NEUTRALS

Soot

#555E5F

RGB 85, 94, 95 · HSL 186°, 6%, 35% · CMYK 11, 1, 0, 63

Soot is #555E5F in HEX — rgb(85, 94, 95), hsl(186°, 6%, 35%), cmyk(11%, 1%, 0%, 63%).

Soot pulls into the rich end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 186°, 6%, 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#555E5F

RGB85, 94, 95

HSL186°, 6%, 35%

HSV186°, 11%, 37%

CMYK11, 1, 0, 63

Decimal5594719

CSS RGBrgb(85, 94, 95)

CSS HSLhsl(186, 6%, 35%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dunn-Edwards

Soot DE6321

Exact match

PPG

Mostly Metal 1036-7

ΔE 0.8 · #575E5F

Benjamin Moore

Flint AF-560

ΔE 1.4 · #575D5F

Valspar

Slate Court 5001-4C

ΔE 1.9 · #505A5C

Vista Paint

Charcoal Shadow K-809

ΔE 2 · #565B5D

Dulux

Walter SG5G7

ΔE 2.2 · #4E5B5C

Kilz

Charcoal RM150

ΔE 2.9 · #566466

Behr

Blue Metal HDC-AC-25

ΔE 3 · #596267

Hallman-Lindsay

Zen Retreat 535

ΔE 3.1 · #5B5D5C

Sherwin-Williams

Grays Harbor SW6236

ΔE 3.2 · #596368

RAL

Basalt Grey 7012

ΔE 3.9 · #4E5754

Farrow & Ball

Inchyra Blue 289

ΔE 4 · #586768

Colorhouse

Metal .05 Metal-05

ΔE 4.2 · #535654

Dutch Boy

Seal of Grey VS-9301

ΔE 4.3 · #575757

IKEA

IKEA188 188

ΔE 5.1 · #646462

Kobra

Green 38

ΔE 10.8 · #415448

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

11/100

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

TemperatureNeutral MasstoneTeal UndertoneGreen

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#555E5F

#5F5554

Analogous

#545F5A

#555E5F

#54585F

Triadic

#555E5F

#5F545E

#5E5F54

Split-Complementary

#555E5F

#5F5458

#5F5A54

Tetradic

#555E5F

#5A545F

#5F5554

#585F54

Monochromatic

#0C0D0E

#303536

#555E5F

#788687

#A0AAAB

Rectangle

#555E5F

#55545F

#5F5554

#5E5F54

Compound

#555E5F

#54585F

#5F5554

#5F5A54

Variations

Lighter

#738082

#96A0A1

#C3C7C7

Darker

#434B4C

#2E3434

#1B1E1F

Saturation

#585B5B

#545E5F

#2A7F89

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

6.66:1

vs Black

3.15:1

AA Large

Deuteranopia

#555E5F

#5A5B60

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#555E5F

#5D5D5F

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#555E5F

#555E5E

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Soot 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

#7F7362

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#555E5F

Daylight 5500K

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

#6C7887

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.

#5F3D39

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: #555E5F;

CSS — background

background-color: #555E5F;

CSS Variable

--color-soot: #555E5F;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'soot': '#555E5F' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#555E5F] text-[#555E5F]

SCSS

$soot: #555E5F;

Similar Colors

Flint

#565C5E · ΔE 1.5

Bracken Slate

#5E6363 · ΔE 2.9

Ambler Slate

#57595A · ΔE 3.2

Temptation

#54585C · ΔE 3.4

Deep Secret®

#525A60 · ΔE 3.5

Dark Pewter

#4B5756 · ΔE 3.7

Anchor Gray

#5C6167 · ΔE 3.9

Deep Space

#52565A · ΔE 4.0

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 #555E5F?

#555E5F is Soot, a deep neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #555E5F warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Soot?

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

What colors pair well with Soot?

Soot 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 Soot?

You can download Soot 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 Soot?

The hex code is #555E5F. In RGB it's 85, 94, 95, and in HSL it's 186°, 6%, 35%.

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