NEUTRALS

Blue Steel

#535A61

RGB 83, 90, 97 · HSL 210°, 8%, 35% · CMYK 14, 7, 0, 62

Blue Steel is #535A61 in HEX — rgb(83, 90, 97), hsl(210°, 8%, 35%), cmyk(14%, 7%, 0%, 62%).

Blue Steel pulls into the rich end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 210°, 8%, 35%. 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#535A61

RGB83, 90, 97

HSL210°, 8%, 35%

HSV210°, 14%, 38%

CMYK14, 7, 0, 62

Decimal5462625

CSS RGBrgb(83, 90, 97)

CSS HSLhsl(210, 8%, 35%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dunn-Edwards

Blue Steel DE6342

Exact match

Benjamin Moore

Deep CSP-625

ΔE 0.8 · #535B61

Dulux

Grey Soot SG6C9

ΔE 0.9 · #555B61

Hallman-Lindsay

Thunderstorm 514

ΔE 1.1 · #555C64

Valspar

Volcanic Ash 4009-1

ΔE 1.3 · #545B60

Vista Paint

Thunderstorm C-513

ΔE 1.3 · #525962

Behr

Pencil Point PPU18-2

ΔE 2.2 · #595D62

PPG

Gray Flannel 1013-6

ΔE 2.4 · #585960

Sherwin-Williams

Outerspace SW6251

ΔE 2.8 · #586168

Kilz

Motor Gray TB-38

ΔE 3.9 · #545658

Colorhouse

Wool .06 Wool-06

ΔE 3.9 · #485761

Dutch Boy

Seal of Grey VS-9301

ΔE 5.2 · #575757

Farrow & Ball

Stiffkey Blue 281

ΔE 5.4 · #4D5B6A

IKEA

IKEA152 152

ΔE 6 · #494F50

RAL

Traffic Grey B 7043

ΔE 6.2 · #4E5452

Kobra

Green 38

ΔE 13.8 · #415448

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

10/100

Dark

0 · DarkLight · 100

Soaks up light and feels moody and intimate. Great for studies, dining rooms and accent walls; pair with ample lighting.

Undertone

TemperatureCool MasstoneBlue UndertoneViolet

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#535A61

#605952

Analogous

#526060

#535A61

#525260

Triadic

#535A61

#605259

#596052

Split-Complementary

#535A61

#605252

#606052

Tetradic

#535A61

#605260

#605952

#526052

Monochromatic

#0C0D0E

#2F3337

#535A61

#757F8A

#9FA6AD

Rectangle

#535A61

#595260

#605952

#596052

Compound

#535A61

#525260

#605952

#606052

Variations

Lighter

#717A84

#959CA2

#C2C5C8

Darker

#41474D

#2D3135

#1A1D1F

Saturation

#57595B

#525960

#295989

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

6.99:1

vs Black

3.00:1

AA Large

Deuteranopia

#535A61

#565862

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#535A61

#595960

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#535A61

#535B5A

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Blue Steel 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

#7E7064

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#535A61

Daylight 5500K

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

#6B7588

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EAEBEB

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.

#5F4C39

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: #535A61;

CSS — background

background-color: #535A61;

CSS Variable

--color-blue-steel: #535A61;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'blue-steel': '#535A61' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#535A61] text-[#535A61]

SCSS

$blue-steel: #535A61;

Similar Colors

Deep Secret®

#525A60 · ΔE 0.8

Temptation

#54585C · ΔE 2.3

Deep Space

#52565A · ΔE 2.6

Flint

#565C5E · ΔE 3.2

Anchor Gray

#5C6167 · ΔE 3.2

Westcott Navy

#4E5357 · ΔE 3.5

Evening Dove

#515A67 · ΔE 3.7

Ambler Slate

#57595A · ΔE 4.1

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 #535A61?

#535A61 is Blue Steel, a deep neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #535A61 warm or cool?

Blue Steel reads cool, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Blue Steel?

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

What colors pair well with Blue Steel?

Blue Steel 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 Blue Steel?

You can download Blue Steel 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 Blue Steel?

The hex code is #535A61. In RGB it's 83, 90, 97, and in HSL it's 210°, 8%, 35%.

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