BROWNS

Clove Yellow Brown

#523F21

RGB 82, 63, 33 · HSL 37°, 43%, 23% · CMYK 0, 23, 60, 68

Clove Yellow Brown is #523F21 in HEX — rgb(82, 63, 33), hsl(37°, 43%, 23%), cmyk(0%, 23%, 60%, 68%).

Clove Yellow Brown pulls into the deep end of the browns spectrum — HSL 37°, 43%, 23%. 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#523F21

RGB82, 63, 33

HSL37°, 43%, 23%

HSV37°, 60%, 32%

CMYK0, 23, 60, 68

Decimal5390113

CSS RGBrgb(82, 63, 33)

CSS HSLhsl(37, 43%, 23%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Behr

Burley Wood S-H-700

ΔE 5.3 · #56472E

Dutch Boy

Mud Pie VS-9501

ΔE 6.5 · #5B4631

Benjamin Moore

Taupe 2110-10

ΔE 6.9 · #5B4531

Sherwin-Williams

Sturdy Brown SW6097

ΔE 8.7 · #69482C

Vista Paint

Nightfall C-339

ΔE 8.8 · #5D4F38

Dulux

Marsh S17D9

ΔE 9.4 · #5C5237

RAL

Nut Brown 8011

ΔE 9.7 · #5B3A29

Hallman-Lindsay

Nightfall 340

ΔE 10.4 · #61523D

Kilz

Ancient Spice LM170

ΔE 11.1 · #694A39

PPG

Grapevine 1027-7

ΔE 11.9 · #5F563F

Kobra

Brown 43

ΔE 12.5 · #624A3E

Dunn-Edwards

Northern Territory DEA158

ΔE 12.9 · #5E463C

Colorhouse

Clay .06 Clay-06

ΔE 12.9 · #675544

Valspar

Dark Earth 3011-8

ΔE 13.1 · #6F5744

IKEA

IKEA089 89

ΔE 15.2 · #6A443B

Farrow & Ball

Mahogany 36

ΔE 18.4 · #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

#523F21

#213554

Analogous

#542721

#523F21

#4E5421

Triadic

#523F21

#215441

#412154

Split-Complementary

#523F21

#214E54

#272154

Tetradic

#523F21

#215427

#213554

#54214E

Monochromatic

#120E07

#1D160C

#523F21

#8B6B37

#BB9354

Rectangle

#523F21

#355421

#213554

#412154

Compound

#523F21

#4E5421

#213554

#272154

Variations

Lighter

#8C6C38

#B4935E

#CFBFA6

Darker

#44341A

#302411

#1C1509

Saturation

#423C33

#544121

#654411

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

10.04:1

AAA

vs Black

2.09:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#523F21

#4B4421

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#523F21

#434326

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#523F21

#533C3F

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Grounded · Earthy

Clove Yellow 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

#7D5C34

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#523F21

Daylight 5500K

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

#6A6158

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.

#202E44

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: #523F21;

CSS — background

background-color: #523F21;

CSS Variable

--color-clove-yellow-brown: #523F21;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'clove-yellow-brown': '#523F21' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#523F21] text-[#523F21]

SCSS

$clove-yellow-brown: #523F21;

Similar Colors

Taupe

#5A4430 · ΔE 6.7

Deep Taupe

#594334 · ΔE 9.5

Chocolate Candy Brown

#614A3B · ΔE 10.8

Grizzly Bear Brown

#5F4B3C · ΔE 10.9

Otter Brown

#544839 · ΔE 11.2

Jungle Canopy

#5A5538 · ΔE 11.2

Night Owl

#59523C · ΔE 11.4

Java

#67493A · ΔE 11.5

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 #523F21?

#523F21 is Clove Yellow Brown, a deep brown with a warm undertone.

Is #523F21 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Clove Yellow Brown?

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

What colors pair well with Clove Yellow Brown?

Clove Yellow 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 Clove Yellow Brown?

You can download Clove Yellow 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 Clove Yellow Brown?

The hex code is #523F21. In RGB it's 82, 63, 33, and in HSL it's 37°, 43%, 23%.

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