BLUES

Express Blue

#225389

RGB 34, 83, 137 · HSL 211°, 60%, 34% · CMYK 75, 39, 0, 46

Express Blue is #225389 in HEX — rgb(34, 83, 137), hsl(211°, 60%, 34%), cmyk(75%, 39%, 0%, 46%).

Express Blue pulls into the rich end of the blues spectrum — HSL 211°, 60%, 34%. The balanced saturation makes it confident without overpowering, 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#225389

RGB34, 83, 137

HSL211°, 60%, 34%

HSV211°, 75%, 54%

CMYK75, 39, 0, 46

Decimal2249609

CSS RGBrgb(34, 83, 137)

CSS HSLhsl(211, 60%, 34%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Behr

Express Blue M500-6

Exact match

Sherwin-Williams

Frank Blue SW6967

ΔE 0.5 · #225288

Kilz

Navy Dress RH210

ΔE 1.1 · #285489

Dulux

Blue Nude S39G8

ΔE 1.9 · #29548C

PPG

Brilliant Blue 1161-7

ΔE 3 · #234E86

Benjamin Moore

Blue 798

ΔE 3.4 · #305789

Vista Paint

Wavy Navy K-1245

ΔE 4.1 · #005488

Dunn-Edwards

Lapis DE5846

ΔE 5 · #165D95

Kobra

Blue 30

ΔE 5.5 · #195584

Hallman-Lindsay

Glacier Bay historic-glacier-bay

ΔE 5.6 · #005C94

RAL

Capri Blue 5019

ΔE 6 · #1B5583

Valspar

Deep Space 4008-8C

ΔE 6.4 · #38619B

Dutch Boy

Delft Blue 7447

ΔE 11.6 · #003B67

IKEA

IKEA128 128

ΔE 13.5 · #4A72B0

Colorhouse

Petal .05 Petal-05

ΔE 14 · #1F4992

Farrow & Ball

Pitch Blue 220

ΔE 19.6 · #636E8F

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

8/100

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

#225389

#8B5823

Analogous

#23898B

#225389

#24238B

Triadic

#225389

#8B2355

#558B23

Split-Complementary

#225389

#8B2423

#898B23

Tetradic

#225389

#8B2389

#8B5823

#238B24

Monochromatic

#050C14

#132F4E

#225389

#327AC8

#6CA1DA

Rectangle

#225389

#58238B

#8B5823

#558B23

Compound

#225389

#24238B

#8B5823

#898B23

Variations

Lighter

#3076C1

#6798CE

#ABC3DD

Darker

#1A4471

#102F4F

#091B2F

Saturation

#475666

#23558B

#11549C

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)

vs White

7.88:1

AAA

vs Black

2.67:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#225389

#324F8A

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#225389

#4D4D84

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#225389

#105E56

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Focused · Cooling

Express Blue 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

#596B82

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#225389

Daylight 5500K

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

#4670A6

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#E8EBED

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.

#6F4B24

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 / Regal Select Interior

Recommended Finishes

Eggshell (walls) · Pearl (trim) · Matte (ceiling)

Eggshell hides imperfections on main walls while keeping the color rich; pearl on trim adds subtle sheen and easier cleaning; flat matte on ceilings prevents glare.

Best Surfaces

Primary walls · Cabinetry · Doors · Mouldings

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

Standard primer is adequate.

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: #225389;

CSS — background

background-color: #225389;

CSS Variable

--color-express-blue: #225389;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'express-blue': '#225389' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#225389] text-[#225389]

SCSS

$express-blue: #225389;

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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 #225389?

#225389 is Express Blue, a deep blue with a cool undertone.

Is #225389 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Express Blue?

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

What colors pair well with Express Blue?

Express Blue 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 Express Blue?

You can download Express 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 Express Blue?

The hex code is #225389. In RGB it's 34, 83, 137, and in HSL it's 211°, 60%, 34%.

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