NEUTRALS

Bittersweet Brown

#5D524E

RGB 93, 82, 78 · HSL 16°, 9%, 34% · CMYK 0, 12, 16, 64

Bittersweet Brown is #5D524E in HEX — rgb(93, 82, 78), hsl(16°, 9%, 34%), cmyk(0%, 12%, 16%, 64%).

Bittersweet Brown pulls into the rich end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 16°, 9%, 34%. 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#5D524E

RGB93, 82, 78

HSL16°, 9%, 34%

HSV16°, 16%, 36%

CMYK0, 12, 16, 64

Decimal6115918

CSS RGBrgb(93, 82, 78)

CSS HSLhsl(16, 9%, 34%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Kilz

Bittersweet Brown LM140

Exact match

Valspar

Labrador 3009-9

ΔE 0.4 · #5E534F

Hallman-Lindsay

Gargoyle 550

ΔE 1.2 · #60544F

Dunn-Edwards

Weathered Brown DEC756

ΔE 1.4 · #59504C

Behr

Gardeners Soil MQ2-54

ΔE 1.4 · #5E5551

Benjamin Moore

Topeka 1463

ΔE 1.5 · #615550

Vista Paint

Gargoyle C-549

ΔE 1.8 · #5B4F49

Dulux

Night Hawk S04A7

ΔE 1.8 · #615452

PPG

Chocolate Pretzel 1017-7

ΔE 2.5 · #60504B

IKEA

IKEA091 91

ΔE 2.6 · #574C49

Sherwin-Williams

Thunder Gray SW7645

ΔE 3.6 · #57534C

Farrow & Ball

Mahogany 36

ΔE 5.1 · #534644

Dutch Boy

Seal of Grey VS-9301

ΔE 5.6 · #575757

Colorhouse

Metal .05 Metal-05

ΔE 6.3 · #535654

RAL

Traffic Grey B 7043

ΔE 7.6 · #4E5452

Kobra

Brown 43

ΔE 8.7 · #624A3E

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

9/100

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

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#5D524E

#4F5A5F

Analogous

#5F4F53

#5D524E

#5F5B4F

Triadic

#5D524E

#4F5F53

#534F5F

Split-Complementary

#5D524E

#4F5F5B

#4F535F

Tetradic

#5D524E

#535F4F

#4F5A5F

#5B4F5F

Monochromatic

#0E0C0C

#352E2C

#5D524E

#887872

#AB9F9B

Rectangle

#5D524E

#5A5F4F

#4F5A5F

#534F5F

Compound

#5D524E

#5F5B4F

#4F5A5F

#4F535F

Variations

Lighter

#83736E

#A29692

#C8C2C0

Darker

#4C423F

#342D2B

#1F1A19

Saturation

#595654

#5F534F

#864127

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

7.55:1

AAA

vs Black

2.78:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#5D524E

#57564E

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#5D524E

#54544F

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#5D524E

#5D5252

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Bittersweet Brown 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

#856A56

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#5D524E

Daylight 5500K

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

#726F7A

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EBEAEA

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.

#37525C

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: #5D524E;

CSS — background

background-color: #5D524E;

CSS Variable

--color-bittersweet-brown: #5D524E;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'bittersweet-brown': '#5D524E' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#5D524E] text-[#5D524E]

SCSS

$bittersweet-brown: #5D524E;

Similar Colors

Topeka Taupe

#60544F · ΔE 1.2

Stone Brown

#5F544E · ΔE 1.4

Silhouette

#57504C · ΔE 2.2

Branchport Brown

#60514A · ΔE 2.7

Willow

#564E48 · ΔE 2.7

Fresco Urbain

#5F4E4B · ΔE 3.0

Rural Earth

#5F5047 · ΔE 3.8

Dragon's Breath

#55514A · ΔE 3.8

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 #5D524E?

#5D524E is Bittersweet Brown, a deep neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #5D524E warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Bittersweet Brown?

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

What colors pair well with Bittersweet Brown?

Bittersweet Brown 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 Bittersweet Brown?

You can download Bittersweet Brown 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 Bittersweet Brown?

The hex code is #5D524E. In RGB it's 93, 82, 78, and in HSL it's 16°, 9%, 34%.

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