GREENS

Lifeboat Blue

#81B8BC

RGB 129, 184, 188 · HSL 184°, 31%, 62% · CMYK 31, 2, 0, 26

Lifeboat Blue is #81B8BC in HEX — rgb(129, 184, 188), hsl(184°, 31%, 62%), cmyk(31%, 2%, 0%, 26%).

Lifeboat Blue pulls into the light end of the greens spectrum — HSL 184°, 31%, 62%. The muted saturation makes it quiet but present, and the hue reads cool. In interior projects it shines on bedrooms, bathrooms, libraries — for grounding, restorative spaces. Reads best alongside soft white walls, oak floors, brass, warm clay accents.

Color Codes

HEX#81B8BC

RGB129, 184, 188

HSL184°, 31%, 62%

HSV184°, 31%, 74%

CMYK31, 2, 0, 26

Decimal8501436

CSS RGBrgb(129, 184, 188)

CSS HSLhsl(184, 31%, 62%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Lifeboat Blue S31A2

Exact match

Kilz

Venice Escape RF250-02

ΔE 1.7 · #80B7B8

RAL

Pastel Turquoise 6034

ΔE 2.5 · #7FB5B5

Sherwin-Williams

Reflecting Pool SW6486

ΔE 3.1 · #7BB1B2

Behr

Aqua Gray BNC-18

ΔE 3.2 · #80B4B3

Vista Paint

Turquoise Trick K-211

ΔE 3.4 · #7FB0B6

Hallman-Lindsay

Stillwater 687

ΔE 3.7 · #8CC1C2

Valspar

Fresh Basin 5003-7C

ΔE 3.9 · #84B6C0

Benjamin Moore

Pool 2052-50

ΔE 4 · #86C2C9

PPG

Aqua Fiesta 1147-4

ΔE 4.5 · #8CC3C3

Dunn-Edwards

Watson Lake DE5766

ΔE 5.7 · #74AEBA

Colorhouse

Dream .04 Dream-04

ΔE 7.8 · #9CC7C4

Kobra

Blue 27

ΔE 8.4 · #87C8D7

Farrow & Ball

Blue Ground 210

ΔE 8.4 · #A1C5C8

Dutch Boy

Blue Wings VS-9402

ΔE 9.4 · #8AB1C2

IKEA

IKEA082 82

ΔE 10.2 · #729E9C

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

43/100

Medium

0 · DarkLight · 100

Balanced reflectance — holds colour without washing out. Versatile for most rooms and the most forgiving range for true-to-chip results.

Undertone

TemperatureCool MasstoneTeal UndertoneGreen

Reads as a cool teal with a green undertone showing through, especially in daylight. Pair trim and adjacent colours to either calm or amplify that undertone.

Color Theory

Complementary

#81B8BC

#BC8480

Analogous

#80BCA2

#81B8BC

#809ABC

Triadic

#81B8BC

#BC80B8

#B8BC80

Split-Complementary

#81B8BC

#BC809A

#BCA280

Tetradic

#81B8BC

#A280BC

#BC8480

#9ABC80

Monochromatic

#38686B

#53989D

#81B8BC

#B2D4D7

#E4F0F1

Rectangle

#81B8BC

#8480BC

#BC8480

#B8BC80

Compound

#81B8BC

#809ABC

#BC8480

#BCA280

Variations

Lighter

#99C6CA

#B6D2D4

#D6E3E4

Darker

#55A2A8

#397175

#214245

Saturation

#95A6A7

#80B8BC

#5FD5DE

Interior Use

Best Rooms

bedrooms, bathrooms, libraries

Best Uses

main walls, cabinetry, soft furniture

Pairs With

soft white walls, oak floors, brass, warm clay accents

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

2.21:1

Fail

vs Black

9.52:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#81B8BC

#A3A8BE

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#81B8BC

#B0B0BB

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#81B8BC

#83B8B6

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Calm · Restorative

Lifeboat Blue sits in the part of the spectrum the eye relaxes into. Designers reach for green when a room needs to feel like a refuge — bedrooms, libraries, bathrooms — because it lowers visual blood-pressure without flattening the space.

SymbolismGrowth, balance, nature

PersonalitySteady, grounded, thoughtful

calmnaturerestorativebalancebedroomlibrary

How it looks under different light

#A0B7A8

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#81B8BC

Daylight 5500K

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

#8DBCCC

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#E9ECEC

Trim

Matched off-white

Same hue at 92% lightness — trim reads coordinated, not stark.

#F7F8F8

Ceiling

Whisper tint

Near-white with a hint of the hero's undertone — ceiling feels intentional.

#A66B67

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: #81B8BC;

CSS — background

background-color: #81B8BC;

CSS Variable

--color-lifeboat-blue: #81B8BC;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'lifeboat-blue': '#81B8BC' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#81B8BC] text-[#81B8BC]

SCSS

$lifeboat-blue: #81B8BC;

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#85C1C8 · ΔE 3.7

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#88BDC8 · ΔE 4.6

Spirit in the Sky

#8FBCBA · ΔE 4.6

Passion Blue

#8DC1CA · ΔE 4.7

Tranquil Blue

#94C2C5 · ΔE 5.0

Chesapeake Blue

#94C0C6 · ΔE 5.2

Heavenly Peace

#86BECB · ΔE 5.5

How Blue Am I?

#84C5CE · ΔE 5.7

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 #81B8BC?

#81B8BC is Lifeboat Blue, a soft green with a cool undertone.

Is #81B8BC warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Lifeboat Blue?

Lifeboat Blue works well in bedrooms, bathrooms, libraries. Designers typically use it for main walls, cabinetry, soft furniture.

What colors pair well with Lifeboat Blue?

Lifeboat Blue pairs naturally with soft white walls, oak floors, brass, warm clay accents. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Lifeboat Blue?

You can download Lifeboat 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 Lifeboat Blue?

The hex code is #81B8BC. In RGB it's 129, 184, 188, and in HSL it's 184°, 31%, 62%.

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