GREYS

The North Wind Blows

#818580

RGB 129, 133, 128 · HSL 108°, 2%, 51% · CMYK 3, 0, 4, 48

The North Wind Blows is #818580 in HEX — rgb(129, 133, 128), hsl(108°, 2%, 51%), cmyk(3%, 0%, 4%, 48%).

The North Wind Blows pulls into the mid-tone end of the greys spectrum — HSL 108°, 2%, 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#818580

RGB129, 133, 128

HSL108°, 2%, 51%

HSV108°, 4%, 52%

CMYK3, 0, 4, 48

Decimal8488320

CSS RGBrgb(129, 133, 128)

CSS HSLhsl(108, 2%, 51%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Vista Paint

Paved Path C-581

ΔE 0.6 · #7F847F

Hallman-Lindsay

Paved Path 582

ΔE 0.8 · #828782

IKEA

IKEA180 180

ΔE 1.1 · #81857E

Benjamin Moore

Duxbury HC-163

ΔE 1.7 · #808780

Valspar

Porcelain Shale 5006-2B

ΔE 1.8 · #82837C

Sherwin-Williams

Cityscape SW7067

ΔE 1.9 · #7F817E

Colorhouse

Stone .07 Stone-07

ΔE 2 · #848A86

Behr

Coastal Storm MQ6-20

ΔE 2.2 · #7C807D

PPG

Downpour 1010-5

ΔE 2.6 · #898A86

Dunn-Edwards

Enchanted Eve DE6313

ΔE 2.7 · #79837F

Kilz

Lincoln Green TB-68

ΔE 2.7 · #818A83

Dulux

Whakarewarewa NZ9C8

ΔE 2.7 · #898781

RAL

Dusty Grey 7037

ΔE 2.8 · #7D7F7D

Dutch Boy

Natural Gray VS-9332

ΔE 3.5 · #878787

Farrow & Ball

Mole's Breath 276

ΔE 4.1 · #8B857F

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 9.2 · #889099

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

23/100

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 MasstoneGreen UndertoneBlue

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#818580

#848085

Analogous

#838580

#818580

#808581

Triadic

#818580

#808185

#858081

Split-Complementary

#818580

#818085

#858083

Tetradic

#818580

#808385

#848085

#858180

Monochromatic

#353734

#5B5E5A

#818580

#A7AAA7

#CED0CE

Rectangle

#818580

#808584

#848085

#858081

Compound

#818580

#808581

#848085

#858083

Variations

Lighter

#9A9D99

#B3B5B3

#D3D4D3

Darker

#676A66

#474946

#292B29

Saturation

#828381

#818580

#5CC242

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

3.75:1

AA Large

vs Black

5.60:1

Deuteranopia

#818580

#848381

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#818580

#848481

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#818580

#828484

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

The North Wind Blows 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

#A0907B

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#818580

Daylight 5500K

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

#8D959F

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.

#7F538A

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: #818580;

CSS — background

background-color: #818580;

CSS Variable

--color-the-north-wind-blows: #818580;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'the-north-wind-blows': '#818580' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#818580] text-[#818580]

SCSS

$the-north-wind-blows: #818580;

Similar Colors

Duxbury Gray

#7F867F · ΔE 1.7

Street Chic

#848480 · ΔE 1.7

Geddy Gray

#7F807A · ΔE 2.2

Secret

#888983 · ΔE 2.2

Dolphin

#85837D · ΔE 2.5

Night Train

#7A847F · ΔE 2.5

Intrigue

#818981 · ΔE 2.6

Cinder

#868583 · 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 #818580?

#818580 is The North Wind Blows, a mid-tone grey with a cool undertone.

Is #818580 warm or cool?

The North Wind Blows reads cool, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with The North Wind Blows?

The North Wind Blows works well in living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms. Designers typically use it for walls, soft furniture, hard surfaces.

What colors pair well with The North Wind Blows?

The North Wind Blows 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 The North Wind Blows?

You can download The North Wind Blows 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 The North Wind Blows?

The hex code is #818580. In RGB it's 129, 133, 128, and in HSL it's 108°, 2%, 51%.

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