BROWNS

Obsidian Brown

#523E35

RGB 82, 62, 53 · HSL 19°, 21%, 26% · CMYK 0, 24, 35, 68

Obsidian Brown is #523E35 in HEX — rgb(82, 62, 53), hsl(19°, 21%, 26%), cmyk(0%, 24%, 35%, 68%).

Obsidian Brown pulls into the deep end of the browns spectrum — HSL 19°, 21%, 26%. 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#523E35

RGB82, 62, 53

HSL19°, 21%, 26%

HSV19°, 35%, 32%

CMYK0, 24, 35, 68

Decimal5389877

CSS RGBrgb(82, 62, 53)

CSS HSLhsl(19, 21%, 26%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Chocolate Souffle S10B9

ΔE 0.7 · #503D34

Behr

Revival Mahogany 760B-7

ΔE 1.5 · #503E33

Vista Paint

Jeff's Java K-1112

ΔE 1.5 · #523C32

Benjamin Moore

Tudor HC-185

ΔE 1.6 · #503B31

RAL

Terra Brown 8028

ΔE 1.6 · #4E3B31

Sherwin-Williams

Turkish Coffee SW6076

ΔE 2.2 · #4D3930

Kilz

Coffee Grounds LL110

ΔE 3.8 · #57463A

Colorhouse

Nourish .05 Nourish-05

ΔE 3.9 · #53453C

Dunn-Edwards

Northern Territory DEA158

ΔE 4.3 · #5E463C

Hallman-Lindsay

Chocolate historic-chocolate

ΔE 4.6 · #4D403B

PPG

Racy Raisin 16-24

ΔE 5 · #574642

Dutch Boy

Western Brown VS-9660

ΔE 5.2 · #53372C

IKEA

IKEA197 197

ΔE 5.5 · #473633

Kobra

Brown 43

ΔE 6.1 · #624A3E

Farrow & Ball

Mahogany 36

ΔE 6.7 · #534644

Valspar

Cabin Plank 2011-10

ΔE 7.5 · #5F4F48

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

#523E35

#344750

Analogous

#503439

#523E35

#504B34

Triadic

#523E35

#34503D

#3D3450

Split-Complementary

#523E35

#34504B

#343950

Tetradic

#523E35

#395034

#344750

#4B3450

Monochromatic

#0F0C0A

#221A16

#523E35

#7F6053

#A68677

Rectangle

#523E35

#475034

#344750

#3D3450

Compound

#523E35

#504B34

#344750

#343950

Variations

Lighter

#7E6052

#A2867A

#C7B9B3

Darker

#413129

#2D211C

#1A1310

Saturation

#46413E

#503D34

#6A341A

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

10.00:1

AAA

vs Black

2.10:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#523E35

#484535

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#523E35

#424236

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#523E35

#523D3F

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Grounded · Earthy

Obsidian 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

#7D5B43

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#523E35

Daylight 5500K

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

#6A6067

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.

#F8F7F7

Ceiling

Whisper tint

Near-white with a hint of the hero's undertone — ceiling feels intentional.

#2A3E46

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: #523E35;

CSS — background

background-color: #523E35;

CSS Variable

--color-obsidian-brown: #523E35;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'obsidian-brown': '#523E35' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#523E35] text-[#523E35]

SCSS

$obsidian-brown: #523E35;

Similar Colors

Tudor Brown

#4F3A30 · ΔE 1.9

Barista

#58423A · ΔE 2.2

Espresso Bark

#54423B · ΔE 2.4

Classic Brown

#58453B · ΔE 3.0

Tarpley Brown

#493830 · ΔE 3.3

Coffeehouse Chocolate

#50382D · ΔE 3.6

Appalachian Brown

#493A33 · ΔE 3.6

Mink

#52443C · 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 #523E35?

#523E35 is Obsidian Brown, a deep brown with a warm undertone.

Is #523E35 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Obsidian Brown?

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

What colors pair well with Obsidian Brown?

Obsidian 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 Obsidian Brown?

You can download Obsidian 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 Obsidian Brown?

The hex code is #523E35. In RGB it's 82, 62, 53, and in HSL it's 19°, 21%, 26%.

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