BROWNS

Bittersweet Chocolate

#4F2B17

RGB 79, 43, 23 · HSL 21°, 55%, 20% · CMYK 0, 46, 71, 69

Bittersweet Chocolate is #4F2B17 in HEX — rgb(79, 43, 23), hsl(21°, 55%, 20%), cmyk(0%, 46%, 71%, 69%).

Bittersweet Chocolate pulls into the deep end of the browns spectrum — HSL 21°, 55%, 20%. 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#4F2B17

RGB79, 43, 23

HSL21°, 55%, 20%

HSV21°, 71%, 31%

CMYK0, 46, 71, 69

Decimal5188375

CSS RGBrgb(79, 43, 23)

CSS HSLhsl(21, 55%, 20%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

RAL

Fawn Brown 8007

ΔE 4.4 · #59351F

Dutch Boy

Maroon D-6773

ΔE 6.2 · #4F2318

Dulux

Tuk Tuk S08C9

ΔE 7.6 · #563529

Sherwin-Williams

French Roast SW6069

ΔE 8.1 · #4F3426

Behr

Root Beer 240F-7

ΔE 8.9 · #643E2D

Benjamin Moore

Terrazzo CSP-360

ΔE 9.6 · #5F3C30

Vista Paint

Hideaway C-136

ΔE 12.2 · #624534

Hallman-Lindsay

Hideaway 137

ΔE 12.8 · #654637

IKEA

IKEA089 89

ΔE 13.6 · #6A443B

PPG

Bird House Brown 1072-7

ΔE 13.6 · #6C483A

Kilz

Ancient Spice LM170

ΔE 13.9 · #694A39

Dunn-Edwards

Sunken Ship DEA148

ΔE 14.4 · #6B443D

Valspar

Spanish Tile 1010-5

ΔE 15.2 · #683839

Kobra

Brown 43

ΔE 16.1 · #624A3E

Colorhouse

Wood .04 Wood-04

ΔE 16.5 · #67272A

Farrow & Ball

Preference Red 297

ΔE 19.5 · #6D4247

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

#4F2B17

#173B4F

Analogous

#4F171F

#4F2B17

#4F4717

Triadic

#4F2B17

#174F2B

#2B174F

Split-Complementary

#4F2B17

#174F47

#171F4F

Tetradic

#4F2B17

#1F4F17

#173B4F

#47174F

Monochromatic

#140B06

#4F2B17

#8A4B28

#C66A39

Rectangle

#4F2B17

#3B4F17

#173B4F

#2B174F

Compound

#4F2B17

#4F4717

#173B4F

#171F4F

Variations

Lighter

#8E4D29

#BE734B

#D3AF9C

Darker

#402211

#2D170B

#1B0D06

Saturation

#3B302B

#4F2B17

#5B270B

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

12.42:1

AAA

vs Black

1.69:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#4F2B17

#3F3915

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#4F2B17

#33331A

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#4F2B17

#4F2A2D

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Grounded · Earthy

Bittersweet Chocolate 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

#7B4D2C

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#4F2B17

Daylight 5500K

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

#685251

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EDEAE9

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.

#183443

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: #4F2B17;

CSS — background

background-color: #4F2B17;

CSS Variable

--color-bittersweet-chocolate: #4F2B17;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'bittersweet-chocolate': '#4F2B17' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#4F2B17] text-[#4F2B17]

SCSS

$bittersweet-chocolate: #4F2B17;

Similar Colors

Terrazzo Brown

#5E3B2F · ΔE 9.3

Charlton Brown

#693D2D · ΔE 9.6

Natural Brown

#684034 · ΔE 11.2

Coffeehouse Chocolate

#50382D · ΔE 11.3

Pancake Syrup

#714235 · ΔE 12.7

Taupe

#5A4430 · ΔE 12.8

Bewitched

#582F2F · ΔE 12.8

English Manor

#6D4338 · ΔE 12.8

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 #4F2B17?

#4F2B17 is Bittersweet Chocolate, a deep brown with a warm undertone.

Is #4F2B17 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Bittersweet Chocolate?

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

What colors pair well with Bittersweet Chocolate?

Bittersweet Chocolate 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 Bittersweet Chocolate?

You can download Bittersweet Chocolate 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 Bittersweet Chocolate?

The hex code is #4F2B17. In RGB it's 79, 43, 23, and in HSL it's 21°, 55%, 20%.

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