GREYS

Whispering Willow

#8D9980

RGB 141, 153, 128 · HSL 89°, 11%, 55% · CMYK 8, 0, 16, 40

Whispering Willow is #8D9980 in HEX — rgb(141, 153, 128), hsl(89°, 11%, 55%), cmyk(8%, 0%, 16%, 40%).

Whispering Willow pulls into the mid-tone end of the greys spectrum — HSL 89°, 11%, 55%. 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#8D9980

RGB141, 153, 128

HSL89°, 11%, 55%

HSV89°, 16%, 60%

CMYK8, 0, 16, 40

Decimal9279872

CSS RGBrgb(141, 153, 128)

CSS HSLhsl(89, 11%, 55%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Vista Paint

Whispering Willow C-1398

Exact match

Valspar

Leafy Rise 5007-4A

ΔE 1.2 · #8F9A7F

Benjamin Moore

Adirondack 453

ΔE 1.3 · #89987F

Hallman-Lindsay

Whispering Willow historic-whispering-willow

ΔE 1.6 · #919C81

Behr

Gray Squirrel N320-5

ΔE 2.4 · #8E9883

PPG

Cavern Moss 1124-5

ΔE 2.6 · #92987D

Dunn-Edwards

Fresh Sod DE5655

ΔE 2.8 · #91A085

Dulux

Triamble S21B4

ΔE 3.1 · #95A089

Kilz

Weeping Willow TB-77

ΔE 3.6 · #919B88

Sherwin-Williams

Green Onyx SW9128

ΔE 4.2 · #989A82

Farrow & Ball

Breakfast Room Green 81

ΔE 5.2 · #94A68A

RAL

Stone Grey 7030

ΔE 7 · #8B8C7A

Colorhouse

Glass .04 Glass-04

ΔE 7.8 · #969873

IKEA

IKEA150 150

ΔE 8.2 · #A7A58F

Dutch Boy

Sierra Beige 7425

ΔE 10.4 · #A99E80

Kobra

Gold 45

ΔE 17.4 · #8E7A5A

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

30/100

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 MasstoneYellow-Green UndertoneYellow

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#8D9980

#8C8099

Analogous

#999880

#8D9980

#809980

Triadic

#8D9980

#808D99

#99808D

Split-Complementary

#8D9980

#808099

#988099

Tetradic

#8D9980

#809998

#8C8099

#998080

Monochromatic

#404739

#66715B

#8D9980

#B3BBAA

#D9DDD5

Rectangle

#8D9980

#80998C

#8C8099

#99808D

Compound

#8D9980

#809980

#8C8099

#988099

Variations

Lighter

#A4AD99

#BAC1B4

#D7DAD4

Darker

#717D63

#4D5644

#2D3327

Saturation

#8C9088

#8D9980

#8ECC4D

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

3.00:1

AA Large

vs Black

7.00:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#8D9980

#979381

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#8D9980

#979784

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#8D9980

#8F9597

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Whispering Willow 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

#A99F7B

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#8D9980

Daylight 5500K

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

#96A49F

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.

#765995

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: #8D9980;

CSS — background

background-color: #8D9980;

CSS Variable

--color-whispering-willow: #8D9980;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'whispering-willow': '#8D9980' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#8D9980] text-[#8D9980]

SCSS

$whispering-willow: #8D9980;

Similar Colors

Adirondack Green

#88977E · ΔE 1.5

Kennebunkport Green

#919D82 · ΔE 1.8

High Park

#8C9985 · ΔE 2.8

Homestead

#939880 · ΔE 2.8

Secret Path

#87917A · ΔE 3.1

Summer's Day

#8A9E88 · ΔE 3.7

Greenwich Village

#93A58C · ΔE 4.7

Louisburg Green

#9C9E87 · ΔE 5.0

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 #8D9980?

#8D9980 is Whispering Willow, a mid-tone grey with a cool undertone.

Is #8D9980 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Whispering Willow?

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

What colors pair well with Whispering Willow?

Whispering Willow 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 Whispering Willow?

You can download Whispering Willow 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 Whispering Willow?

The hex code is #8D9980. In RGB it's 141, 153, 128, and in HSL it's 89°, 11%, 55%.

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