BROWNS

Tetsu-Guro Black

#281A14

RGB 40, 26, 20 · HSL 18°, 33%, 12% · CMYK 0, 35, 50, 84

Tetsu-Guro Black is #281A14 in HEX — rgb(40, 26, 20), hsl(18°, 33%, 12%), cmyk(0%, 35%, 50%, 84%).

Tetsu-Guro Black pulls into the deep end of the browns spectrum — HSL 18°, 33%, 12%. The muted saturation makes it quiet but present, and the hue reads warm. In interior projects it shines on trim, cabinetry, leather goods, wood accents — for warmth and weight. Reads best alongside cream walls, off-white linen, brass, soft black.

Color Codes

HEX#281A14
RGB40, 26, 20
HSL18°, 33%, 12%
HSV18°, 50%, 16%
CMYK0, 35, 50, 84
Decimal2628116
CSS RGBrgb(40, 26, 20)
CSS HSLhsl(18, 33%, 12%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

RAL

Olive Drab 6022

ΔE 6.7 · #25221B

Dutch Boy

Dark Chocolate D-6782

ΔE 8.1 · #392A27

Kilz

Deep Onyx TB-40

ΔE 8.8 · #242322

Dulux

Black SG6G9

ΔE 8.8 · #242322

Benjamin Moore

Wenge AF-180

ΔE 10.1 · #3D2E2C

Sherwin-Williams

Raisin SW7630

ΔE 10.1 · #392B2D

Vista Paint

Kitty Kitty K-784

ΔE 10.3 · #282728

Colorhouse

Wood .06 Wood-06

ΔE 11.2 · #312F24

Hallman-Lindsay

Silent Sea 515

ΔE 11.9 · #2A2B2C

IKEA

IKEA186 186

ΔE 12.3 · #302F2F

Behr

Bitter Chocolate 790B-7

ΔE 13 · #393432

Kobra

Black 44

ΔE 15.1 · #383737

Farrow & Ball

Pitch Black 256

ΔE 15.5 · #3B3938

Dunn-Edwards

Black DEA187

ΔE 16.2 · #3B3A3A

Valspar

Antique Burgundy 1011-8

ΔE 17.2 · #493C3F

PPG

Black Magic 1001-7

ΔE 18.5 · #414040

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

1/100

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

TemperatureWarm MasstoneOrange UndertoneYellow

Reads as a warm orange with a yellow undertone showing through, especially in daylight. Pair trim and adjacent colours to either calm or amplify that undertone.

Color Theory

Complementary

#281A14
#152329

Analogous

#291519
#281A14
#292515

Triadic

#281A14
#15291B
#1B1529

Split-Complementary

#281A14
#152925
#151929

Tetradic

#281A14
#192915
#152329
#251529

Monochromatic

#110B09
#110B09
#281A14
#5C3C2E
#8E5D48

Rectangle

#281A14
#232915
#152329
#1B1529

Compound

#281A14
#292515
#152329
#151929

Variations

Lighter

#644233
#9A6B57
#C3A99E

Darker

#211510
#170E0B
#0E0806

Saturation

#221D1C
#291B15
#33160A

Interior Use

Best Rooms

living rooms, libraries, dens

Best Uses

trim, cabinetry, leather goods, wood accents

Pairs With

cream walls, off-white linen, brass, soft black

Accessibility (WCAG)

Aa

vs White

16.83:1

AAA

Aa

vs Black

1.25:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#281A14
#211F14

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#281A14
#1D1D15

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#281A14
#28191B

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Grounded · Earthy

Tetsu-Guro Black grounds a scheme — it gives the eye a place to rest and frames brighter colors around it. Use it on trim, cabinetry, leather goods, and structural wood elements; for walls it works in libraries and dens that want gravity.

SymbolismStability, comfort, tradition
PersonalityReliable, warm, considered
earthywarmlibrarytrimcabinetrygrounded

How it looks under different light

#5D402A

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#281A14

Daylight 5500K

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

#4B454E

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#ECEAE9

Trim

Matched off-white

Same hue at 92% lightness — trim reads coordinated, not stark.

#F8F7F7

Ceiling

Whisper tint

Near-white with a hint of the hero's undertone — ceiling feels intentional.

#21333B

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: #281A14;
CSS — background 
background-color: #281A14;
CSS Variable 
--color-tetsu-guro-black: #281A14;
Tailwind v3 — config 
colors: { 'tetsu-guro-black': '#281A14' }
Tailwind — arbitrary 
bg-[#281A14] text-[#281A14]
SCSS 
$tetsu-guro-black: #281A14;

Similar Colors

Wenge

#3C2D2B · ΔE 9.7

Bucktrout Brown

#352D2B · ΔE 9.8

Espresso Bean

#3B3230 · ΔE 11.8

Velvet Cloak

#382930 · ΔE 11.9

Black

#2B2C2D · ΔE 12.1

Caponata

#453133 · ΔE 13.1

Black

#313132 · ΔE 13.4

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#433731 · ΔE 13.5
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 #281A14?

#281A14 is Tetsu-Guro Black, a near-black brown with a warm undertone.

Is #281A14 warm or cool?

Tetsu-Guro Black reads warm, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Tetsu-Guro Black?

Tetsu-Guro Black works well in living rooms, libraries, dens. Designers typically use it for trim, cabinetry, leather goods, wood accents.

What colors pair well with Tetsu-Guro Black?

Tetsu-Guro Black pairs naturally with cream walls, off-white linen, brass, soft black. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Tetsu-Guro Black?

You can download Tetsu-Guro Black 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 Tetsu-Guro Black?

The hex code is #281A14. In RGB it's 40, 26, 20, and in HSL it's 18°, 33%, 12%.

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