BROWNS

Prehistoric Wood

#5E5239

RGB 94, 82, 57 · HSL 41°, 25%, 30% · CMYK 0, 13, 39, 63

Prehistoric Wood is #5E5239 in HEX — rgb(94, 82, 57), hsl(41°, 25%, 30%), cmyk(0%, 13%, 39%, 63%).

Prehistoric Wood pulls into the rich end of the browns spectrum — HSL 41°, 25%, 30%. 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#5E5239

RGB94, 82, 57

HSL41°, 25%, 30%

HSV41°, 39%, 37%

CMYK0, 13, 39, 63

Decimal6181433

CSS RGBrgb(94, 82, 57)

CSS HSLhsl(41, 25%, 30%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Marsh S17D9

ΔE 1.5 · #5C5237

Vista Paint

Nightfall C-339

ΔE 1.8 · #5D4F38

PPG

Grapevine 1027-7

ΔE 2.5 · #5F563F

Hallman-Lindsay

Nightfall 340

ΔE 2.7 · #61523D

Behr

Moss Stone PPU7-1

ΔE 3.1 · #67583E

Benjamin Moore

Night CC-662

ΔE 3.2 · #5A533D

Sherwin-Williams

Pier SW7545

ΔE 3.3 · #63523D

Colorhouse

Clay .06 Clay-06

ΔE 5.8 · #675544

Valspar

Amazon Silt 6010-4

ΔE 5.8 · #605B47

Dutch Boy

Mud Pie VS-9501

ΔE 6.4 · #5B4631

Dunn-Edwards

Midnight Brown DE6210

ΔE 6.5 · #706048

RAL

Pearl Beige 1035

ΔE 7.4 · #6A5D4D

Kilz

Tea Leaf LF100-02

ΔE 7.4 · #66624B

IKEA

IKEA148 148

ΔE 8.8 · #676450

Kobra

Brown 43

ΔE 9.4 · #624A3E

Farrow & Ball

Salon Drab 290

ΔE 9.7 · #726454

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

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

#5E5239

#394560

Analogous

#604039

#5E5239

#596039

Triadic

#5E5239

#396054

#543960

Split-Complementary

#5E5239

#395960

#403960

Tetradic

#5E5239

#396040

#394560

#603959

Monochromatic

#100E0A

#302A1D

#5E5239

#8F7D56

#B3A280

Rectangle

#5E5239

#456039

#394560

#543960

Compound

#5E5239

#596039

#394560

#403960

Variations

Lighter

#8C7A54

#AB9C7D

#CBC5B6

Darker

#4D432D

#362E1F

#201B11

Saturation

#524F47

#605439

#7C5E1D

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

7.66:1

AAA

vs Black

2.74:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#5E5239

#5A5539

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#5E5239

#54543D

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#5E5239

#5F4F52

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Grounded · Earthy

Prehistoric Wood 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

#866A46

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#5E5239

Daylight 5500K

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

#736F6A

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#ECEBEA

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.

#313B51

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: #5E5239;

CSS — background

background-color: #5E5239;

CSS Variable

--color-prehistoric-wood: #5E5239;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'prehistoric-wood': '#5E5239' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#5E5239] text-[#5E5239]

SCSS

$prehistoric-wood: #5E5239;

Similar Colors

Night Owl

#59523C · ΔE 3.2

Jungle Canopy

#5A5538 · ΔE 4.0

Mediterranean Olive

#5E5A42 · ΔE 4.8

Char Brown

#5A4F40 · ΔE 6.2

Hope Chest

#6C5D4A · ΔE 6.4

Cabbage Patch

#5C5A47 · ΔE 6.8

Marshlands

#65594A · ΔE 6.9

Sierra Spruce

#604E40 · ΔE 7.0

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 #5E5239?

#5E5239 is Prehistoric Wood, a deep brown with a warm undertone.

Is #5E5239 warm or cool?

Prehistoric Wood reads warm, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Prehistoric Wood?

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

What colors pair well with Prehistoric Wood?

Prehistoric Wood 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 Prehistoric Wood?

You can download Prehistoric Wood 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 Prehistoric Wood?

The hex code is #5E5239. In RGB it's 94, 82, 57, and in HSL it's 41°, 25%, 30%.

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