GREYS

Too Big to Whale

#9596A4

RGB 149, 150, 164 · HSL 236°, 8%, 61% · CMYK 9, 9, 0, 36

Too Big to Whale is #9596A4 in HEX — rgb(149, 150, 164), hsl(236°, 8%, 61%), cmyk(9%, 9%, 0%, 36%).

Too Big to Whale pulls into the light end of the greys spectrum — HSL 236°, 8%, 61%. 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#9596A4

RGB149, 150, 164

HSL236°, 8%, 61%

HSV236°, 9%, 64%

CMYK9, 9, 0, 36

Decimal9803428

CSS RGBrgb(149, 150, 164)

CSS HSLhsl(236, 8%, 61%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Vista Paint

Dusky Mood C-1317

ΔE 1.6 · #979AA7

Dulux

Acanthus S43A3

ΔE 1.6 · #989AA7

Hallman-Lindsay

Dusky Mood 1318

ΔE 2.1 · #979BA8

Behr

Lilac Fields HDC-AC-26A

ΔE 2.7 · #8E939E

Valspar

Lucent Purple 4002-4A

ΔE 3 · #97919E

PPG

Cotton Flannel 1171-5

ΔE 3.1 · #9090A2

Benjamin Moore

Faded CSP-455

ΔE 3.2 · #8E90A2

Sherwin-Williams

Ash Violet SW6549

ΔE 4 · #A29BAA

Kilz

Aviator Silver TB-34

ΔE 4 · #9DA0AB

Dunn-Edwards

Shining Knight DE6347

ΔE 4.3 · #989EA7

RAL

Window Grey 7040

ΔE 4.9 · #9DA1AA

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 4.9 · #889099

Dutch Boy

Dusky Mood DCP-1318

ΔE 8.1 · #A6ACB8

Colorhouse

Wool .04 Wool-04

ΔE 8.3 · #8B8A8C

IKEA

IKEA088 88

ΔE 8.6 · #8B859D

Farrow & Ball

Brassica 271

ΔE 9.6 · #8D8089

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

31/100

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

TemperatureCool MasstoneBlue UndertoneViolet

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#9596A4

#A4A294

Analogous

#949DA4

#9596A4

#9A94A4

Triadic

#9596A4

#A49495

#95A494

Split-Complementary

#9596A4

#A49A94

#9DA494

Tetradic

#9596A4

#A4949D

#A4A294

#94A49A

Monochromatic

#494A55

#6C6D7F

#9596A4

#BDBEC7

#E6E6EA

Rectangle

#9596A4

#A294A4

#A4A294

#95A494

Compound

#9596A4

#9A94A4

#A4A294

#9DA494

Variations

Lighter

#A9AAB6

#BFC0C7

#DADBDE

Darker

#727387

#4E4F5D

#2D2E36

Saturation

#99999E

#9495A4

#666DD1

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

2.93:1

Fail

vs Black

7.18:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#9596A4

#9397A5

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#9596A4

#9696A2

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#9596A4

#949897

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Too Big to Whale 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

#AF9D96

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#9596A4

Daylight 5500K

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

#9CA2BA

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.

#F7F7F7

Ceiling

Whisper tint

Near-white with a hint of the hero's undertone — ceiling feels intentional.

#A39F66

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: #9596A4;

CSS — background

background-color: #9596A4;

CSS Variable

--color-too-big-to-whale: #9596A4;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'too-big-to-whale': '#9596A4' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#9596A4] text-[#9596A4]

SCSS

$too-big-to-whale: #9596A4;

Similar Colors

Wisteria

#9C9CA6 · ΔE 3.2

Faded Violet

#8D8FA1 · ΔE 3.5

Coastline

#919DA8 · ΔE 4.7

Comet

#97A2AE · ΔE 5.4

Flower Box

#8690A4 · ΔE 5.4

Sweatshirt Gray

#92999E · ΔE 5.6

Hazy Lilac

#9B8E9C · ΔE 5.6

Irises

#84899A · ΔE 5.7

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 #9596A4?

#9596A4 is Too Big to Whale, a soft grey with a cool undertone.

Is #9596A4 warm or cool?

Too Big to Whale reads cool, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Too Big to Whale?

Too Big to Whale works well in living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms. Designers typically use it for walls, soft furniture, hard surfaces.

What colors pair well with Too Big to Whale?

Too Big to Whale 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 Too Big to Whale?

You can download Too Big to Whale 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 Too Big to Whale?

The hex code is #9596A4. In RGB it's 149, 150, 164, and in HSL it's 236°, 8%, 61%.

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