PURPLES

American Violet

#551B8C

RGB 85, 27, 140 · HSL 271°, 68%, 33% · CMYK 39, 81, 0, 45

American Violet is #551B8C in HEX — rgb(85, 27, 140), hsl(271°, 68%, 33%), cmyk(39%, 81%, 0%, 45%).

American Violet pulls into the rich end of the purples spectrum — HSL 271°, 68%, 33%. The balanced saturation makes it confident without overpowering, and the hue reads cool. In interior projects it shines on accent walls, dressing rooms, creative studios — for character without shouting. Reads best alongside warm whites, walnut, brass, deep velvet textiles.

Color Codes

HEX#551B8C

RGB85, 27, 140

HSL271°, 68%, 33%

HSV271°, 81%, 55%

CMYK39, 81, 0, 45

Decimal5577612

CSS RGBrgb(85, 27, 140)

CSS HSLhsl(271, 68%, 33%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Behr

Sugar Plum 680B-7

ΔE 8 · #6E2B98

Dutch Boy

Blue Royale VS-9550

ΔE 28.3 · #243F90

Vista Paint

Iris Illusion K-24

ΔE 31 · #583E7B

RAL

Signal Blue 5005

ΔE 32 · #1E2D6E

Benjamin Moore

Mystical 2071-30

ΔE 34.5 · #674C87

Dunn-Edwards

Violet Majesty DEA142

ΔE 34.9 · #644982

Dulux

Mystic Spell S45H8

ΔE 35.4 · #6B457B

Colorhouse

Petal .05 Petal-05

ΔE 35.8 · #1F4992

PPG

Cleopatra's Gown 1249-7

ΔE 36.4 · #795088

Hallman-Lindsay

Blue Highlight 613

ΔE 37.6 · #324A8B

Valspar

Cosmic Berry 4001-10C

ΔE 38.3 · #87558C

Kilz

Superstition RH250

ΔE 39.1 · #604C7F

Kobra

Violet 26

ΔE 39.4 · #7B598F

Sherwin-Williams

Impulsive Purple SW6832

ΔE 40.9 · #624977

IKEA

IKEA128 128

ΔE 50 · #4A72B0

Farrow & Ball

Pitch Blue 220

ΔE 57.9 · #636E8F

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

TemperatureNeutral MasstoneViolet UndertoneBlue

Reads as a neutral violet with a blue undertone showing through, especially in daylight. Pair trim and adjacent colours to either calm or amplify that undertone.

Color Theory

Complementary

#551B8C

#528D1B

Analogous

#1D1B8D

#551B8C

#8D1B8B

Triadic

#551B8C

#8D561B

#1B8D56

Split-Complementary

#551B8C

#8B8D1B

#1B8D1D

Tetradic

#551B8C

#8D1D1B

#528D1B

#1B8B8D

Monochromatic

#0D0415

#2F0F4D

#551B8C

#7D27CE

#A360E1

Rectangle

#551B8C

#8D1B52

#528D1B

#1B8D56

Compound

#551B8C

#8D1B8B

#528D1B

#1B8D1D

Variations

Lighter

#7926C7

#9A5DD4

#C4A7E0

Darker

#451373

#2F0C51

#1C0630

Saturation

#554365

#561B8D

#570D9B

Interior Use

Best Rooms

dressing rooms, creative studios, accent walls

Best Uses

feature walls, cabinetry, textiles

Pairs With

warm whites, walnut, brass, deep velvet textiles

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

10.93:1

AAA

vs Black

1.92:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#551B8C

#15468C

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#551B8C

#2B2B84

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#551B8C

#4A4131

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Sophisticated · Imaginative

American Violet carries history — long associated with luxury and contemplation. It works in low-light, intimate rooms (dressing rooms, dens, accent walls) where its complexity gets time to unfold. Pair with brass and walnut.

SymbolismLuxury, intuition, creativity

PersonalityRefined, mysterious, artistic

luxurycreativeintuitionintimateaccentrefined

How it looks under different light

#7F4184

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#551B8C

Daylight 5500K

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

#6C46A8

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EBE8ED

Trim

Matched off-white

Same hue at 92% lightness — trim reads coordinated, not stark.

#F7F7F8

Ceiling

Whisper tint

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

#46711E

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: #551B8C;

CSS — background

background-color: #551B8C;

CSS Variable

--color-american-violet: #551B8C;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'american-violet': '#551B8C' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#551B8C] text-[#551B8C]

SCSS

$american-violet: #551B8C;

Similar Colors

Mystical Grape

#664B86 · ΔE 34.3

Scandinavian Blue

#4E4E8C · ΔE 36.3

Blue

#233872 · ΔE 38.1

Basic Blue

#3F457D · ΔE 38.7

Your Majesty

#635083 · ΔE 39.9

Twilight Blue

#365496 · ΔE 40.0

Starry Night Blue

#334076 · ΔE 40.2

Warriors Blue

#00498D · ΔE 40.2

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 #551B8C?

#551B8C is American Violet, a deep purple with a cool undertone.

Is #551B8C warm or cool?

American Violet reads cool, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with American Violet?

American Violet works well in dressing rooms, creative studios, accent walls. Designers typically use it for feature walls, cabinetry, textiles.

What colors pair well with American Violet?

American Violet pairs naturally with warm whites, walnut, brass, deep velvet textiles. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download American Violet?

You can download American Violet 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 American Violet?

The hex code is #551B8C. In RGB it's 85, 27, 140, and in HSL it's 271°, 68%, 33%.

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