GREYS

Excelsior

#908B85

RGB 144, 139, 133 · HSL 33°, 5%, 54% · CMYK 0, 3, 8, 44

Excelsior is #908B85 in HEX — rgb(144, 139, 133), hsl(33°, 5%, 54%), cmyk(0%, 3%, 8%, 44%).

Excelsior pulls into the mid-tone end of the greys spectrum — HSL 33°, 5%, 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#908B85

RGB144, 139, 133

HSL33°, 5%, 54%

HSV33°, 8%, 56%

CMYK0, 3, 8, 44

Decimal9472901

CSS RGBrgb(144, 139, 133)

CSS HSLhsl(33, 5%, 54%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Excelsior S11A4

ΔE 0.6 · #928C86

Kilz

Enchanted RL180

ΔE 0.7 · #918B86

Sherwin-Williams

Dovetail SW7018

ΔE 0.8 · #908A83

Behr

Water Tower QE-59

ΔE 1.4 · #948E89

Benjamin Moore

Castle CSP-75

ΔE 1.9 · #918A81

Vista Paint

Granite Cliff K-931

ΔE 2.1 · #948E85

Hallman-Lindsay

Sultry Castle 562

ΔE 2.1 · #948D84

Farrow & Ball

Mole's Breath 276

ΔE 2.3 · #8B857F

PPG

Antique Silver 1002-5

ΔE 2.6 · #918E8C

Valspar

Olive Gray 4002-2A

ΔE 2.7 · #908886

Dunn-Edwards

Fallen Rock DE6389

ΔE 3.3 · #8E8583

Dutch Boy

Camel's Hump DCP-0219

ΔE 3.3 · #989187

RAL

Grey Aluminium 9007

ΔE 4.1 · #8F8F8F

IKEA

IKEA198 198

ΔE 4.3 · #89807A

Colorhouse

Stone .07 Stone-07

ΔE 4.7 · #848A86

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 9.9 · #889099

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

26/100

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 MasstoneOrange 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

#908B85

#848990

Analogous

#908484

#908B85

#8F9084

Triadic

#908B85

#84908A

#8A8490

Split-Complementary

#908B85

#848F90

#848490

Tetradic

#908B85

#849084

#848990

#90848F

Monochromatic

#403E3A

#68645E

#908B85

#B4B0AC

#D8D6D4

Rectangle

#908B85

#899084

#848990

#8A8490

Compound

#908B85

#8F9084

#848990

#848490

Variations

Lighter

#A6A29C

#BCB9B6

#D7D6D5

Darker

#746F68

#504C48

#2F2C2A

Saturation

#8B8A88

#908A84

#C7904C

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

3.38:1

AA Large

vs Black

6.22:1

Deuteranopia

#908B85

#8E8C86

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#908B85

#8C8C86

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#908B85

#908A8B

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Excelsior 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

#AB957F

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#908B85

Daylight 5500K

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

#999AA3

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.

#587292

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: #908B85;

CSS — background

background-color: #908B85;

CSS Variable

--color-excelsior: #908B85;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'excelsior': '#908B85' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#908B85] text-[#908B85]

SCSS

$excelsior: #908B85;

Similar Colors

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#908980 · ΔE 2.0

Secret

#888983 · ΔE 2.7

Metropolis

#8B847C · ΔE 3.0

Chelsea Gray

#86847C · ΔE 3.5

Dolphin

#85837D · ΔE 3.6

Cos Cob Stonewall

#898C83 · ΔE 3.6

Taos Taupe

#8C847A · ΔE 3.7

Cinder

#868583 · 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 #908B85?

#908B85 is Excelsior, a mid-tone grey with a cool undertone.

Is #908B85 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Excelsior?

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

What colors pair well with Excelsior?

Excelsior 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 Excelsior?

You can download Excelsior 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 Excelsior?

The hex code is #908B85. In RGB it's 144, 139, 133, and in HSL it's 33°, 5%, 54%.

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