GREYS

Whale Tail

#86878C

RGB 134, 135, 140 · HSL 230°, 3%, 54% · CMYK 4, 4, 0, 45

Whale Tail is #86878C in HEX — rgb(134, 135, 140), hsl(230°, 3%, 54%), cmyk(4%, 4%, 0%, 45%).

Whale Tail pulls into the mid-tone end of the greys spectrum — HSL 230°, 3%, 54%. 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#86878C

RGB134, 135, 140

HSL230°, 3%, 54%

HSV230°, 4%, 55%

CMYK4, 4, 0, 45

Decimal8816524

CSS RGBrgb(134, 135, 140)

CSS HSLhsl(230, 3%, 54%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Vista Paint

Girgitta K-771

ΔE 0.8 · #87868B

Valspar

Vessel Gray 4005-2A

ΔE 1 · #84878B

PPG

Victorian Pewter 1013-5

ΔE 1.6 · #828388

Benjamin Moore

Rock 1615

ΔE 2.2 · #808487

Colorhouse

Wool .04 Wool-04

ΔE 2.2 · #8B8A8C

Kilz

Warrior RB250-02

ΔE 2.2 · #838289

RAL

Telegrey 2 7046

ΔE 2.4 · #82898F

Dulux

Pelaco SG6B4

ΔE 2.8 · #8F8B90

Sherwin-Williams

Software SW7074

ΔE 2.8 · #7F8486

Behr

Gray Heather PPU16-15

ΔE 2.9 · #868791

Dutch Boy

Natural Gray VS-9332

ΔE 2.9 · #878787

Hallman-Lindsay

London Road 527

ΔE 3 · #7F878A

Dunn-Edwards

Storm Cloud DE6362

ΔE 3.2 · #808283

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 4.5 · #889099

Farrow & Ball

Plummett 272

ΔE 4.6 · #8D8D8B

IKEA

IKEA184 184

ΔE 4.7 · #788082

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

24/100

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 MasstoneBlue UndertoneViolet

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#86878C

#8D8C86

Analogous

#868B8D

#86878C

#89868D

Triadic

#86878C

#8D8687

#878D86

Split-Complementary

#86878C

#8D8986

#8B8D86

Tetradic

#86878C

#8D868B

#8D8C86

#868D89

Monochromatic

#3B3C3F

#606166

#86878C

#AEAEB2

#D5D5D7

Rectangle

#86878C

#8C868D

#8D8C86

#878D86

Compound

#86878C

#89868D

#8D8C86

#8B8D86

Variations

Lighter

#9E9FA4

#B7B7BA

#D5D5D7

Darker

#6B6C72

#494A4E

#2B2B2E

Saturation

#89898B

#86878D

#4D61C6

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

3.58:1

AA Large

vs Black

5.86:1

Deuteranopia

#86878C

#86878D

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#86878C

#87878B

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#86878C

#868887

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Whale Tail 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

#A49284

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#86878C

Daylight 5500K

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

#9197A8

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.

#928958

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: #86878C;

CSS — background

background-color: #86878C;

CSS Variable

--color-whale-tail: #86878C;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'whale-tail': '#86878C' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#86878C] text-[#86878C]

SCSS

$whale-tail: #86878C;

Similar Colors

Rock Gray

#7F8386 · ΔE 2.5

Englewood Cliffs

#7F8487 · ΔE 2.5

Hearthstone

#888D8F · ΔE 3.0

Shaker Gray

#83898A · ΔE 3.0

Charcoal Linen

#7C7F84 · ΔE 3.4

Whale Gray

#7E8283 · ΔE 3.5

Deep Silver

#8B9094 · ΔE 3.5

Wool Peacoat

#848181 · ΔE 3.9

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 #86878C?

#86878C is Whale Tail, a mid-tone grey with a cool undertone.

Is #86878C warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Whale Tail?

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

What colors pair well with Whale Tail?

Whale Tail 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 Whale Tail?

You can download Whale Tail 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 Whale Tail?

The hex code is #86878C. In RGB it's 134, 135, 140, and in HSL it's 230°, 3%, 54%.

← All colors