BLUES

Tarawera

#253C48

RGB 37, 60, 72 · HSL 201°, 32%, 21% · CMYK 49, 17, 0, 72

Tarawera is #253C48 in HEX — rgb(37, 60, 72), hsl(201°, 32%, 21%), cmyk(49%, 17%, 0%, 72%).

Tarawera pulls into the deep end of the blues spectrum — HSL 201°, 32%, 21%. 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#253C48

RGB37, 60, 72

HSL201°, 32%, 21%

HSV201°, 49%, 28%

CMYK49, 17, 0, 72

Decimal2440264

CSS RGBrgb(37, 60, 72)

CSS HSLhsl(201, 32%, 21%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Bakos Blue S34B9

ΔE 1.9 · #27404B

Behr

Ink Black N490-7

ΔE 3.1 · #2F3E4A

Sherwin-Williams

Dark Night SW6237

ΔE 3.8 · #23383F

Benjamin Moore

North CC-932

ΔE 4.5 · #2C3C4D

Vista Paint

Puerto Deseado K-160

ΔE 4.6 · #303D44

PPG

Sailor's Coat 1153-7

ΔE 6.5 · #334B58

RAL

Green Blue 5001

ΔE 6.6 · #1F3438

Dunn-Edwards

Old Mill DEA185

ΔE 7.9 · #343B4E

Kilz

Night Magic RM230

ΔE 8.2 · #3C4348

Hallman-Lindsay

Atlantic Waves 473

ΔE 8.2 · #264243

Farrow & Ball

Hague Blue 30

ΔE 8.6 · #3D4E57

Valspar

Royal Navy 4011-4

ΔE 8.7 · #414A55

Colorhouse

Nourish .06 Nourish-06

ΔE 9.9 · #313536

Kobra

Blue 31

ΔE 10.2 · #334059

IKEA

IKEA163 163

ΔE 12.2 · #423A45

Dutch Boy

Dark Green D-6751

ΔE 16.4 · #214136

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

4/100

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

#253C48

#473024

Analogous

#244742

#253C48

#242A47

Triadic

#253C48

#47243B

#3B4724

Split-Complementary

#253C48

#47242A

#474224

Tetradic

#253C48

#422447

#473024

#2A4724

Monochromatic

#090E11

#0A1114

#253C48

#3E6579

#5A8EAA

Rectangle

#253C48

#302447

#473024

#3B4724

Compound

#253C48

#242A47

#473024

#474224

Variations

Lighter

#40677C

#6590A7

#A9BDC8

Darker

#1C2F39

#132128

#0B1317

Saturation

#30373B

#243B47

#124059

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

11.55:1

AAA

vs Black

1.82:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#253C48

#313749

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#253C48

#393947

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#253C48

#243E3C

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Focused · Cooling

Tarawera 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

#5B5A51

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#253C48

Daylight 5500K

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

#485F75

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.

#3A2A21

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

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: #253C48;

CSS — background

background-color: #253C48;

CSS Variable

--color-tarawera: #253C48;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'tarawera': '#253C48' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#253C48] text-[#253C48]

SCSS

$tarawera: #253C48;

Similar Colors

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#2B3B4C · ΔE 4.5

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#254455 · ΔE 4.9

Washington Blue

#304656 · ΔE 5.3

Polo Blue

#323A43 · ΔE 5.5

Pacific Sea Teal

#274043 · ΔE 6.5

Deep Royal

#2F394B · ΔE 6.6

River Blue

#254952 · ΔE 6.9

Teal

#144552 · ΔE 7.1

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 #253C48?

#253C48 is Tarawera, a deep blue with a cool undertone.

Is #253C48 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Tarawera?

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

What colors pair well with Tarawera?

Tarawera 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 Tarawera?

You can download Tarawera 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 Tarawera?

The hex code is #253C48. In RGB it's 37, 60, 72, and in HSL it's 201°, 32%, 21%.

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