BLUES

Cold Steel

#262335

RGB 38, 35, 53 · HSL 250°, 20%, 17% · CMYK 28, 34, 0, 79

Cold Steel is #262335 in HEX — rgb(38, 35, 53), hsl(250°, 20%, 17%), cmyk(28%, 34%, 0%, 79%).

Cold Steel pulls into the deep end of the blues spectrum — HSL 250°, 20%, 17%. 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#262335

RGB38, 35, 53

HSL250°, 20%, 17%

HSV250°, 34%, 21%

CMYK28, 34, 0, 79

Decimal2499381

CSS RGBrgb(38, 35, 53)

CSS HSLhsl(250, 20%, 17%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

RAL

Saphire Blue 5003

ΔE 3.8 · #1D1E33

Dulux

Deep Universe S43C9

ΔE 3.9 · #2F2B3E

Kilz

Ruling Royalty TB-50

ΔE 7.1 · #313048

Behr

Dark Burgundy Wine BXC-09

ΔE 7.6 · #353343

Benjamin Moore

Old 2063-10

ΔE 9 · #2F364A

Sherwin-Williams

Anchors Aweigh SW9179

ΔE 9.4 · #2B3441

Dunn-Edwards

Old Mill DEA185

ΔE 11 · #343B4E

Vista Paint

Eleanor Ann C-1228

ΔE 11.8 · #3E343B

Valspar

Twilight Purple 4010-2

ΔE 12.1 · #3E3B46

IKEA

IKEA163 163

ΔE 12.2 · #423A45

Hallman-Lindsay

Plum Island historic-plum-island

ΔE 12.5 · #463C4E

PPG

Victory Blue 1165-7

ΔE 13.9 · #3A405A

Kobra

Blue 31

ΔE 14 · #334059

Colorhouse

Nourish .06 Nourish-06

ΔE 14.5 · #313536

Farrow & Ball

Pitch Black 256

ΔE 16.3 · #3B3938

Dutch Boy

Royal Blue D-6740

ΔE 16.3 · #1D375C

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

#262335

#313423

Analogous

#232834

#262335

#2E2334

Triadic

#262335

#342623

#233426

Split-Complementary

#262335

#342E23

#283423

Tetradic

#262335

#342328

#313423

#23342E

Monochromatic

#0B0A0F

#262335

#474162

#686090

Rectangle

#262335

#342331

#313423

#233426

Compound

#262335

#2E2334

#313423

#283423

Variations

Lighter

#4A4567

#726A96

#AEABBF

Darker

#1E1B2A

#14131D

#0C0B11

Saturation

#2A292E

#262334

#1A1145

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

15.28:1

AAA

vs Black

1.37:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#262335

#212635

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#262335

#242433

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#262335

#242725

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Focused · Cooling

Cold Steel 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

#5C4743

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#262335

Daylight 5500K

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

#494C67

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.

#363922

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: #262335;

CSS — background

background-color: #262335;

CSS Variable

--color-cold-steel: #262335;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'cold-steel': '#262335' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#262335] text-[#262335]

SCSS

$cold-steel: #262335;

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#2E3549 · ΔE 8.6

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Deep Mulberry

#3C3845 · ΔE 10.4

Deep Royal

#2F394B · ΔE 10.5

Majestic Violet

#3A3450 · ΔE 10.5

Exotic Purple

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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 #262335?

#262335 is Cold Steel, a near-black blue with a cool undertone.

Is #262335 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Cold Steel?

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

What colors pair well with Cold Steel?

Cold Steel 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 Cold Steel?

You can download Cold Steel 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 Cold Steel?

The hex code is #262335. In RGB it's 38, 35, 53, and in HSL it's 250°, 20%, 17%.

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