NEUTRALS

Black Coffee

#3E3231

RGB 62, 50, 49 · HSL 5°, 12%, 22% · CMYK 0, 19, 21, 76

Black Coffee is #3E3231 in HEX — rgb(62, 50, 49), hsl(5°, 12%, 22%), cmyk(0%, 19%, 21%, 76%).

Black Coffee pulls into the deep end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 5°, 12%, 22%. The neutral saturation makes it near-neutral and forgiving, and the hue reads warm. 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#3E3231

RGB62, 50, 49

HSL5°, 12%, 22%

HSV5°, 21%, 24%

CMYK0, 19, 21, 76

Decimal4076081

CSS RGBrgb(62, 50, 49)

CSS HSLhsl(5, 12%, 22%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Sherwin-Williams

Black Bean SW6006

ΔE 1.5 · #403330

Benjamin Moore

Espresso CSP-30

ΔE 1.6 · #3C3331

Dulux

Blackbutt SG5A9

ΔE 1.7 · #3E3431

Behr

Cordovan Leather BXC-78

ΔE 1.9 · #433433

Kilz

Spice Brown TB-30

ΔE 2.7 · #372F2E

IKEA

IKEA197 197

ΔE 3.7 · #473633

Dutch Boy

Dark Chocolate D-6782

ΔE 4.1 · #392A27

RAL

Chocolate Brown 8017

ΔE 4.3 · #45322E

Hallman-Lindsay

Film Noir 144

ΔE 4.7 · #473933

Vista Paint

Evening Empress K-768

ΔE 4.8 · #433C3C

Farrow & Ball

Pitch Black 256

ΔE 5.3 · #3B3938

Valspar

Antique Burgundy 1011-8

ΔE 5.4 · #493C3F

Kobra

Black 44

ΔE 5.5 · #383737

Dunn-Edwards

Black DEA187

ΔE 5.9 · #3B3A3A

PPG

Black Magic 1001-7

ΔE 7.5 · #414040

Colorhouse

Nourish .06 Nourish-06

ΔE 7.7 · #313536

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

4/100

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 MasstoneRed UndertonePink

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#3E3231

#313E3F

Analogous

#3F3137

#3E3231

#3F3931

Triadic

#3E3231

#313F32

#32313F

Split-Complementary

#3E3231

#313F39

#31373F

Tetradic

#3E3231

#373F31

#313E3F

#39313F

Monochromatic

#0E0B0B

#141010

#3E3231

#6A5553

#937876

Rectangle

#3E3231

#3E3F31

#313E3F

#32313F

Compound

#3E3231

#3F3931

#313E3F

#31373F

Variations

Lighter

#6B5654

#947E7B

#BFB5B4

Darker

#332827

#231B1B

#14100F

Saturation

#3A3636

#3F3231

#581E19

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

12.31:1

AAA

vs Black

1.71:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#3E3231

#383631

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#3E3231

#343431

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#3E3231

#3E3233

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Black Coffee 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

#6E5240

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#3E3231

Daylight 5500K

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

#5B5764

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EBEAEA

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.

#243A3C

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: #3E3231;

CSS — background

background-color: #3E3231;

CSS Variable

--color-black-coffee: #3E3231;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'black-coffee': '#3E3231' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#3E3231] text-[#3E3231]

SCSS

$black-coffee: #3E3231;

Similar Colors

Espresso Bean

#3B3230 · ΔE 1.6

Wenge

#3C2D2B · ΔE 2.7

Bucktrout Brown

#352D2B · ΔE 3.4

Bittersweet Chocolate

#433731 · ΔE 3.9

Night Shade

#443A36 · ΔE 3.9

Caponata

#453133 · ΔE 4.3

Black Bean Soup

#453C39 · ΔE 4.6

Carbon Copy

#383537 · ΔE 4.9

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 #3E3231?

#3E3231 is Black Coffee, a deep neutral with a warm undertone.

Is #3E3231 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Black Coffee?

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

What colors pair well with Black Coffee?

Black Coffee 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 Black Coffee?

You can download Black Coffee 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 Black Coffee?

The hex code is #3E3231. In RGB it's 62, 50, 49, and in HSL it's 5°, 12%, 22%.

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