NEUTRALS

Soot

#383D42

RGB 56, 61, 66 · HSL 210°, 8%, 24% · CMYK 15, 8, 0, 74

Soot is #383D42 in HEX — rgb(56, 61, 66), hsl(210°, 8%, 24%), cmyk(15%, 8%, 0%, 74%).

Soot pulls into the deep end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 210°, 8%, 24%. The neutral saturation makes it near-neutral and forgiving, and the hue reads cool. In interior projects it shines on main walls, trims, ceilings — versatile across nearly any style. Reads best alongside soft whites, natural wood, matte black trim, linen.

Color Codes

HEX#383D42

RGB56, 61, 66

HSL210°, 8%, 24%

HSV210°, 15%, 26%

CMYK15, 8, 0, 74

Decimal3685698

CSS RGBrgb(56, 61, 66)

CSS HSLhsl(210, 8%, 24%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Benjamin Moore

Soot 2129-20

Exact match

Dulux

Oolong SG6D8

ΔE 0.7 · #383D43

Hallman-Lindsay

Octavius 522

ΔE 2.3 · #38393F

Vista Paint

Octavius C-521

ΔE 2.5 · #39393E

Kilz

Night Magic RM230

ΔE 2.6 · #3C4348

Valspar

Dark Kettle Black 4011-2

ΔE 2.7 · #3F4043

Behr

Private Black N530-7

ΔE 2.7 · #363F41

Dunn-Edwards

Dark Engine DE6350

ΔE 2.8 · #3E3F41

RAL

Black Green 6012

ΔE 3 · #343E40

Sherwin-Williams

Inkwell SW6992

ΔE 3.2 · #31363A

PPG

Napoleon 1013-7

ΔE 3.4 · #404149

Colorhouse

Nourish .06 Nourish-06

ΔE 4.5 · #313536

Kobra

Black 44

ΔE 4.7 · #383737

Farrow & Ball

Off-Black 57

ΔE 4.9 · #444546

IKEA

IKEA163 163

ΔE 7 · #423A45

Dutch Boy

Seal of Grey VS-9301

ΔE 12.1 · #575757

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

5/100

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

A near-neutral with a subtle cool violet undertone — it will pick up colour from surrounding surfaces and shift noticeably under different light.

Color Theory

Complementary

#383D42

#423D38

Analogous

#384242

#383D42

#383842

Triadic

#383D42

#42383D

#3D4238

Split-Complementary

#383D42

#423838

#424238

Tetradic

#383D42

#423842

#423D38

#384238

Monochromatic

#0C0D0E

#151719

#383D42

#5B636B

#808A93

Rectangle

#383D42

#3D3842

#423D38

#3D4238

Compound

#383D42

#383842

#423D38

#424238

Variations

Lighter

#5C646C

#838B93

#B7BBBF

Darker

#2D3135

#1F2225

#121415

Saturation

#3C3D3F

#383D42

#1C3D5E

Interior Use

Best Rooms

living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens

Best Uses

main walls, trim, accents

Pairs With

soft whites, natural wood, brass, matte black trim

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

10.97:1

AAA

vs Black

1.91:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#383D42

#3A3C42

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#383D42

#3C3C41

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#383D42

#383E3D

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Soot gets out of the way so the architecture and the people in the room do the work. The right neutral is never a default — it reads warm or cool, dusty or sharp depending on its undertone, and that undertone is what makes or breaks the room.

SymbolismBalance, sophistication, calm

PersonalityAdaptable, considered, timeless

versatileneutraltimelessbackdroptrimwall

How it looks under different light

#695A4D

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#383D42

Daylight 5500K

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

#575F71

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EAEBEB

Trim

Matched off-white

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

#F7F7F7

Ceiling

Whisper tint

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

#413427

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: #383D42;

CSS — background

background-color: #383D42;

CSS Variable

--color-soot: #383D42;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'soot': '#383D42' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#383D42] text-[#383D42]

SCSS

$soot: #383D42;

Similar Colors

Soot

#373C41 · ΔE 0.4

Black Berry

#3A3B3F · ΔE 1.9

Black Ink

#373A3D · ΔE 2.0

Midnight

#373D3F · ΔE 2.1

After Midnight

#33383E · ΔE 2.3

Black Iron

#3A3C3E · ΔE 2.3

Ebony King

#383A3C · ΔE 2.6

Toucan Black

#3C3B40 · ΔE 2.6

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 #383D42?

#383D42 is Soot, a deep neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #383D42 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Soot?

Soot works well in living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens. Designers typically use it for main walls, trim, accents.

What colors pair well with Soot?

Soot pairs naturally with soft whites, natural wood, brass, matte black trim. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Soot?

You can download Soot 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 Soot?

The hex code is #383D42. In RGB it's 56, 61, 66, and in HSL it's 210°, 8%, 24%.

← All colors