GREYS

Earl Grey

#969A96

RGB 150, 154, 150 · HSL 120°, 2%, 60% · CMYK 3, 0, 3, 40

Earl Grey is #969A96 in HEX — rgb(150, 154, 150), hsl(120°, 2%, 60%), cmyk(3%, 0%, 3%, 40%).

Earl Grey pulls into the light end of the greys spectrum — HSL 120°, 2%, 60%. 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#969A96

RGB150, 154, 150

HSL120°, 2%, 60%

HSV120°, 3%, 60%

CMYK3, 0, 3, 40

Decimal9869974

CSS RGBrgb(150, 154, 150)

CSS HSLhsl(120, 2%, 60%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Sherwin-Williams

Earl Grey SW7660

Exact match

Dunn-Edwards

Light Gray DEC789

ΔE 1.4 · #979D9A

Benjamin Moore

Rainstorm CSP-50

ΔE 1.5 · #939692

RAL

Signal Grey 7004

ΔE 1.8 · #969992

Behr

Puddle 790B-4

ΔE 1.8 · #969D9B

Dulux

Pukaki Double NZ9B7

ΔE 1.9 · #989E98

Vista Paint

Pussy Willow K-844

ΔE 2.1 · #9B9F99

Valspar

Stone Mason Gray 4008-1C

ΔE 2.3 · #9A9E9D

Kilz

Serving Platter RK250

ΔE 2.5 · #989D9D

Hallman-Lindsay

Smoky Tone 541

ΔE 2.8 · #9D9E9D

IKEA

IKEA194 194

ΔE 3.1 · #9A9E95

Dutch Boy

Smoky Gray VS-9305

ΔE 3.2 · #95958D

Farrow & Ball

Manor House Gray 265

ΔE 3.7 · #A2A29D

PPG

Phoenix Fossil 1009-5

ΔE 3.7 · #8E908D

Colorhouse

Metal .04 Metal-04

ΔE 3.9 · #9FA198

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 8.3 · #889099

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

32/100

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 MasstoneGreen UndertoneBlue

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#969A96

#9B979B

Analogous

#999B97

#969A96

#979B99

Triadic

#969A96

#97979B

#9B9797

Split-Complementary

#969A96

#99979B

#9B9799

Tetradic

#969A96

#97999B

#9B979B

#9B9997

Monochromatic

#4B4E4B

#707570

#969A96

#BEC1BE

#E5E6E5

Rectangle

#969A96

#979B9B

#9B979B

#9B9797

Compound

#969A96

#979B99

#9B979B

#9B9799

Variations

Lighter

#ACAFAC

#C1C3C1

#DBDCDB

Darker

#787D78

#525652

#303230

Saturation

#989A98

#979B97

#65CD65

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

2.85:1

Fail

vs Black

7.36:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#969A96

#999897

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#969A96

#999997

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#969A96

#96999A

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Earl Grey 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

#B0A08C

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#969A96

Daylight 5500K

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

#9DA5B0

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EBEBEB

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.

#A163A1

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: #969A96;

CSS — background

background-color: #969A96;

CSS Variable

--color-earl-grey: #969A96;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'earl-grey': '#969A96' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#969A96] text-[#969A96]

SCSS

$earl-grey: #969A96;

Similar Colors

Rainstorm

#929591 · ΔE 1.9

Puritan Gray

#979F9B · ΔE 2.2

Timber Wolf

#9A9F9E · ΔE 2.6

Storm

#9FA09E · ΔE 3.0

Wall Street

#929392 · ΔE 3.1

Gibraltar Cliffs

#8F9999 · ΔE 3.2

Sea Pine

#8B9490 · ΔE 3.3

Vintage Pewter

#A09E97 · ΔE 3.4

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 #969A96?

#969A96 is Earl Grey, a soft grey with a cool undertone.

Is #969A96 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Earl Grey?

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

What colors pair well with Earl Grey?

Earl Grey 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 Earl Grey?

You can download Earl Grey 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 Earl Grey?

The hex code is #969A96. In RGB it's 150, 154, 150, and in HSL it's 120°, 2%, 60%.

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