GREYS

Simpson Surprise

#83856D

RGB 131, 133, 109 · HSL 65°, 10%, 47% · CMYK 2, 0, 18, 48

Simpson Surprise is #83856D in HEX — rgb(131, 133, 109), hsl(65°, 10%, 47%), cmyk(2%, 0%, 18%, 48%).

Simpson Surprise pulls into the mid-tone end of the greys spectrum — HSL 65°, 10%, 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#83856D

RGB131, 133, 109

HSL65°, 10%, 47%

HSV65°, 18%, 52%

CMYK2, 0, 18, 48

Decimal8619373

CSS RGBrgb(131, 133, 109)

CSS HSLhsl(65, 10%, 47%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Simpson Surprise S19B5

Exact match

PPG

Shebang 1127-5

ΔE 1.7 · #81876F

Valspar

Native Henna 6001-4B

ΔE 1.7 · #84886E

Kilz

Combat Boots LG110-01

ΔE 1.7 · #85846E

Benjamin Moore

Vineland CC-722

ΔE 2.1 · #888973

Dunn-Edwards

Ivy Garden DE6258

ΔE 2.1 · #818068

Behr

Restful Brown BNC-36

ΔE 2.2 · #7E806A

Sherwin-Williams

Artichoke SW6179

ΔE 2.7 · #7F8266

Vista Paint

Fern Gully C-435

ΔE 3.2 · #838B71

Hallman-Lindsay

Pendula Garden 429

ΔE 3.2 · #7B8267

RAL

Cement Grey 7033

ΔE 3.6 · #7D8471

Farrow & Ball

Treron 292

ΔE 3.9 · #8B8A77

Dutch Boy

Silver Gray D-6730

ΔE 3.9 · #857F69

IKEA

IKEA146 146

ΔE 7.9 · #847763

Colorhouse

Glass .05 Glass-05

ΔE 7.9 · #6E7E60

Kobra

Gold 45

ΔE 11.3 · #8E7A5A

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

TemperatureWarm MasstoneYellow UndertoneGreen

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#83856D

#6E6C84

Analogous

#847A6C

#83856D

#76846C

Triadic

#83856D

#6C8284

#846C82

Split-Complementary

#83856D

#6C7684

#7A6C84

Tetradic

#83856D

#6C847A

#6E6C84

#846C76

Monochromatic

#2F3027

#585A49

#83856D

#A6A894

#C9CABE

Rectangle

#83856D

#6C846E

#6E6C84

#846C82

Compound

#83856D

#76846C

#6E6C84

#7A6C84

Variations

Lighter

#9C9E88

#B4B5A7

#D2D3CC

Darker

#686A56

#48493B

#2A2B22

Saturation

#7B7B74

#82846C

#AFBA36

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

3.79:1

AA Large

vs Black

5.54:1

Deuteranopia

#83856D

#87826E

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#83856D

#858570

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#83856D

#858184

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Simpson Surprise 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

#A2906D

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#83856D

Daylight 5500K

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

#8F9591

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EBEBEA

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.

#514C7F

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: #83856D;

CSS — background

background-color: #83856D;

CSS Variable

--color-simpson-surprise: #83856D;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'simpson-surprise': '#83856D' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#83856D] text-[#83856D]

SCSS

$simpson-surprise: #83856D;

Similar Colors

Vineland

#878872 · ΔE 1.8

Passion Vine

#87846B · ΔE 2.2

Jojoba

#858A74 · ΔE 2.5

Tate Olive

#818066 · ΔE 2.5

Mossy Oak

#7B8068 · ΔE 2.5

Tapenade

#858367 · ΔE 2.9

Sussex Green

#807C64 · ΔE 4.0

Great Barrington Green

#798064 · ΔE 4.0

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 #83856D?

#83856D is Simpson Surprise, a mid-tone grey with a cool undertone.

Is #83856D warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Simpson Surprise?

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

What colors pair well with Simpson Surprise?

Simpson Surprise 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 Simpson Surprise?

You can download Simpson Surprise 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 Simpson Surprise?

The hex code is #83856D. In RGB it's 131, 133, 109, and in HSL it's 65°, 10%, 47%.

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