NEUTRALS

Dutch Licorice

#4B535B

RGB 75, 83, 91 · HSL 210°, 10%, 33% · CMYK 18, 9, 0, 64

Dutch Licorice is #4B535B in HEX — rgb(75, 83, 91), hsl(210°, 10%, 33%), cmyk(18%, 9%, 0%, 64%).

Dutch Licorice pulls into the rich end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 210°, 10%, 33%. 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#4B535B

RGB75, 83, 91

HSL210°, 10%, 33%

HSV210°, 18%, 36%

CMYK18, 9, 0, 64

Decimal4936539

CSS RGBrgb(75, 83, 91)

CSS HSLhsl(210, 10%, 33%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Valspar

Dutch Licorice 4008-4C

Exact match

Vista Paint

Vermont Slate C-1464

ΔE 0.9 · #495259

Dulux

Blue Steel S39B7

ΔE 1.3 · #4A525C

Hallman-Lindsay

Vermont Slate historic-vermont-slate

ΔE 1.4 · #48535A

PPG

Soothing Sapphire 10-09

ΔE 1.6 · #48545D

Kilz

Kettle Black RE120-02

ΔE 1.6 · #47535C

Behr

Poppy Seed PPU15-20

ΔE 2.5 · #4A4E55

Dunn-Edwards

Black Pearl DEA186

ΔE 2.7 · #4A4F5A

Benjamin Moore

Westcott 1624

ΔE 2.8 · #4F5458

Colorhouse

Wool .06 Wool-06

ΔE 3.1 · #485761

Sherwin-Williams

Mineral Gray SW2740

ΔE 3.3 · #515763

RAL

Graphite Grey 7024

ΔE 4 · #474A51

Farrow & Ball

Hague Blue 30

ΔE 4.4 · #3D4E57

IKEA

IKEA152 152

ΔE 4.8 · #494F50

Dutch Boy

Seal of Grey VS-9301

ΔE 6.2 · #575757

Kobra

Black 44

ΔE 13.2 · #383737

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

8/100

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

#4B535B

#5D544C

Analogous

#4C5D5D

#4B535B

#4C4C5D

Triadic

#4B535B

#5D4C54

#545D4C

Split-Complementary

#4B535B

#5D4C4C

#5D5D4C

Tetradic

#4B535B

#5D4C5D

#5D544C

#4C5D4C

Monochromatic

#0B0D0E

#292E32

#4B535B

#6E7A87

#97A1AA

Rectangle

#4B535B

#544C5D

#5D544C

#545D4C

Compound

#4B535B

#4C4C5D

#5D544C

#5D5D4C

Variations

Lighter

#6A7682

#9098A1

#BFC3C7

Darker

#3C434A

#292E33

#181B1E

Saturation

#525457

#4C545D

#265482

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

7.81:1

AAA

vs Black

2.69:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#4B535B

#4E515B

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#4B535B

#52525A

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#4B535B

#4A5453

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Dutch Licorice 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

#786B5F

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#4B535B

Daylight 5500K

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

#657084

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.

#594836

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 / Regal Select Interior

Recommended Finishes

Eggshell (walls) · Pearl (trim) · Matte (ceiling)

Eggshell hides imperfections on main walls while keeping the color rich; pearl on trim adds subtle sheen and easier cleaning; flat matte on ceilings prevents glare.

Best Surfaces

Primary walls · Cabinetry · Doors · Mouldings

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

Standard primer is adequate.

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: #4B535B;

CSS — background

background-color: #4B535B;

CSS Variable

--color-dutch-licorice: #4B535B;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'dutch-licorice': '#4B535B' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#4B535B] text-[#4B535B]

SCSS

$dutch-licorice: #4B535B;

Similar Colors

Westcott Navy

#4E5357 · ΔE 2.7

Deep Secret®

#525A60 · ΔE 3.2

Brush Blue

#414F57 · ΔE 3.2

Deep Space

#52565A · ΔE 3.3

Midnight Blue

#494E52 · ΔE 3.4

Mysterious

#454B54 · ΔE 3.4

Temptation

#54585C · ΔE 3.7

Lead Gray

#434E52 · ΔE 3.8

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 #4B535B?

#4B535B is Dutch Licorice, a deep neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #4B535B warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Dutch Licorice?

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

What colors pair well with Dutch Licorice?

Dutch Licorice 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 Dutch Licorice?

You can download Dutch Licorice 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 Dutch Licorice?

The hex code is #4B535B. In RGB it's 75, 83, 91, and in HSL it's 210°, 10%, 33%.

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