GREYS

Charcoal

#65686A

RGB 101, 104, 106 · HSL 204°, 2%, 41% · CMYK 5, 2, 0, 58

Charcoal is #65686A in HEX — rgb(101, 104, 106), hsl(204°, 2%, 41%), cmyk(5%, 2%, 0%, 58%).

Charcoal pulls into the rich end of the greys spectrum — HSL 204°, 2%, 41%. The neutral saturation makes it near-neutral and forgiving, and the hue reads cool. In interior projects it shines on walls, soft furniture, hard surfaces — as the project's quiet backbone. Reads best alongside white trim, natural wood, brass, soft black accents.

Color Codes

HEX#65686A

RGB101, 104, 106

HSL204°, 2%, 41%

HSV204°, 5%, 42%

CMYK5, 2, 0, 58

Decimal6645866

CSS RGBrgb(101, 104, 106)

CSS HSLhsl(204, 2%, 41%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Benjamin Moore

Charcoal HC-178

Exact match

Vista Paint

Polished Pewter C-1463

ΔE 0.7 · #646869

Hallman-Lindsay

Polished Pewter historic-polished-pewter

ΔE 1 · #636869

Dunn-Edwards

Pointed Rock DE6363

ΔE 1.3 · #646767

Sherwin-Williams

Web Gray SW7075

ΔE 1.4 · #616669

Behr

Dark Ash 770F-5

ΔE 2 · #6A6D6F

Kilz

Sooty RM160

ΔE 2 · #6A6B6B

Valspar

High-Speed Steel 4005-2B

ΔE 2.5 · #6B6E71

Farrow & Ball

Down Pipe 26

ΔE 2.7 · #626664

Dulux

Monk SG6B6

ΔE 2.9 · #6C696D

IKEA

IKEA188 188

ΔE 3.1 · #646462

PPG

Lava Gray 1038-6

ΔE 3.3 · #5E686D

RAL

Mouse Grey 7005

ΔE 6.3 · #646B63

Dutch Boy

Seal of Grey VS-9301

ΔE 7 · #575757

Colorhouse

Metal .05 Metal-05

ΔE 8 · #535654

Kobra

Green 37

ΔE 14 · #515545

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

14/100

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 MasstoneBlue UndertoneViolet

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#65686A

#6B6866

Analogous

#666B6A

#65686A

#66676B

Triadic

#65686A

#6B6669

#696B66

Split-Complementary

#65686A

#6B6667

#6B6A66

Tetradic

#65686A

#6A666B

#6B6866

#676B66

Monochromatic

#1B1C1D

#414344

#65686A

#8D8F91

#B4B5B7

Rectangle

#65686A

#68666B

#6B6866

#696B66

Compound

#65686A

#66676B

#6B6866

#6B6A66

Variations

Lighter

#848789

#A3A5A6

#CACACB

Darker

#525455

#383A3B

#212222

Saturation

#686969

#66696B

#33739E

Interior Use

Best Rooms

living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms

Best Uses

walls, soft furniture, hard surfaces

Pairs With

white trim, natural wood, brass, soft black accents

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

5.61:1

vs Black

3.74:1

AA Large

Deuteranopia

#65686A

#66676B

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#65686A

#67676A

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#65686A

#656868

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Charcoal 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

#8B7B6B

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#65686A

Daylight 5500K

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

#78808F

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.

#6F5443

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: #65686A;

CSS — background

background-color: #65686A;

CSS Variable

--color-charcoal: #65686A;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'charcoal': '#65686A' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#65686A] text-[#65686A]

SCSS

$charcoal: #65686A;

Similar Colors

Charcoal Slate

#646769 · ΔE 0.4

Stormy Sky

#626568 · ΔE 1.3

Trout Gray

#696D70 · ΔE 2.1

Arctic Seal

#6C6B6D · ΔE 2.3

Overcoat

#696867 · ΔE 2.4

City Shadow

#626463 · ΔE 2.5

Bracken Slate

#5E6363 · ΔE 2.7

Ashland Slate

#696D72 · ΔE 2.7

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 #65686A?

#65686A is Charcoal, a mid-tone grey with a cool undertone.

Is #65686A warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Charcoal?

Charcoal works well in living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms. Designers typically use it for walls, soft furniture, hard surfaces.

What colors pair well with Charcoal?

Charcoal pairs naturally with white trim, natural wood, brass, soft black accents. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Charcoal?

You can download Charcoal 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 Charcoal?

The hex code is #65686A. In RGB it's 101, 104, 106, and in HSL it's 204°, 2%, 41%.

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