BROWNS

Ancient Spice

#694A39

RGB 105, 74, 57 · HSL 21°, 30%, 32% · CMYK 0, 30, 46, 59

Ancient Spice is #694A39 in HEX — rgb(105, 74, 57), hsl(21°, 30%, 32%), cmyk(0%, 30%, 46%, 59%).

Ancient Spice pulls into the rich end of the browns spectrum — HSL 21°, 30%, 32%. 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#694A39

RGB105, 74, 57

HSL21°, 30%, 32%

HSV21°, 46%, 41%

CMYK0, 30, 46, 59

Decimal6900281

CSS RGBrgb(105, 74, 57)

CSS HSLhsl(21, 30%, 32%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Kilz

Ancient Spice LM170

Exact match

Dulux

Guitar S10C8

ΔE 1.3 · #6A4937

Benjamin Moore

Java 2106-10

ΔE 1.4 · #684A3B

Vista Paint

Bistro Brown K-1104

ΔE 1.5 · #654737

Hallman-Lindsay

Hideaway 137

ΔE 2 · #654637

Sherwin-Williams

Java SW6090

ΔE 2.4 · #634533

PPG

Bird House Brown 1072-7

ΔE 2.8 · #6C483A

Behr

Moroccan Henna PPU3-19

ΔE 3.7 · #6E5043

Dunn-Edwards

Rich Mocha DEA159

ΔE 4 · #745342

Kobra

Brown 43

ΔE 5 · #624A3E

Valspar

Cowboy Hat 3010-8

ΔE 5.4 · #745746

IKEA

IKEA089 89

ΔE 5.6 · #6A443B

Dutch Boy

Mud Pie VS-9501

ΔE 5.9 · #5B4631

RAL

Nut Brown 8011

ΔE 6.8 · #5B3A29

Colorhouse

Clay .06 Clay-06

ΔE 7.4 · #675544

Farrow & Ball

Salon Drab 290

ΔE 12.7 · #726454

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 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

#694A39

#39596A

Analogous

#6A3940

#694A39

#6A6339

Triadic

#694A39

#396A4A

#4A396A

Split-Complementary

#694A39

#396A63

#39406A

Tetradic

#694A39

#406A39

#39596A

#63396A

Monochromatic

#110C09

#38271E

#694A39

#9C6D54

#BB9581

Rectangle

#694A39

#596A39

#39596A

#4A396A

Compound

#694A39

#6A6339

#39596A

#39406A

Variations

Lighter

#976A51

#B18F7C

#CFBEB6

Darker

#563B2D

#3C281E

#231711

Saturation

#594F4A

#6A4A39

#87421D

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

7.96:1

AAA

vs Black

2.64:1

Fail

Deuteranopia

#694A39

#5B5538

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#694A39

#50503C

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#694A39

#69484B

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Grounded · Earthy

Ancient Spice 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

#8E6446

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#694A39

Daylight 5500K

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

#7B696A

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#ECEAE9

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.

#344B57

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: #694A39;

CSS — background

background-color: #694A39;

CSS Variable

--color-ancient-spice: #694A39;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'ancient-spice': '#694A39' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#694A39] text-[#694A39]

SCSS

$ancient-spice: #694A39;

Similar Colors

Java

#67493A · ΔE 1.4

Toasted Brown

#6B4A3C · ΔE 1.9

Riding Boots

#6B4E3E · ΔE 2.0

Forest Brown

#6C493A · ΔE 2.1

Auberge

#6D4E3F · ΔE 2.2

Barrel Brown

#67473A · ΔE 2.6

Adirondack Brown

#6F4B3B · ΔE 2.6

Roasted Coffee Beans

#6D4C3F · 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 #694A39?

#694A39 is Ancient Spice, a deep brown with a warm undertone.

Is #694A39 warm or cool?

Ancient Spice reads warm, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Ancient Spice?

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

What colors pair well with Ancient Spice?

Ancient Spice 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 Ancient Spice?

You can download Ancient Spice 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 Ancient Spice?

The hex code is #694A39. In RGB it's 105, 74, 57, and in HSL it's 21°, 30%, 32%.

← All colors