GREYS

Formal Gray

#97969A

RGB 151, 150, 154 · HSL 255°, 2%, 60% · CMYK 2, 3, 0, 40

Formal Gray is #97969A in HEX — rgb(151, 150, 154), hsl(255°, 2%, 60%), cmyk(2%, 3%, 0%, 40%).

Formal Gray pulls into the light end of the greys spectrum — HSL 255°, 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#97969A

RGB151, 150, 154

HSL255°, 2%, 60%

HSV255°, 3%, 60%

CMYK2, 3, 0, 40

Decimal9934490

CSS RGBrgb(151, 150, 154)

CSS HSLhsl(255, 2%, 60%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dunn-Edwards

Formal Gray DE6382

Exact match

Dulux

Kingston NZ9C6

ΔE 0.8 · #959598

Kilz

Shark RL220

ΔE 1.7 · #93959B

Sherwin-Williams

Moonlit Orchid SW9153

ΔE 2 · #949194

Behr

Anonymous 780F-5

ΔE 2.5 · #949494

Hallman-Lindsay

Sparrow 554

ΔE 2.8 · #999494

Benjamin Moore

Tucker CW-705

ΔE 2.9 · #919799

Vista Paint

Sparrow C-553

ΔE 3 · #999594

RAL

Pearl Light Grey 9022

ΔE 3.1 · #9C9C9C

PPG

Steeple Gray 1012-5

ΔE 3.3 · #8E9598

Valspar

Opal Slate 4001-1C

ΔE 3.5 · #979291

Colorhouse

Wool .04 Wool-04

ΔE 4.8 · #8B8A8C

Farrow & Ball

Plummett 272

ΔE 5 · #8D8D8B

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 5.2 · #889099

IKEA

IKEA182 182

ΔE 5.4 · #9AA1A0

Dutch Boy

Natural Gray VS-9332

ΔE 6.4 · #878787

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

TemperatureNeutral MasstoneViolet 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

#97969A

#9A9B97

Analogous

#97989B

#97969A

#9A979B

Triadic

#97969A

#9B9897

#979B98

Split-Complementary

#97969A

#9B9A97

#989B97

Tetradic

#97969A

#9B9798

#9A9B97

#979B9A

Monochromatic

#4C4B4E

#727075

#97969A

#BFBEC1

#E5E5E6

Rectangle

#97969A

#9B979A

#9A9B97

#979B98

Compound

#97969A

#9A979B

#9A9B97

#989B97

Variations

Lighter

#ADACAF

#C1C1C3

#DBDBDC

Darker

#79787D

#535256

#303032

Saturation

#99989A

#98979B

#7F65CD

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

2.94:1

Fail

vs Black

7.15:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#97969A

#96979B

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#97969A

#969699

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#97969A

#979796

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Formal Gray 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

#B19D8F

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#97969A

Daylight 5500K

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

#9EA2B3

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.

#92A163

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: #97969A;

CSS — background

background-color: #97969A;

CSS Variable

--color-formal-gray: #97969A;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'formal-gray': '#97969A' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#97969A] text-[#97969A]

SCSS

$formal-gray: #97969A;

Similar Colors

Pewter

#979C9F · ΔE 2.9

Tucker Gray

#909698 · ΔE 3.0

Sweatshirt Gray

#92999E · ΔE 3.1

Stonehedge

#8D9193 · ΔE 3.3

Wall Street

#929392 · ΔE 3.3

Deep Silver

#8B9094 · ΔE 3.6

Delray Gray

#9A9FA2 · ΔE 3.7

Soho Loft

#999492 · ΔE 3.7

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 #97969A?

#97969A is Formal Gray, a soft grey with a cool undertone.

Is #97969A warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Formal Gray?

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

What colors pair well with Formal Gray?

Formal Gray 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 Formal Gray?

You can download Formal Gray 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 Formal Gray?

The hex code is #97969A. In RGB it's 151, 150, 154, and in HSL it's 255°, 2%, 60%.

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