PURPLES

Plum Swirl

#8979A9

RGB 137, 121, 169 · HSL 260°, 22%, 57% · CMYK 19, 28, 0, 34

Plum Swirl is #8979A9 in HEX — rgb(137, 121, 169), hsl(260°, 22%, 57%), cmyk(19%, 28%, 0%, 34%).

Plum Swirl pulls into the mid-tone end of the purples spectrum — HSL 260°, 22%, 57%. 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#8979A9

RGB137, 121, 169

HSL260°, 22%, 57%

HSV260°, 28%, 66%

CMYK19, 28, 0, 34

Decimal9009577

CSS RGBrgb(137, 121, 169)

CSS HSLhsl(260, 22%, 57%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Behr

Plum Swirl 680F-5

Exact match

Kilz

Belladona RA280-02

ΔE 0.4 · #8A7AAA

Dulux

Trumpeter S44F5

ΔE 1.6 · #8E7BAA

RAL

Pearl Violet 4011

ΔE 2.6 · #8673A1

Dunn-Edwards

Smashed Grape DE5963

ΔE 2.7 · #8775A1

Vista Paint

Regal Jewel K-17

ΔE 3.2 · #8C75A2

PPG

Purple Rhapsody 1247-6

ΔE 3.6 · #8278AD

Benjamin Moore

Purple 1406

ΔE 3.6 · #8A7FAB

Valspar

Purple Phantom 1001-3B

ΔE 4.4 · #917AA4

Hallman-Lindsay

Purple Spire 1249

ΔE 6.3 · #746F9D

Sherwin-Williams

Forget‐Me‐Not SW6824

ΔE 7.5 · #716998

Kobra

Violet 24

ΔE 8.3 · #9B8CB5

Farrow & Ball

Pitch Blue 220

ΔE 14.7 · #636E8F

IKEA

IKEA088 88

ΔE 14.8 · #8B859D

Dutch Boy

Celestial Horizon DCP-0589

ΔE 22.7 · #8FA4BF

Colorhouse

Create .06 Create-06

ΔE 26.4 · #5E3D5A

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

22/100

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

#8979A9

#99A979

Analogous

#7981A9

#8979A9

#A179A9

Triadic

#8979A9

#A98979

#79A989

Split-Complementary

#8979A9

#A9A179

#81A979

Tetradic

#8979A9

#A97981

#99A979

#79A9A1

Monochromatic

#403654

#635483

#8979A9

#B2A8C7

#DBD7E5

Rectangle

#8979A9

#A97999

#99A979

#79A989

Compound

#8979A9

#A179A9

#99A979

#81A979

Variations

Lighter

#A194BB

#B9B1CA

#D7D3DF

Darker

#6B598F

#493D63

#2B233A

Saturation

#8F8A99

#8979A9

#7B4ED4

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

3.91:1

AA Large

vs Black

5.37:1

Deuteranopia

#8979A9

#7784A9

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#8979A9

#7C7CA4

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#8979A9

#84837E

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Sophisticated · Imaginative

Plum Swirl 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

#A6879A

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#8979A9

Daylight 5500K

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

#938CBE

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EAEAEB

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.

#869A5D

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: #8979A9;

CSS — background

background-color: #8979A9;

CSS Variable

--color-plum-swirl: #8979A9;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'plum-swirl': '#8979A9' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#8979A9] text-[#8979A9]

SCSS

$plum-swirl: #8979A9;

Similar Colors

Purple Heart

#897EAA · ΔE 3.4

Charmed Violet

#9379B0 · ΔE 5.4

Crocus Petal Purple

#9A80B9 · ΔE 7.1

Softened Violet

#8085B4 · ΔE 8.0

Spring Purple

#8782A6 · ΔE 8.5

Naples Sunset

#9F7CA5 · ΔE 8.6

California Lilac

#7F84BE · ΔE 9.2

Snugglepuss

#9C94BB · ΔE 11.5

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 #8979A9?

#8979A9 is Plum Swirl, a mid-tone purple with a cool undertone.

Is #8979A9 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Plum Swirl?

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

What colors pair well with Plum Swirl?

Plum Swirl 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 Plum Swirl?

You can download Plum Swirl 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 Plum Swirl?

The hex code is #8979A9. In RGB it's 137, 121, 169, and in HSL it's 260°, 22%, 57%.

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