GREYS

Franz Josef

#888A89

RGB 136, 138, 137 · HSL 150°, 1%, 54% · CMYK 1, 0, 1, 46

Franz Josef is #888A89 in HEX — rgb(136, 138, 137), hsl(150°, 1%, 54%), cmyk(1%, 0%, 1%, 46%).

Franz Josef pulls into the mid-tone end of the greys spectrum — HSL 150°, 1%, 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#888A89

RGB136, 138, 137

HSL150°, 1%, 54%

HSV150°, 1%, 54%

CMYK1, 0, 1, 46

Decimal8948361

CSS RGBrgb(136, 138, 137)

CSS HSLhsl(150, 1%, 54%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Franz Josef NZ9C9

Exact match

Valspar

Grey Suit 4004-2A

ΔE 1.2 · #888886

Dutch Boy

Natural Gray VS-9332

ΔE 1.4 · #878787

Dunn-Edwards

Looking Glass DE6376

ΔE 1.5 · #888786

Farrow & Ball

Plummett 272

ΔE 1.6 · #8D8D8B

PPG

Downpour 1010-5

ΔE 1.7 · #898A86

Kilz

Approaching Storm RL190

ΔE 1.8 · #8D8B89

Benjamin Moore

Cinder AF-705

ΔE 1.9 · #878684

Vista Paint

Grey Matters K-827

ΔE 1.9 · #838584

Colorhouse

Wool .04 Wool-04

ΔE 2.1 · #8B8A8C

RAL

Grey Aluminium 9007

ΔE 2.3 · #8F8F8F

Behr

Pewter Ring UL260-4

ΔE 2.3 · #898686

Sherwin-Williams

Classic French Gray SW0077

ΔE 2.8 · #888782

Hallman-Lindsay

Paved Path 582

ΔE 3 · #828782

IKEA

IKEA180 180

ΔE 4.2 · #81857E

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 6.4 · #889099

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

25/100

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

TemperatureNeutral MasstoneTeal UndertoneGreen

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#888A89

#8B898A

Analogous

#898B89

#888A89

#898B8B

Triadic

#888A89

#8A898B

#8B8A89

Split-Complementary

#888A89

#8B898B

#8B8989

Tetradic

#888A89

#89898B

#8B898A

#8B8B89

Monochromatic

#3D3E3D

#626463

#888A89

#AFB1B0

#D6D7D6

Rectangle

#888A89

#898A8B

#8B898A

#8B8A89

Compound

#888A89

#898B8B

#8B898A

#8B8989

Variations

Lighter

#A0A2A1

#B8B9B9

#D6D6D6

Darker

#6D6F6E

#4B4D4C

#2C2D2C

Saturation

#898A8A

#898B8A

#4EC58A

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

3.47:1

AA Large

vs Black

6.04:1

Deuteranopia

#888A89

#89898A

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#888A89

#8A8A89

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#888A89

#888A8A

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Franz Josef 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

#A59482

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#888A89

Daylight 5500K

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

#9399A6

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EBEBEB

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.

#925875

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: #888A89;

CSS — background

background-color: #888A89;

CSS Variable

--color-franz-josef: #888A89;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'franz-josef': '#888A89' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#888A89] text-[#888A89]

SCSS

$franz-josef: #888A89;

Similar Colors

Shaker Gray

#83898A · ΔE 2.0

Cinder

#868583 · ΔE 2.2

Hearthstone

#888D8F · ΔE 2.3

Georgetown Gray

#7F8786 · ΔE 2.8

Secret

#888983 · ΔE 2.9

Street Chic

#848480 · ΔE 2.9

Stonehedge

#8D9193 · ΔE 3.2

Whale Gray

#7E8283 · ΔE 3.5

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 #888A89?

#888A89 is Franz Josef, a mid-tone grey with a cool undertone.

Is #888A89 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Franz Josef?

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

What colors pair well with Franz Josef?

Franz Josef 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 Franz Josef?

You can download Franz Josef 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 Franz Josef?

The hex code is #888A89. In RGB it's 136, 138, 137, and in HSL it's 150°, 1%, 54%.

← All colors