PURPLES

Bitter Violet

#856D9E

RGB 133, 109, 158 · HSL 269°, 20%, 52% · CMYK 16, 31, 0, 38

Bitter Violet is #856D9E in HEX — rgb(133, 109, 158), hsl(269°, 20%, 52%), cmyk(16%, 31%, 0%, 38%).

Bitter Violet pulls into the mid-tone end of the purples spectrum — HSL 269°, 20%, 52%. The muted saturation makes it quiet but present, and the hue reads cool. In interior projects it shines on accent walls, dressing rooms, creative studios — for character without shouting. Reads best alongside warm whites, walnut, brass, deep velvet textiles.

Color Codes

HEX#856D9E

RGB133, 109, 158

HSL269°, 20%, 52%

HSV269°, 31%, 62%

CMYK16, 31, 0, 38

Decimal8744350

CSS RGBrgb(133, 109, 158)

CSS HSLhsl(269, 20%, 52%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Babiana S44G6

ΔE 2 · #856FA3

Sherwin-Williams

Clematis SW6831

ΔE 3.1 · #7E6596

RAL

Pearl Violet 4011

ΔE 3.2 · #8673A1

Vista Paint

Regal Jewel K-17

ΔE 3.9 · #8C75A2

Kilz

Mystical Purple RH260

ΔE 4 · #796A9D

Dunn-Edwards

Smashed Grape DE5963

ΔE 4.5 · #8775A1

PPG

Mirabella 1176-6

ΔE 4.8 · #886793

Behr

Plum Swirl 680F-5

ΔE 5.1 · #8979A9

Benjamin Moore

Charmed 1398

ΔE 6.2 · #947AB1

Valspar

Purple Phantom 1001-3B

ΔE 6.5 · #917AA4

Hallman-Lindsay

Plum Preserve 1256

ΔE 6.6 · #7C70AA

Kobra

Violet 26

ΔE 8.6 · #7B598F

Farrow & Ball

Pitch Blue 220

ΔE 16.2 · #636E8F

IKEA

IKEA063 63

ΔE 16.9 · #935E7C

Colorhouse

Create .06 Create-06

ΔE 22.6 · #5E3D5A

Dutch Boy

Blue Sea VS-9451

ΔE 26.2 · #2D61AD

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

18/100

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 MasstoneViolet UndertoneBlue

Reads as a neutral violet with a blue undertone showing through, especially in daylight. Pair trim and adjacent colours to either calm or amplify that undertone.

Color Theory

Complementary

#856D9E

#859D6C

Analogous

#6C6D9D

#856D9E

#9C6C9D

Triadic

#856D9E

#9D846C

#6C9D84

Split-Complementary

#856D9E

#9D9C6C

#6D9D6C

Tetradic

#856D9E

#9D6C6D

#859D6C

#6C9D9C

Monochromatic

#382D43

#5E4B71

#856D9E

#AA9ABC

#D1C8DA

Rectangle

#856D9E

#9D6C85

#859D6C

#6C9D84

Compound

#856D9E

#9C6C9D

#859D6C

#6D9D6C

Variations

Lighter

#9C89B1

#B5A9C2

#D4CEDA

Darker

#695480

#483959

#2A2134

Saturation

#847D8C

#846C9D

#823BCE

Interior Use

Best Rooms

dressing rooms, creative studios, accent walls

Best Uses

feature walls, cabinetry, textiles

Pairs With

warm whites, walnut, brass, deep velvet textiles

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

4.49:1

AA Large

vs Black

4.68:1

Deuteranopia

#856D9E

#6F7B9E

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#856D9E

#727299

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#856D9E

#807772

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Sophisticated · Imaginative

Bitter Violet carries history — long associated with luxury and contemplation. It works in low-light, intimate rooms (dressing rooms, dens, accent walls) where its complexity gets time to unfold. Pair with brass and walnut.

SymbolismLuxury, intuition, creativity

PersonalityRefined, mysterious, artistic

luxurycreativeintuitionintimateaccentrefined

How it looks under different light

#A37E92

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#856D9E

Daylight 5500K

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

#9083B6

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EBEAEB

Trim

Matched off-white

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

#F7F7F8

Ceiling

Whisper tint

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

#728D55

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: #856D9E;

CSS — background

background-color: #856D9E;

CSS Variable

--color-bitter-violet: #856D9E;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'bitter-violet': '#856D9E' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#856D9E] text-[#856D9E]

SCSS

$bitter-violet: #856D9E;

Similar Colors

Charmed Violet

#9379B0 · ΔE 5.9

Purple Heart

#897EAA · ΔE 8.0

Crocus Petal Purple

#9A80B9 · ΔE 8.8

Seduction

#6C598D · ΔE 8.9

Naples Sunset

#9F7CA5 · ΔE 9.3

Fire and Ice

#76597F · ΔE 10.1

Cupid's Dart

#7D6685 · ΔE 10.8

Spring Purple

#8782A6 · ΔE 12.4

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 #856D9E?

#856D9E is Bitter Violet, a mid-tone purple with a cool undertone.

Is #856D9E warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Bitter Violet?

Bitter Violet works well in dressing rooms, creative studios, accent walls. Designers typically use it for feature walls, cabinetry, textiles.

What colors pair well with Bitter Violet?

Bitter Violet pairs naturally with warm whites, walnut, brass, deep velvet textiles. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Bitter Violet?

You can download Bitter Violet 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 Bitter Violet?

The hex code is #856D9E. In RGB it's 133, 109, 158, and in HSL it's 269°, 20%, 52%.

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