BLUES

Blue Coal

#2B3040

RGB 43, 48, 64 · HSL 226°, 20%, 21% · CMYK 33, 25, 0, 75

Blue Coal is #2B3040 in HEX — rgb(43, 48, 64), hsl(226°, 20%, 21%), cmyk(33%, 25%, 0%, 75%).

Blue Coal pulls into the deep end of the blues spectrum — HSL 226°, 20%, 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#2B3040

RGB43, 48, 64

HSL226°, 20%, 21%

HSV226°, 33%, 25%

CMYK33, 25, 0, 75

Decimal2830400

CSS RGBrgb(43, 48, 64)

CSS HSLhsl(226, 20%, 21%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Atlantic Charter S42A9

ΔE 0.7 · #2B3041

Sherwin-Williams

Anchors Aweigh SW9179

ΔE 3.1 · #2B3441

Behr

Sorcerer 760F-7

ΔE 3.4 · #2B3645

Benjamin Moore

Old 2063-10

ΔE 3.7 · #2F364A

Dunn-Edwards

Old Mill DEA185

ΔE 5.2 · #343B4E

Kilz

Ruling Royalty TB-50

ΔE 6.1 · #313048

Vista Paint

In the Navy K-800

ΔE 6.6 · #313B45

RAL

Ocean Blue 5020

ΔE 6.8 · #1D334A

Valspar

Twilight Purple 4010-2

ΔE 7.3 · #3E3B46

Hallman-Lindsay

Octavius 522

ΔE 8.1 · #38393F

IKEA

IKEA163 163

ΔE 8.5 · #423A45

Kobra

Blue 31

ΔE 9.1 · #334059

PPG

Victory Blue 1165-7

ΔE 9.6 · #3A405A

Colorhouse

Nourish .06 Nourish-06

ΔE 10.4 · #313536

Farrow & Ball

Paean Black 294

ΔE 12.2 · #494248

Dutch Boy

Royal Blue D-6740

ΔE 14.7 · #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

#2B3040

#403B2B

Analogous

#2B3B40

#2B3040

#312B40

Triadic

#2B3040

#402B30

#30402B

Split-Complementary

#2B3040

#40312B

#3B402B

Tetradic

#2B3040

#402B3B

#403B2B

#2B4031

Monochromatic

#0A0B0F

#0C0E12

#2B3040

#49526E

#69759B

Rectangle

#2B3040

#3B2B40

#403B2B

#30402B

Compound

#2B3040

#312B40

#403B2B

#3B402B

Variations

Lighter

#4B5471

#727B9B

#AFB3C2

Darker

#222634

#171A24

#0D0F15

Saturation

#323439

#2B3040

#152456

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

13.13:1

AAA

vs Black

1.60:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#2B3040

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#2B3040

#2F2F3E

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#2B3040

#293331

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Focused · Cooling

Blue Coal 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

#60514B

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#2B3040

Daylight 5500K

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

#4D566F

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.

#393422

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: #2B3040;

CSS — background

background-color: #2B3040;

CSS Variable

--color-blue-coal: #2B3040;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'blue-coal': '#2B3040' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#2B3040] text-[#2B3040]

SCSS

$blue-coal: #2B3040;

Similar Colors

Old Navy

#2E3549 · ΔE 3.4

Deep Royal

#2F394B · ΔE 4.3

North Sea

#2B3B4C · ΔE 5.8

Deep Mulberry

#3C3845 · ΔE 6.0

Polo Blue

#323A43 · ΔE 6.6

After Midnight

#33383E · ΔE 7.7

Blackberry Punch

#3F4150 · ΔE 8.0

Tulsa Twilight

#3B3339 · ΔE 9.0

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 #2B3040?

#2B3040 is Blue Coal, a deep blue with a cool undertone.

Is #2B3040 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Blue Coal?

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

What colors pair well with Blue Coal?

Blue Coal 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 Blue Coal?

You can download Blue Coal 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 Blue Coal?

The hex code is #2B3040. In RGB it's 43, 48, 64, and in HSL it's 226°, 20%, 21%.

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