NEUTRALS

German Grey

#53504E

RGB 83, 80, 78 · HSL 24°, 3%, 32% · CMYK 0, 4, 6, 67

German Grey is #53504E in HEX — rgb(83, 80, 78), hsl(24°, 3%, 32%), cmyk(0%, 4%, 6%, 67%).

German Grey pulls into the rich end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 24°, 3%, 32%. 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#53504E

RGB83, 80, 78

HSL24°, 3%, 32%

HSV24°, 6%, 33%

CMYK0, 4, 6, 67

Decimal5460046

CSS RGBrgb(83, 80, 78)

CSS HSLhsl(24, 3%, 32%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dunn-Edwards

Black Jack DE6371

ΔE 1.1 · #51504D

Valspar

Safari Brown 6009-1

ΔE 1.3 · #524F4F

Dulux

Grey Master SN4H8

ΔE 1.6 · #504E4E

Benjamin Moore

Silhouette AF-655

ΔE 2.3 · #58514D

Sherwin-Williams

Urbane Bronze SW7048

ΔE 2.5 · #54504A

Behr

Wood Acres BXC-71

ΔE 2.6 · #4F5051

Vista Paint

Sturgis Gray C-1435

ΔE 3.1 · #57554F

Kilz

Toasted Poppyseed RM210

ΔE 3.1 · #4A4B4A

Colorhouse

Metal .05 Metal-05

ΔE 3.3 · #535654

Dutch Boy

Seal of Grey VS-9301

ΔE 3.3 · #575757

Hallman-Lindsay

Sturgis Gray historic-sturgis-gray

ΔE 3.4 · #57544D

PPG

Licorice 1009-7

ΔE 3.7 · #4E4F48

IKEA

IKEA091 91

ΔE 3.8 · #574C49

Farrow & Ball

Tanner's Brown 255

ΔE 3.8 · #4D4746

RAL

Traffic Grey B 7043

ΔE 4 · #4E5452

Kobra

Green 37

ΔE 9.2 · #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 MasstoneOrange UndertoneYellow

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#53504E

#4F5254

Analogous

#544F50

#53504E

#54544F

Triadic

#53504E

#4F5451

#514F54

Split-Complementary

#53504E

#4F5454

#4F5054

Tetradic

#53504E

#50544F

#4F5254

#544F54

Monochromatic

#0D0D0C

#2D2B2A

#53504E

#7B7774

#A19E9B

Rectangle

#53504E

#52544F

#4F5254

#514F54

Compound

#53504E

#54544F

#4F5254

#4F5054

Variations

Lighter

#787471

#9A9694

#C4C2C1

Darker

#43413F

#2E2D2B

#1B1A19

Saturation

#525151

#54514F

#7C4928

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

8.00:1

AAA

vs Black

2.63:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#53504E

#52514E

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#53504E

#51514E

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#53504E

#535050

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

German Grey 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

#7E6956

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#53504E

Daylight 5500K

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

#6B6E7A

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.

#344957

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: #53504E;

CSS — background

background-color: #53504E;

CSS Variable

--color-german-grey: #53504E;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'german-grey': '#53504E' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#53504E] text-[#53504E]

SCSS

$german-grey: #53504E;

Similar Colors

Iron Mountain

#575553 · ΔE 2.1

Silhouette

#57504C · ΔE 2.2

Dragon's Breath

#55514A · ΔE 3.2

Nightfall

#4B4E4E · ΔE 3.2

Deep River

#4B4E4A · ΔE 3.3

Midsummer Night

#504A45 · ΔE 3.3

Willow

#564E48 · ΔE 3.4

Gray

#585858 · ΔE 3.6

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 #53504E?

#53504E is German Grey, a deep neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #53504E warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with German Grey?

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

What colors pair well with German Grey?

German Grey 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 German Grey?

You can download German Grey 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 German Grey?

The hex code is #53504E. In RGB it's 83, 80, 78, and in HSL it's 24°, 3%, 32%.

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