NEUTRALS

Bessie

#685E5B

RGB 104, 94, 91 · HSL 14°, 7%, 38% · CMYK 0, 10, 12, 59

Bessie is #685E5B in HEX — rgb(104, 94, 91), hsl(14°, 7%, 38%), cmyk(0%, 10%, 12%, 59%).

Bessie pulls into the rich end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 14°, 7%, 38%. 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#685E5B

RGB104, 94, 91

HSL14°, 7%, 38%

HSV14°, 12%, 41%

CMYK0, 10, 12, 59

Decimal6839899

CSS RGBrgb(104, 94, 91)

CSS HSLhsl(14, 7%, 38%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Bessie S09A7

Exact match

Valspar

Hunting Boots 1001-9A

ΔE 0.9 · #6A5F5B

PPG

Oswego Tea 1005-6

ΔE 0.9 · #665D59

Sherwin-Williams

Manor House SW7505

ΔE 1.9 · #665D57

Dunn-Edwards

Louisiana Mud DE6398

ΔE 2.6 · #655856

Behr

Intellectual PPU18-19

ΔE 3 · #605C5A

Benjamin Moore

Coachman's CSP-90

ΔE 3 · #6B645E

Vista Paint

Smokescreen C-555

ΔE 3.1 · #5F5855

IKEA

IKEA172 172

ΔE 3.3 · #6C645D

Kilz

Muddy Paws LL120

ΔE 3.3 · #6B625A

Hallman-Lindsay

Smokescreen 556

ΔE 3.5 · #5E5755

Farrow & Ball

London Clay 244

ΔE 5.6 · #786963

RAL

Quartz Grey 7039

ΔE 5.9 · #6C6960

Dutch Boy

Seal of Grey VS-9301

ΔE 6 · #575757

Colorhouse

Wood .05 Wood-05

ΔE 6.6 · #6F595D

Kobra

Green 37

ΔE 11.4 · #515545

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

TemperatureNeutral MasstoneRed UndertonePink

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#685E5B

#5A6568

Analogous

#685A5E

#685E5B

#68645A

Triadic

#685E5B

#5A685D

#5D5A68

Split-Complementary

#685E5B

#5A6864

#5A5E68

Tetradic

#685E5B

#5E685A

#5A6568

#645A68

Monochromatic

#161413

#3F3837

#685E5B

#90837F

#B3AAA8

Rectangle

#685E5B

#65685A

#5A6568

#5D5A68

Compound

#685E5B

#68645A

#5A6568

#5A5E68

Variations

Lighter

#897C78

#A69D9A

#CAC6C5

Darker

#534A48

#393331

#221E1D

Saturation

#63605F

#685D5A

#95452D

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

6.29:1

vs Black

3.34:1

AA Large

Deuteranopia

#685E5B

#63615B

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#685E5B

#60605B

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#685E5B

#685E5E

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Bessie 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

#8D735F

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#685E5B

Daylight 5500K

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

#7B7884

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.

#3E5D67

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: #685E5B;

CSS — background

background-color: #685E5B;

CSS Variable

--color-bessie: #685E5B;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'bessie': '#685E5B' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#685E5B] text-[#685E5B]

SCSS

$bessie: #685E5B;

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#6A635D · ΔE 2.8

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#675C5F · ΔE 3.7

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#675D53 · ΔE 4.3

Topeka Taupe

#60544F · ΔE 4.3

Stone Brown

#5F544E · ΔE 4.6

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#676662 · ΔE 4.6

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#6F5B5C · ΔE 4.9

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#685553 · ΔE 5.0

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 #685E5B?

#685E5B is Bessie, a deep neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #685E5B warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Bessie?

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

What colors pair well with Bessie?

Bessie 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 Bessie?

You can download Bessie 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 Bessie?

The hex code is #685E5B. In RGB it's 104, 94, 91, and in HSL it's 14°, 7%, 38%.

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