BROWNS

Brown

#503A21

RGB 80, 58, 33 · HSL 32°, 42%, 22% · CMYK 0, 28, 59, 69

Brown is #503A21 in HEX — rgb(80, 58, 33), hsl(32°, 42%, 22%), cmyk(0%, 28%, 59%, 69%).

Brown pulls into the deep end of the browns spectrum — HSL 32°, 42%, 22%. The muted saturation makes it quiet but present, 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#503A21

RGB80, 58, 33

HSL32°, 42%, 22%

HSV32°, 59%, 31%

CMYK0, 28, 59, 69

Decimal5257761

CSS RGBrgb(80, 58, 33)

CSS HSLhsl(32, 42%, 22%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Behr

Breakfast Blend 280F-7

ΔE 5.3 · #59432F

Benjamin Moore

Taupe 2110-10

ΔE 6 · #5B4531

Dutch Boy

Mud Pie VS-9501

ΔE 6 · #5B4631

RAL

Nut Brown 8011

ΔE 6.9 · #5B3A29

Sherwin-Williams

French Roast SW6069

ΔE 7 · #4F3426

Vista Paint

Hideaway C-136

ΔE 8 · #624534

Dulux

Woodland Brown S10C9

ΔE 8.6 · #5F4637

Hallman-Lindsay

Hideaway 137

ΔE 9.5 · #654637

Kilz

Ancient Spice LM170

ΔE 10 · #694A39

Dunn-Edwards

Northern Territory DEA158

ΔE 11.1 · #5E463C

Kobra

Brown 43

ΔE 11.2 · #624A3E

PPG

Fudge 1073-7

ΔE 11.4 · #63493E

Colorhouse

Nourish .05 Nourish-05

ΔE 12.4 · #53453C

IKEA

IKEA089 89

ΔE 13.2 · #6A443B

Valspar

Roasted Coffee 2009-10

ΔE 13.3 · #674E44

Farrow & Ball

Mahogany 36

ΔE 16.7 · #534644

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

5/100

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

#503A21

#213750

Analogous

#502221

#503A21

#4E5021

Triadic

#503A21

#21503A

#3A2150

Split-Complementary

#503A21

#214E50

#222150

Tetradic

#503A21

#215022

#213750

#50214E

Monochromatic

#120D07

#19120A

#503A21

#866137

#B88851

Rectangle

#503A21

#375021

#213750

#3A2150

Compound

#503A21

#4E5021

#213750

#222150

Variations

Lighter

#886338

#B28B5D

#CEBBA5

Darker

#412E19

#2D2011

#1B1309

Saturation

#3F3931

#503A21

#603B10

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

10.67:1

AAA

vs Black

1.97:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#503A21

#474121

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#503A21

#3E3E25

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#503A21

#51373A

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Grounded · Earthy

Brown 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

#7B5834

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#503A21

Daylight 5500K

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

#695D58

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#ECEBE9

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.

#1F2F41

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: #503A21;

CSS — background

background-color: #503A21;

CSS Variable

--color-brown: #503A21;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'brown': '#503A21' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#503A21] text-[#503A21]

SCSS

$brown: #503A21;

Similar Colors

Taupe

#5A4430 · ΔE 5.6

Deep Taupe

#594334 · ΔE 7.7

Coffeehouse Chocolate

#50382D · ΔE 8.6

Tudor Brown

#4F3A30 · ΔE 9.5

Terrazzo Brown

#5E3B2F · ΔE 9.6

Chocolate Candy Brown

#614A3B · ΔE 9.8

Grizzly Bear Brown

#5F4B3C · ΔE 10.1

Java

#67493A · ΔE 10.2

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 #503A21?

#503A21 is Brown, a deep brown with a warm undertone.

Is #503A21 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Brown?

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

What colors pair well with Brown?

Brown 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 Brown?

You can download Brown 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 Brown?

The hex code is #503A21. In RGB it's 80, 58, 33, and in HSL it's 32°, 42%, 22%.

← All colors