NEUTRALS

Forged Steel

#5B5B59

RGB 91, 91, 89 · HSL 60°, 1%, 35% · CMYK 0, 0, 2, 64

Forged Steel is #5B5B59 in HEX — rgb(91, 91, 89), hsl(60°, 1%, 35%), cmyk(0%, 0%, 2%, 64%).

Forged Steel pulls into the rich end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 60°, 1%, 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#5B5B59

RGB91, 91, 89

HSL60°, 1%, 35%

HSV60°, 2%, 36%

CMYK0, 0, 2, 64

Decimal5987161

CSS RGBrgb(91, 91, 89)

CSS HSLhsl(60, 1%, 35%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Vista Paint

Zen Retreat C-534

ΔE 1.1 · #5B5D5B

Behr

Wright Brown N140-6

ΔE 1.1 · #5D5B58

Hallman-Lindsay

Zen Retreat 535

ΔE 1.2 · #5B5D5C

Dunn-Edwards

Iron Fixture DE6384

ΔE 1.5 · #5D5B5B

PPG

Knight's Armor 1001-6

ΔE 1.5 · #5C5D5D

Sherwin-Williams

Peppercorn SW7674

ΔE 1.7 · #585858

Benjamin Moore

Gray 2121-10

ΔE 1.7 · #585858

Valspar

Muted Ebony 4008-2C

ΔE 1.7 · #5B5E5D

Dulux

Raku SN4H7

ΔE 1.8 · #5A5858

Dutch Boy

Seal of Grey VS-9301

ΔE 2 · #575757

Colorhouse

Metal .05 Metal-05

ΔE 2.7 · #535654

Kilz

Space RM200

ΔE 3.1 · #625D5E

IKEA

IKEA188 188

ΔE 3.7 · #646462

RAL

Traffic Grey B 7043

ΔE 4.3 · #4E5452

Farrow & Ball

Down Pipe 26

ΔE 4.5 · #626664

Kobra

Green 37

ΔE 9.4 · #515545

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

TemperatureNeutral MasstoneYellow 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

#5B5B59

#58585A

Analogous

#5A5958

#5B5B59

#595A58

Triadic

#5B5B59

#585A5A

#5A585A

Split-Complementary

#5B5B59

#58595A

#59585A

Tetradic

#5B5B59

#585A59

#58585A

#5A5859

Monochromatic

#0D0D0D

#343432

#5B5B59

#81817E

#A7A7A5

Rectangle

#5B5B59

#585A58

#58585A

#5A585A

Compound

#5B5B59

#595A58

#58585A

#59585A

Variations

Lighter

#7C7C79

#9C9C9B

#C5C5C5

Darker

#484847

#323231

#1D1D1C

Saturation

#5A5A59

#5A5A58

#86862C

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

6.81:1

vs Black

3.09:1

AA Large

Deuteranopia

#5B5B59

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#5B5B59

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#5B5B59

#5B5B5B

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Forged 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

#84715E

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#5B5B59

Daylight 5500K

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

#717682

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EBEBEB

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.

#39395F

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: #5B5B59;

CSS — background

background-color: #5B5B59;

CSS Variable

--color-forged-steel: #5B5B59;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'forged-steel': '#5B5B59' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#5B5B59] text-[#5B5B59]

SCSS

$forged-steel: #5B5B59;

Similar Colors

Gray

#585858 · ΔE 1.7

Ambler Slate

#57595A · ΔE 2.2

Iron Mountain

#575553 · ΔE 2.5

Flint

#565C5E · ΔE 3.4

Ashwood Moss

#565851 · ΔE 3.6

City Shadow

#626463 · ΔE 3.7

Bracken Slate

#5E6363 · ΔE 3.8

Temptation

#54585C · ΔE 4.3

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 #5B5B59?

#5B5B59 is Forged Steel, a deep neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #5B5B59 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Forged Steel?

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

What colors pair well with Forged Steel?

Forged 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 Forged Steel?

You can download Forged 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 Forged Steel?

The hex code is #5B5B59. In RGB it's 91, 91, 89, and in HSL it's 60°, 1%, 35%.

← All colors