BROWNS

Brown

#3E2417

RGB 62, 36, 23 · HSL 20°, 46%, 17% · CMYK 0, 42, 63, 76

Brown is #3E2417 in HEX — rgb(62, 36, 23), hsl(20°, 46%, 17%), cmyk(0%, 42%, 63%, 76%).

Brown pulls into the deep end of the browns spectrum — HSL 20°, 46%, 17%. The balanced saturation makes it confident without overpowering, 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#3E2417

RGB62, 36, 23

HSL20°, 46%, 17%

HSV20°, 63%, 24%

CMYK0, 42, 63, 76

Decimal4072471

CSS RGBrgb(62, 36, 23)

CSS HSLhsl(20, 46%, 17%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Sherwin-Williams

Polished Mahogany SW2838

ΔE 5.6 · #432722

RAL

Mahogany Brown 8016

ΔE 6.5 · #4C2F27

Dulux

Tuk Tuk S08C9

ΔE 9 · #563529

Dutch Boy

Western Brown VS-9660

ΔE 9 · #53372C

Benjamin Moore

Coffeehouse CW-165

ΔE 9.7 · #51392E

Behr

Wild Horse S-G-770

ΔE 10.2 · #4F3631

Vista Paint

Jeff's Java K-1112

ΔE 11.3 · #523C32

IKEA

IKEA197 197

ΔE 12.1 · #473633

Hallman-Lindsay

Film Noir 144

ΔE 12.5 · #473933

Kilz

Bookmarker TB-99

ΔE 13.7 · #563135

Colorhouse

Wood .06 Wood-06

ΔE 13.9 · #312F24

Dunn-Edwards

Northern Territory DEA158

ΔE 15.4 · #5E463C

Kobra

Red 17

ΔE 15.9 · #583F40

PPG

Fudge 1073-7

ΔE 16.6 · #63493E

Valspar

Ancient Burgundy 1011-6

ΔE 16.8 · #563940

Farrow & Ball

Brinjal 222

ΔE 17.6 · #5D3B42

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

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

#3E2417

#17323F

Analogous

#3F171E

#3E2417

#3F3917

Triadic

#3E2417

#173F25

#25173F

Split-Complementary

#3E2417

#173F39

#171E3F

Tetradic

#3E2417

#1E3F17

#17323F

#39173F

Monochromatic

#130B07

#3E2417

#77452C

#AF6541

Rectangle

#3E2417

#323F17

#17323F

#25173F

Compound

#3E2417

#3F3917

#17323F

#171E3F

Variations

Lighter

#7D492E

#B26F4E

#CDAD9D

Darker

#331D12

#24140C

#150B07

Saturation

#312925

#3F2517

#4B210C

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)

vs White

14.29:1

AAA

vs Black

1.47:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#3E2417

#322E16

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#3E2417

#2A2A19

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#3E2417

#3E2325

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Grounded · Earthy

Brown 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

#6E482C

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#3E2417

Daylight 5500K

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

#5B4D51

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.

#1C3440

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: #3E2417;

CSS — background

background-color: #3E2417;

CSS Variable

--color-brown: #3E2417;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'brown': '#3E2417' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#3E2417] text-[#3E2417]

SCSS

$brown: #3E2417;

Similar Colors

Coffeehouse Chocolate

#50382D · ΔE 9.3

Tudor Brown

#4F3A30 · ΔE 10.5

Tarpley Brown

#493830 · ΔE 10.9

Wenge

#3C2D2B · ΔE 11.1

Terrazzo Brown

#5E3B2F · ΔE 11.9

Raphael

#583835 · ΔE 12.1

Bewitched

#582F2F · ΔE 12.2

Appalachian Brown

#493A33 · ΔE 12.3

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 #3E2417?

#3E2417 is Brown, a near-black brown with a warm undertone.

Is #3E2417 warm or cool?

Brown reads warm, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Brown?

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

What colors pair well with Brown?

Brown 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 Brown?

You can download Brown 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 Brown?

The hex code is #3E2417. In RGB it's 62, 36, 23, and in HSL it's 20°, 46%, 17%.

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