BROWNS

Chinese Ink

#3F312B

RGB 63, 49, 43 · HSL 18°, 19%, 21% · CMYK 0, 22, 32, 75

Chinese Ink is #3F312B in HEX — rgb(63, 49, 43), hsl(18°, 19%, 21%), cmyk(0%, 22%, 32%, 75%).

Chinese Ink pulls into the deep end of the browns spectrum — HSL 18°, 19%, 21%. The neutral saturation makes it near-neutral and forgiving, 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#3F312B

RGB63, 49, 43

HSL18°, 19%, 21%

HSV18°, 32%, 25%

CMYK0, 22, 32, 75

Decimal4141355

CSS RGBrgb(63, 49, 43)

CSS HSLhsl(18, 19%, 21%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Deep Leather S05C9

ΔE 2.1 · #41322F

Sherwin-Williams

Black Bean SW6006

ΔE 2.3 · #403330

Benjamin Moore

Wenge AF-180

ΔE 2.9 · #3D2E2C

Vista Paint

Film Noir C-143

ΔE 2.9 · #463730

RAL

Chocolate Brown 8017

ΔE 2.9 · #45322E

Behr

Bison Brown 780B-7

ΔE 3 · #413632

IKEA

IKEA197 197

ΔE 3.5 · #473633

Hallman-Lindsay

Film Noir 144

ΔE 3.6 · #473933

Dutch Boy

Dark Chocolate D-6782

ΔE 3.6 · #392A27

Kilz

Spice Brown TB-30

ΔE 4.9 · #372F2E

Colorhouse

Wood .06 Wood-06

ΔE 7.2 · #312F24

Farrow & Ball

Pitch Black 256

ΔE 7.4 · #3B3938

Kobra

Black 44

ΔE 7.9 · #383737

Valspar

Antique Burgundy 1011-8

ΔE 7.9 · #493C3F

Dunn-Edwards

Black DEA187

ΔE 8.3 · #3B3A3A

PPG

Dark Granite 1005-7

ΔE 8.4 · #4F443F

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

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

#3F312B

#2B3A40

Analogous

#402B2F

#3F312B

#403C2B

Triadic

#3F312B

#2B4031

#312B40

Split-Complementary

#3F312B

#2B403C

#2B2F40

Tetradic

#3F312B

#2F402B

#2B3A40

#3C2B40

Monochromatic

#0F0C0A

#120E0C

#3F312B

#6D554A

#9A796A

Rectangle

#3F312B

#3A402B

#2B3A40

#312B40

Compound

#3F312B

#403C2B

#2B3A40

#2B2F40

Variations

Lighter

#70574C

#9A7E73

#C2B5AF

Darker

#332722

#241B17

#15100D

Saturation

#393432

#40312B

#552916

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

12.46:1

AAA

vs Black

1.69:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#3F312B

#38362B

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#3F312B

#34342C

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#3F312B

#3F3032

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Grounded · Earthy

Chinese Ink 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

#6F513B

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#3F312B

Daylight 5500K

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

#5C5660

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.

#223239

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: #3F312B;

CSS — background

background-color: #3F312B;

CSS Variable

--color-chinese-ink: #3F312B;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'chinese-ink': '#3F312B' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#3F312B] text-[#3F312B]

SCSS

$chinese-ink: #3F312B;

Similar Colors

Bittersweet Chocolate

#433731 · ΔE 2.7

Wenge

#3C2D2B · ΔE 3.1

Espresso Bean

#3B3230 · ΔE 3.8

Tarpley Brown

#493830 · ΔE 3.9

Appalachian Brown

#493A33 · ΔE 4.2

Night Shade

#443A36 · ΔE 4.5

Bucktrout Brown

#352D2B · ΔE 4.8

Black Bean Soup

#453C39 · ΔE 5.7

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 #3F312B?

#3F312B is Chinese Ink, a deep brown with a warm undertone.

Is #3F312B warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Chinese Ink?

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

What colors pair well with Chinese Ink?

Chinese Ink 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 Chinese Ink?

You can download Chinese Ink 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 Chinese Ink?

The hex code is #3F312B. In RGB it's 63, 49, 43, and in HSL it's 18°, 19%, 21%.

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