GREYS

Norwegian Blue

#78888E

RGB 120, 136, 142 · HSL 196°, 9%, 51% · CMYK 15, 4, 0, 44

Norwegian Blue is #78888E in HEX — rgb(120, 136, 142), hsl(196°, 9%, 51%), cmyk(15%, 4%, 0%, 44%).

Norwegian Blue pulls into the mid-tone end of the greys spectrum — HSL 196°, 9%, 51%. 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#78888E

RGB120, 136, 142

HSL196°, 9%, 51%

HSV196°, 15%, 56%

CMYK15, 4, 0, 44

Decimal7899278

CSS RGBrgb(120, 136, 142)

CSS HSLhsl(196, 9%, 51%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

RAL

Squirrel Grey 7000

ΔE 1.4 · #78858B

Dulux

Kolya SG5C4

ΔE 1.8 · #758991

Valspar

Academy Gray 5001-2A

ΔE 1.8 · #778489

Kilz

December Nights TB-36

ΔE 2 · #7C878E

Benjamin Moore

Smokestack 2131-40

ΔE 2.1 · #738388

PPG

Garrison Gray 1039-5

ΔE 2.8 · #7B8588

Sherwin-Williams

Blustery Sky SW9140

ΔE 2.8 · #6F848C

Vista Paint

Smoky Day C-490

ΔE 2.9 · #7D8D8F

Behr

Cold Steel MQ5-20

ΔE 2.9 · #7D8C96

Hallman-Lindsay

Smoky Day 491

ΔE 3.1 · #7D8F92

Dunn-Edwards

Taliesin Blue DEC798

ΔE 3.8 · #707E84

IKEA

IKEA158 158

ΔE 3.8 · #7C9195

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 5.1 · #889099

Farrow & Ball

De Nimes 299

ΔE 5.1 · #6A7C80

Colorhouse

Water .05 Water-05

ΔE 5.7 · #82979D

Dutch Boy

Natural Gray VS-9332

ΔE 6.9 · #878787

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

24/100

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

TemperatureCool MasstoneBlue UndertoneViolet

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#78888E

#8D7D77

Analogous

#778D88

#78888E

#777C8D

Triadic

#78888E

#8D7787

#878D77

Split-Complementary

#78888E

#8D777C

#8D8877

Tetradic

#78888E

#88778D

#8D7D77

#7C8D77

Monochromatic

#31383A

#546064

#78888E

#A0ACB0

#CAD1D3

Rectangle

#78888E

#7D778D

#8D7D77

#878D77

Compound

#78888E

#777C8D

#8D7D77

#8D8877

Variations

Lighter

#929FA4

#AEB7BA

#D1D5D6

Darker

#5E6D72

#404B4F

#252C2E

Saturation

#7F8485

#77878D

#3EA2C6

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

3.68:1

AA Large

vs Black

5.71:1

Deuteranopia

#78888E

#80838F

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#78888E

#85858D

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#78888E

#788987

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Norwegian Blue 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

#999386

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#78888E

Daylight 5500K

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

#8798AA

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EAEBEB

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.

#8A6253

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 · Trim · Soft furniture

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: #78888E;

CSS — background

background-color: #78888E;

CSS Variable

--color-norwegian-blue: #78888E;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'norwegian-blue': '#78888E' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#78888E] text-[#78888E]

SCSS

$norwegian-blue: #78888E;

Similar Colors

Smokestack Gray

#728287 · ΔE 2.4

Montpelier

#718087 · ΔE 3.1

Templeton Gray

#778686 · ΔE 3.6

Wetherburn's Blue

#6F8486 · ΔE 3.7

Blue Echo

#6E888D · ΔE 3.7

Wild Blue Yonder

#798E99 · ΔE 3.8

Blue Dusk

#6E8791 · ΔE 3.9

Chiswell Blue

#81929B · ΔE 4.2

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 #78888E?

#78888E is Norwegian Blue, a mid-tone grey with a cool undertone.

Is #78888E warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Norwegian Blue?

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

What colors pair well with Norwegian Blue?

Norwegian Blue 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 Norwegian Blue?

You can download Norwegian Blue 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 Norwegian Blue?

The hex code is #78888E. In RGB it's 120, 136, 142, and in HSL it's 196°, 9%, 51%.

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