GREYS

Steel

#797979

RGB 121, 121, 121 · HSL 0°, 0%, 47% · CMYK 0, 0, 0, 53

Steel is #797979 in HEX — rgb(121, 121, 121), hsl(0°, 0%, 47%), cmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 53%).

Steel pulls into the mid-tone end of the greys spectrum — HSL 0°, 0%, 47%. 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#797979

RGB121, 121, 121

HSL0°, 0%, 47%

HSV0°, 0%, 47%

CMYK0, 0, 0, 53

Decimal7960953

CSS RGBrgb(121, 121, 121)

CSS HSLhsl(0, 0%, 47%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Sherwin-Williams

Westchester Gray SW2849

ΔE 0.6 · #797978

Vista Paint

Ocean Frigate C-554

ΔE 1.3 · #7A7777

Hallman-Lindsay

Ocean Frigate 555

ΔE 1.4 · #7A7778

IKEA

IKEA185 185

ΔE 1.4 · #7B7B79

Dunn-Edwards

Legendary Gray DE6369

ΔE 1.8 · #787976

Dulux

Maraetai NZ10G8

ΔE 1.8 · #747878

Benjamin Moore

Steel 2121-20

ΔE 1.9 · #797C7E

Behr

Complex Gray N140-5

ΔE 2 · #76777A

Valspar

Almost Charcoal 4008-2B

ΔE 2.1 · #74797A

RAL

Dusty Grey 7037

ΔE 2.6 · #7D7F7D

Kilz

Chipped Granite RL230

ΔE 3 · #7C8081

PPG

Volcanic Ash 1012-6

ΔE 3.4 · #6F7678

Dutch Boy

Natural Gray VS-9332

ΔE 5.5 · #878787

Farrow & Ball

Mole's Breath 276

ΔE 6.6 · #8B857F

Colorhouse

Wool .04 Wool-04

ΔE 6.9 · #8B8A8C

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 10.4 · #889099

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

19/100

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

#797979

#787878

Analogous

#787878

#797979

#787878

Triadic

#797979

#787878

Split-Complementary

#797979

#787878

Tetradic

#797979

#787878

Monochromatic

#2B2B2B

#525252

#797979

#9E9E9E

#C4C4C4

Rectangle

#797979

#787878

Compound

#797979

#787878

Variations

Lighter

#939393

#AEAEAE

#D0D0D0

Darker

#606060

#424242

#262626

Saturation

#787878

#B43C3C

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

4.35:1

AA Large

vs Black

4.82:1

Deuteranopia

#797979

#79797A

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#797979

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#797979

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Steel 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

#9A8776

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#797979

Daylight 5500K

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

#878C9A

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.

#4C7F7F

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: #797979;

CSS — background

background-color: #797979;

CSS Variable

--color-steel: #797979;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'steel': '#797979' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#797979] text-[#797979]

SCSS

$steel: #797979;

Similar Colors

Steel Wool

#787B7D · ΔE 1.8

Granite

#827D7B · ΔE 3.0

Lampblack

#7E8181 · ΔE 3.1

Gray Gardens

#717571 · ΔE 3.5

Wool Peacoat

#848181 · ΔE 3.6

Whale Gray

#7E8283 · ΔE 3.6

Gray Mountain

#797271 · ΔE 3.7

Amherst Gray

#757670 · ΔE 3.8

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 #797979?

#797979 is Steel, a mid-tone grey with a cool undertone.

Is #797979 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Steel?

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

What colors pair well with Steel?

Steel 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 Steel?

You can download Steel 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 Steel?

The hex code is #797979. In RGB it's 121, 121, 121, and in HSL it's 0°, 0%, 47%.

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