BLUES

Franklin

#85A1AC

RGB 133, 161, 172 · HSL 197°, 19%, 60% · CMYK 23, 6, 0, 33

Franklin is #85A1AC in HEX — rgb(133, 161, 172), hsl(197°, 19%, 60%), cmyk(23%, 6%, 0%, 33%).

Franklin pulls into the light end of the blues spectrum — HSL 197°, 19%, 60%. The neutral saturation makes it near-neutral and forgiving, and the hue reads cool. In interior projects it shines on bedrooms, bathrooms, home offices — for calm, focused environments. Reads best alongside warm white trim, oak or walnut, brass or matte black hardware.

Color Codes

HEX#85A1AC

RGB133, 161, 172

HSL197°, 19%, 60%

HSV197°, 23%, 67%

CMYK23, 6, 0, 33

Decimal8757676

CSS RGBrgb(133, 161, 172)

CSS HSLhsl(197, 19%, 60%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Benjamin Moore

Franklin 1643

Exact match

Dulux

Blue Alps S33A3

ΔE 1.3 · #89A4AE

Sherwin-Williams

Powder Blue SW2863

ΔE 1.6 · #89A4AD

Behr

Cool December BXC-88

ΔE 1.7 · #83A3B0

PPG

Serene Stream 1154-5

ΔE 1.9 · #819DAA

Kilz

Winding River RD140-01

ΔE 2.6 · #869FAE

Dunn-Edwards

Lake Winnipeg DE5794

ΔE 2.6 · #80A1B0

Valspar

Nostalgia 4007-6A

ΔE 2.8 · #85A1B1

Vista Paint

Blue Horizon K-803

ΔE 3.2 · #8DA2B0

Hallman-Lindsay

Breath-taking View 632

ΔE 4 · #809BAC

Farrow & Ball

Stone Blue 86

ΔE 4.1 · #7997A1

Colorhouse

Water .05 Water-05

ΔE 4.9 · #82979D

Dutch Boy

Blue Wings VS-9402

ΔE 7 · #8AB1C2

IKEA

IKEA158 158

ΔE 7.3 · #7C9195

RAL

Silver Grey 7001

ΔE 8.3 · #8A9597

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 8.6 · #889099

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

33/100

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 MasstoneBlue UndertoneViolet

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#85A1AC

#AC9186

Analogous

#86ACA4

#85A1AC

#868EAC

Triadic

#85A1AC

#AC86A1

#A1AC86

Split-Complementary

#85A1AC

#AC868E

#ACA486

Tetradic

#85A1AC

#A486AC

#AC9186

#8EAC86

Monochromatic

#3E535B

#5D7C89

#85A1AC

#B3C4CB

#E1E8EA

Rectangle

#85A1AC

#9186AC

#AC9186

#A1AC86

Compound

#85A1AC

#868EAC

#AC9186

#ACA486

Variations

Lighter

#9EB4BD

#B8C6CC

#D7DDE0

Darker

#628593

#435C66

#26363C

Saturation

#939C9F

#86A1AC

#5CB3D6

Interior Use

Best Rooms

bedrooms, bathrooms, home offices

Best Uses

main walls, ceilings, trim, cabinetry

Pairs With

warm white trim, oak or walnut, brass or matte black hardware

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

2.73:1

Fail

vs Black

7.69:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#85A1AC

#9499AD

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#85A1AC

#9D9DAB

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#85A1AC

#85A2A0

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Focused · Cooling

Franklin lowers the temperature of a room — useful in south-facing rooms that overheat visually, and in home offices where you want a clear head. Pair with warm wood and brass to keep it from reading clinical.

SymbolismTrust, depth, stability

PersonalityClear-headed, dependable, contemplative

focustrustcalmofficebedroomdepth

How it looks under different light

#A3A59C

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#85A1AC

Daylight 5500K

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

#90AAC0

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EAEBEB

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.

#A17563

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: #85A1AC;

CSS — background

background-color: #85A1AC;

CSS Variable

--color-franklin: #85A1AC;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'franklin': '#85A1AC' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#85A1AC] text-[#85A1AC]

SCSS

$franklin: #85A1AC;

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#84A0AB · ΔE 0.4

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#83A0AD · ΔE 1.2

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#8CA4AD · ΔE 2.2

Labrador Blue

#7F9DAC · ΔE 2.8

Jamestown Blue

#82A0A6 · ΔE 3.0

St. John Blue

#82A1A7 · ΔE 3.1

Province Blue

#829BA1 · ΔE 3.6

Van Courtland Blue

#86989E · ΔE 5.1

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 #85A1AC?

#85A1AC is Franklin, a soft blue with a cool undertone.

Is #85A1AC warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Franklin?

Franklin works well in bedrooms, bathrooms, home offices. Designers typically use it for main walls, ceilings, trim, cabinetry.

What colors pair well with Franklin?

Franklin pairs naturally with warm white trim, oak or walnut, brass or matte black hardware. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Franklin?

You can download Franklin 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 Franklin?

The hex code is #85A1AC. In RGB it's 133, 161, 172, and in HSL it's 197°, 19%, 60%.

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