BROWNS

Potting Soil

#5B3E31

RGB 91, 62, 49 · HSL 19°, 30%, 27% · CMYK 0, 32, 46, 64

Potting Soil is #5B3E31 in HEX — rgb(91, 62, 49), hsl(19°, 30%, 27%), cmyk(0%, 32%, 46%, 64%).

Potting Soil pulls into the deep end of the browns spectrum — HSL 19°, 30%, 27%. 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#5B3E31

RGB91, 62, 49

HSL19°, 30%, 27%

HSV19°, 46%, 36%

CMYK0, 32, 46, 64

Decimal5979697

CSS RGBrgb(91, 62, 49)

CSS HSLhsl(19, 30%, 27%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Chocolate Treat S09D9

ΔE 2 · #5C3F35

Benjamin Moore

Chocolate 2113-10

ΔE 2.8 · #5C4037

Dutch Boy

Western Brown VS-9660

ΔE 3.3 · #53372C

Sherwin-Williams

Terra Brun SW6048

ΔE 3.4 · #5A382D

Vista Paint

Hideaway C-136

ΔE 3.7 · #624534

Hallman-Lindsay

Hideaway 137

ΔE 3.8 · #654637

Behr

Brown Velvet N160-7

ΔE 3.9 · #5E3B33

RAL

Nut Brown 8011

ΔE 4 · #5B3A29

Dunn-Edwards

Northern Territory DEA158

ΔE 4.7 · #5E463C

PPG

Fudge 1073-7

ΔE 5.1 · #63493E

Kobra

Brown 43

ΔE 5.6 · #624A3E

Kilz

Ancient Spice LM170

ΔE 5.7 · #694A39

IKEA

IKEA089 89

ΔE 5.8 · #6A443B

Valspar

Rich Chocolate 1005-9A

ΔE 7 · #6A4C44

Colorhouse

Nourish .05 Nourish-05

ΔE 8.6 · #53453C

Farrow & Ball

Mahogany 36

ΔE 11.5 · #534644

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

6/100

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

#5B3E31

#304C5A

Analogous

#5A3038

#5B3E31

#5A5230

Triadic

#5B3E31

#305A3D

#3D305A

Split-Complementary

#5B3E31

#305A52

#30385A

Tetradic

#5B3E31

#385A30

#304C5A

#52305A

Monochromatic

#110B09

#281B15

#5B3E31

#8B5F4B

#B28570

Rectangle

#5B3E31

#4C5A30

#304C5A

#3D305A

Compound

#5B3E31

#5A5230

#304C5A

#30385A

Variations

Lighter

#8A5E4A

#AC8573

#CCB9B0

Darker

#483126

#322119

#1E130E

Saturation

#4B433F

#5A3D30

#723418

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

9.64:1

AAA

vs Black

2.18:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#5B3E31

#4D4930

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#5B3E31

#444433

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#5B3E31

#5B3D40

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Grounded · Earthy

Potting Soil 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

#845B40

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#5B3E31

Daylight 5500K

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

#716064

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#ECEAE9

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.

#2C4049

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: #5B3E31;

CSS — background

background-color: #5B3E31;

CSS Variable

--color-potting-soil: #5B3E31;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'potting-soil': '#5B3E31' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#5B3E31] text-[#5B3E31]

SCSS

$potting-soil: #5B3E31;

Similar Colors

Chocolate Sundae

#5B3F36 · ΔE 2.7

Terrazzo Brown

#5E3B2F · ΔE 3.2

Deep Taupe

#594334 · ΔE 3.9

Coffeehouse Chocolate

#50382D · ΔE 4.2

Barrel Brown

#67473A · ΔE 4.3

Pine Cone Brown

#5F433C · ΔE 4.6

Java

#67493A · ΔE 4.9

Tudor Brown

#4F3A30 · ΔE 5.3

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 #5B3E31?

#5B3E31 is Potting Soil, a deep brown with a warm undertone.

Is #5B3E31 warm or cool?

Potting Soil reads warm, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Potting Soil?

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

What colors pair well with Potting Soil?

Potting Soil 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 Potting Soil?

You can download Potting Soil 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 Potting Soil?

The hex code is #5B3E31. In RGB it's 91, 62, 49, and in HSL it's 19°, 30%, 27%.

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