, 19%.

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