GREYS

Subtle Shadow

#7E8080

RGB 126, 128, 128 · HSL 180°, 1%, 50% · CMYK 2, 0, 0, 50

Subtle Shadow is #7E8080 in HEX — rgb(126, 128, 128), hsl(180°, 1%, 50%), cmyk(2%, 0%, 0%, 50%).

Subtle Shadow pulls into the mid-tone end of the greys spectrum — HSL 180°, 1%, 50%. 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#7E8080

RGB126, 128, 128

HSL180°, 1%, 50%

HSV180°, 2%, 50%

CMYK2, 0, 0, 50

Decimal8290432

CSS RGBrgb(126, 128, 128)

CSS HSLhsl(180, 1%, 50%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Vista Paint

Subtle Shadow C-533

Exact match

Hallman-Lindsay

Subtle Shadow 534

ΔE 0.8 · #7F8282

Benjamin Moore

Lampblack CW-695

ΔE 0.8 · #7F8282

Kilz

Chipped Granite RL230

ΔE 1 · #7C8081

Dunn-Edwards

Storm Cloud DE6362

ΔE 1 · #808283

RAL

Pearl Dark Grey 9023

ΔE 1.2 · #828282

Sherwin-Williams

Cityscape SW7067

ΔE 1.8 · #7F817E

Dulux

Elephant Rock SN4E7

ΔE 1.9 · #808083

Behr

Coastal Storm MQ6-20

ΔE 1.9 · #7C807D

PPG

Dover Gray 1001-5

ΔE 2.1 · #848585

IKEA

IKEA185 185

ΔE 2.3 · #7B7B79

Dutch Boy

Natural Gray VS-9332

ΔE 3 · #878787

Valspar

Cinder Fox 4001-2B

ΔE 3 · #848083

Colorhouse

Stone .07 Stone-07

ΔE 4.4 · #848A86

Farrow & Ball

Mole's Breath 276

ΔE 5.3 · #8B857F

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 8.1 · #889099

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

21/100

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 MasstoneTeal UndertoneGreen

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#7E8080

#817E7E

Analogous

#7E8180

#7E8080

#7E8081

Triadic

#7E8080

#817E81

#81817E

Split-Complementary

#7E8080

#817E80

#81807E

Tetradic

#7E8080

#807E81

#817E7E

#80817E

Monochromatic

#323434

#585A5A

#7E8080

#A5A7A7

#CBCDCD

Rectangle

#7E8080

#7E7E81

#817E7E

#81817E

Compound

#7E8080

#7E8081

#817E7E

#81807E

Variations

Lighter

#989A9A

#B2B3B3

#D2D3D3

Darker

#656767

#454747

#282929

Saturation

#7F8080

#7E8181

#3FC0C0

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

3.97:1

AA Large

vs Black

5.29:1

Deuteranopia

#7E8080

#7F7F81

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#7E8080

#808080

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#7E8080

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Subtle Shadow 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

#9E8D7B

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#7E8080

Daylight 5500K

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

#8B929F

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.

#875151

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: #7E8080;

CSS — background

background-color: #7E8080;

CSS Variable

--color-subtle-shadow: #7E8080;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'subtle-shadow': '#7E8080' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#7E8080] text-[#7E8080]

SCSS

$subtle-shadow: #7E8080;

Similar Colors

Lampblack

#7E8181 · ΔE 0.5

Whale Gray

#7E8283 · ΔE 1.2

Wool Peacoat

#848181 · ΔE 2.1

Rock Gray

#7F8386 · ΔE 2.2

Steel Wool

#787B7D · ΔE 2.3

Englewood Cliffs

#7F8487 · ΔE 2.5

Cinder

#868583 · ΔE 2.7

Gray Pinstripe

#788181 · 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 #7E8080?

#7E8080 is Subtle Shadow, a mid-tone grey with a cool undertone.

Is #7E8080 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Subtle Shadow?

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

What colors pair well with Subtle Shadow?

Subtle Shadow 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 Subtle Shadow?

You can download Subtle Shadow 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 Subtle Shadow?

The hex code is #7E8080. In RGB it's 126, 128, 128, and in HSL it's 180°, 1%, 50%.

← All colors