NEUTRALS

Licorice

#4E4F48

RGB 78, 79, 72 · HSL 69°, 5%, 30% · CMYK 1, 0, 9, 69

Licorice is #4E4F48 in HEX — rgb(78, 79, 72), hsl(69°, 5%, 30%), cmyk(1%, 0%, 9%, 69%).

Licorice pulls into the rich end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 69°, 5%, 30%. 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#4E4F48

RGB78, 79, 72

HSL69°, 5%, 30%

HSV69°, 9%, 31%

CMYK1, 0, 9, 69

Decimal5132104

CSS RGBrgb(78, 79, 72)

CSS HSLhsl(69, 5%, 30%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

PPG

Licorice 1009-7

Exact match

Hallman-Lindsay

Oyster Catch 585

ΔE 1.4 · #4A4C45

Behr

Underground N200-7

ΔE 1.5 · #525049

Dunn-Edwards

Iron River DEA176

ΔE 1.6 · #4D504B

Vista Paint

Moss Glen C-1416

ΔE 1.7 · #4E4C45

RAL

Tarpaulin Grey 7010

ΔE 1.8 · #4C514A

Valspar

Dark Oasis 6011-4

ΔE 1.8 · #535149

Sherwin-Williams

Shade‐Grown SW6188

ΔE 2.1 · #4E5147

Benjamin Moore

Deep 1582

ΔE 2.1 · #4C4F4B

Dulux

Terrible Billy NZ10H5

ΔE 2.6 · #4F4B45

Kilz

Binoculars TB-20

ΔE 3.5 · #504A43

Farrow & Ball

Studio Green 93

ΔE 3.7 · #464C49

Colorhouse

Metal .05 Metal-05

ΔE 4.4 · #535654

IKEA

IKEA152 152

ΔE 5.4 · #494F50

Dutch Boy

Seal of Grey VS-9301

ΔE 5.7 · #575757

Kobra

Green 37

ΔE 6 · #515545

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

TemperatureNeutral MasstoneYellow UndertoneGreen

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#4E4F48

#4A4950

Analogous

#504E49

#4E4F48

#4B5049

Triadic

#4E4F48

#494F50

#50494F

Split-Complementary

#4E4F48

#494B50

#4E4950

Tetradic

#4E4F48

#49504E

#4A4950

#50494B

Monochromatic

#0D0D0C

#282824

#4E4F48

#77786D

#9D9E94

Rectangle

#4E4F48

#49504A

#4A4950

#50494F

Compound

#4E4F48

#4B5049

#4A4950

#4E4950

Variations

Lighter

#74766B

#97988F

#C2C3BE

Darker

#3F403A

#2C2C28

#191A17

Saturation

#4D4E4B

#4F5049

#697524

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

8.28:1

AAA

vs Black

2.54:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#4E4F48

#504E48

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#4E4F48

#4F4F49

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#4E4F48

#4F4E4F

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

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

#7A6851

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#4E4F48

Daylight 5500K

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

#676D75

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EBEBEA

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.

#363151

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: #4E4F48;

CSS — background

background-color: #4E4F48;

CSS Variable

--color-licorice: #4E4F48;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'licorice': '#4E4F48' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#4E4F48] text-[#4E4F48]

SCSS

$licorice: #4E4F48;

Similar Colors

Deep River

#4B4E4A · ΔE 2.1

Dragon's Breath

#55514A · ΔE 2.6

Tavern Charcoal

#524F44 · ΔE 3.1

Midsummer Night

#504A45 · ΔE 3.7

Fatigue Green

#4B4B3F · ΔE 3.7

Ashwood Moss

#565851 · ΔE 3.7

Willow

#564E48 · ΔE 4.1

Silhouette

#57504C · ΔE 4.2

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 #4E4F48?

#4E4F48 is Licorice, a deep neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #4E4F48 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Licorice?

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

What colors pair well with Licorice?

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 Licorice?

You can download 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 Licorice?

The hex code is #4E4F48. In RGB it's 78, 79, 72, and in HSL it's 69°, 5%, 30%.

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