NEUTRALS

Piano Brown

#5E4E4E

RGB 94, 78, 78 · HSL 0°, 9%, 34% · CMYK 0, 17, 17, 63

Piano Brown is #5E4E4E in HEX — rgb(94, 78, 78), hsl(0°, 9%, 34%), cmyk(0%, 17%, 17%, 63%).

Piano Brown pulls into the rich end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 0°, 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#5E4E4E

RGB94, 78, 78

HSL0°, 9%, 34%

HSV0°, 17%, 37%

CMYK0, 17, 17, 63

Decimal6180430

CSS RGBrgb(94, 78, 78)

CSS HSLhsl(0, 9%, 34%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Behr

Piano Brown MQ1-43

Exact match

Kilz

Chocolate Indulgence LM150

ΔE 1.3 · #5F4F4D

Dulux

Spell S02A7

ΔE 1.4 · #5E4F51

Valspar

Virginia Soil 1003-9A

ΔE 1.9 · #5F4F4C

Benjamin Moore

Fresco 1253

ΔE 2 · #604F4C

PPG

Carob Chip 1047-7

ΔE 3 · #5A484B

Dunn-Edwards

Molasses DE6399

ΔE 3.1 · #574A47

IKEA

IKEA091 91

ΔE 3.2 · #574C49

Hallman-Lindsay

Gargoyle 550

ΔE 4 · #60544F

Vista Paint

Gargoyle C-549

ΔE 4 · #5B4F49

Farrow & Ball

Mahogany 36

ΔE 4.2 · #534644

Sherwin-Williams

Chateau Brown SW7510

ΔE 4.6 · #5B4B44

Colorhouse

Wood .05 Wood-05

ΔE 6.3 · #6F595D

Kobra

Red 17

ΔE 7 · #583F40

Dutch Boy

Seal of Grey VS-9301

ΔE 7.5 · #575757

RAL

Blue Grey 7031

ΔE 9.5 · #474B4E

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

8/100

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 MasstoneRed UndertonePink

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#5E4E4E

#4F5F5F

Analogous

#5F4F57

#5E4E4E

#5F574F

Triadic

#5E4E4E

#4F5F4F

#4F4F5F

Split-Complementary

#5E4E4E

#4F5F57

#4F575F

Tetradic

#5E4E4E

#575F4F

#4F5F5F

#574F5F

Monochromatic

#0E0C0C

#352C2C

#5E4E4E

#887272

#AB9B9B

Rectangle

#5E4E4E

#5F5F4F

#4F5F5F

#4F4F5F

Compound

#5E4E4E

#5F574F

#4F5F5F

#4F575F

Variations

Lighter

#836E6E

#A29292

#C8C0C0

Darker

#4C3F3F

#342B2B

#1F1919

Saturation

#595454

#5F4F4F

#862727

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

7.85:1

AAA

vs Black

2.68:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#5E4E4E

#55544E

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#5E4E4E

#51514E

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#5E4E4E

#5E4E4F

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Piano 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

#866756

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#5E4E4E

Daylight 5500K

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

#736C7A

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.

#375C5C

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: #5E4E4E;

CSS — background

background-color: #5E4E4E;

CSS Variable

--color-piano-brown: #5E4E4E;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'piano-brown': '#5E4E4E' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#5E4E4E] text-[#5E4E4E]

SCSS

$piano-brown: #5E4E4E;

Similar Colors

Fresco Urbain

#5F4E4B · ΔE 1.9

Incense Stick

#584744 · ΔE 3.6

Desert Shadows

#685553 · ΔE 3.7

Topeka Taupe

#60544F · ΔE 4.0

Vintage Wine

#544649 · ΔE 4.1

Branchport Brown

#60514A · ΔE 4.4

Stone Brown

#5F544E · ΔE 4.6

Silhouette

#57504C · ΔE 4.7

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 #5E4E4E?

#5E4E4E is Piano Brown, a deep neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #5E4E4E warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Piano Brown?

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

What colors pair well with Piano Brown?

Piano 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 Piano Brown?

You can download Piano 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 Piano Brown?

The hex code is #5E4E4E. In RGB it's 94, 78, 78, and in HSL it's 0°, 9%, 34%.

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