NEUTRALS

Bull Kelp

#636153

RGB 99, 97, 83 · HSL 52°, 9%, 36% · CMYK 0, 2, 16, 61

Bull Kelp is #636153 in HEX — rgb(99, 97, 83), hsl(52°, 9%, 36%), cmyk(0%, 2%, 16%, 61%).

Bull Kelp pulls into the rich end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 52°, 9%, 36%. 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#636153

RGB99, 97, 83

HSL52°, 9%, 36%

HSV52°, 16%, 39%

CMYK0, 2, 16, 61

Decimal6512979

CSS RGBrgb(99, 97, 83)

CSS HSLhsl(52, 9%, 36%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Marble Garden S18A7

ΔE 0.8 · #646255

Benjamin Moore

Mohegan 2138-30

ΔE 1 · #605F51

Vista Paint

Serpentine C-442

ΔE 1 · #605F51

Valspar

Olive Smudge 6001-2C

ΔE 1.2 · #626054

PPG

Plunge Pool 1029-7 · 11-25

ΔE 1.4 · #656457

Hallman-Lindsay

Serpentine 443

ΔE 1.7 · #5E5E51

Dunn-Edwards

English Forest DE6280

ΔE 2.1 · #606256

Dutch Boy

Ashton Grey VS-9303

ΔE 2.5 · #66665A

Behr

Landmark Brown N220-6

ΔE 2.5 · #635E4D

Sherwin-Williams

Cast Iron SW6202

ΔE 2.8 · #64645A

IKEA

IKEA148 148

ΔE 3.8 · #676450

Kilz

Dark Umber RM190

ΔE 4.3 · #605F58

RAL

Beige Grey 7006

ΔE 4.5 · #6D6552

Farrow & Ball

Salon Drab 290

ΔE 6 · #726454

Kobra

Green 37

ΔE 6.3 · #515545

Colorhouse

Stone .06 Stone-06

ΔE 6.3 · #746D5A

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

12/100

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

TemperatureWarm MasstoneYellow UndertoneGreen

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#636153

#545664

Analogous

#645A54

#636153

#5E6454

Triadic

#636153

#546462

#625464

Split-Complementary

#636153

#545E64

#5A5464

Tetradic

#636153

#54645A

#545664

#64545E

Monochromatic

#11100E

#3A3931

#636153

#8D8A77

#B0AEA0

Rectangle

#636153

#566454

#545664

#625464

Compound

#636153

#5E6454

#545664

#5A5464

Variations

Lighter

#888571

#A5A396

#C9C9C2

Darker

#504F42

#37362D

#20201A

Saturation

#5E5E59

#646254

#8E802A

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

6.24:1

vs Black

3.37:1

AA Large

Deuteranopia

#636153

#646154

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#636153

#616155

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#636153

#645F60

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Bull Kelp 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

#8A7559

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#636153

Daylight 5500K

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

#777A7E

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EBEBEA

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.

#3B4062

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: #636153;

CSS — background

background-color: #636153;

CSS Variable

--color-bull-kelp: #636153;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'bull-kelp': '#636153' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#636153] text-[#636153]

SCSS

$bull-kelp: #636153;

Similar Colors

Mohegan Sage

#5F5E50 · ΔE 1.4

Dark Olive

#616253 · ΔE 1.4

Castle Peak Gray

#696757 · ΔE 2.6

Durango

#645D4E · ΔE 2.7

Aegean Olive

#5D594C · ΔE 3.3

Forest Floor

#626451 · ΔE 3.5

Deep Creek

#6B655B · ΔE 3.6

Cabin Fever

#6C6453 · ΔE 3.7

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 #636153?

#636153 is Bull Kelp, a deep neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #636153 warm or cool?

Bull Kelp reads cool, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Bull Kelp?

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

What colors pair well with Bull Kelp?

Bull Kelp 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 Bull Kelp?

You can download Bull Kelp 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 Bull Kelp?

The hex code is #636153. In RGB it's 99, 97, 83, and in HSL it's 52°, 9%, 36%.

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