GREYS

Detective Coat

#8B8685

RGB 139, 134, 133 · HSL 10°, 3%, 53% · CMYK 0, 4, 4, 45

Detective Coat is #8B8685 in HEX — rgb(139, 134, 133), hsl(10°, 3%, 53%), cmyk(0%, 4%, 4%, 45%).

Detective Coat pulls into the mid-tone end of the greys spectrum — HSL 10°, 3%, 53%. 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#8B8685

RGB139, 134, 133

HSL10°, 3%, 53%

HSV10°, 4%, 55%

CMYK0, 4, 4, 45

Decimal9143941

CSS RGBrgb(139, 134, 133)

CSS HSLhsl(10, 3%, 53%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Behr

Pewter Ring UL260-4

ΔE 1 · #898686

Dunn-Edwards

Looking Glass DE6376

ΔE 1.6 · #888786

Benjamin Moore

Cinder AF-705

ΔE 1.7 · #878684

Valspar

Olive Gray 4002-2A

ΔE 1.7 · #908886

Vista Paint

Cast in Stone K-818

ΔE 1.9 · #858483

Dulux

Purpura S03A4

ΔE 2 · #8D8485

Dutch Boy

Natural Gray VS-9332

ΔE 2.1 · #878787

Kilz

Approaching Storm RL190

ΔE 2.1 · #8D8B89

PPG

Pewter Mug 1004-5

ΔE 2.3 · #8B8283

Colorhouse

Wool .04 Wool-04

ΔE 2.7 · #8B8A8C

RAL

Pearl Dark Grey 9023

ΔE 2.8 · #828282

Sherwin-Williams

Classic French Gray SW0077

ΔE 2.8 · #888782

Hallman-Lindsay

Captain Nemo 542

ΔE 2.9 · #828080

Farrow & Ball

Mole's Breath 276

ΔE 2.9 · #8B857F

IKEA

IKEA198 198

ΔE 4 · #89807A

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 8.1 · #889099

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 MasstoneRed UndertonePink

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#8B8685

#848A8B

Analogous

#8B8486

#8B8685

#8B8884

Triadic

#8B8685

#848B85

#85848B

Split-Complementary

#8B8685

#848B88

#84868B

Tetradic

#8B8685

#868B84

#848A8B

#88848B

Monochromatic

#3C3939

#645F5E

#8B8685

#B0ACAB

#D5D3D2

Rectangle

#8B8685

#8A8B84

#848A8B

#85848B

Compound

#8B8685

#8B8884

#848A8B

#84868B

Variations

Lighter

#A29D9C

#B9B6B5

#D6D4D4

Darker

#706A69

#4D4948

#2D2A2A

Saturation

#888686

#8B8584

#C55E49

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

3.59:1

AA Large

vs Black

5.85:1

Deuteranopia

#8B8685

#888886

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#8B8685

#878785

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#8B8685

#8B8686

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Detective Coat 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

#A8917F

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#8B8685

Daylight 5500K

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

#9596A3

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EBEBEA

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.

#568690

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: #8B8685;

CSS — background

background-color: #8B8685;

CSS Variable

--color-detective-coat: #8B8685;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'detective-coat': '#8B8685' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#8B8685] text-[#8B8685]

SCSS

$detective-coat: #8B8685;

Similar Colors

Cinder

#868583 · ΔE 1.9

Wool Peacoat

#848181 · ΔE 2.3

Stone

#86807E · ΔE 2.4

Evening Skyline

#91898B · ΔE 2.6

Street Chic

#848480 · ΔE 2.9

Dolphin

#85837D · ΔE 3.5

Granite

#827D7B · ΔE 3.6

Secret

#888983 · ΔE 3.8

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 #8B8685?

#8B8685 is Detective Coat, a mid-tone grey with a cool undertone.

Is #8B8685 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Detective Coat?

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

What colors pair well with Detective Coat?

Detective Coat 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 Detective Coat?

You can download Detective Coat 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 Detective Coat?

The hex code is #8B8685. In RGB it's 139, 134, 133, and in HSL it's 10°, 3%, 53%.

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