GREYS

Bitter Sage

#97A18D

RGB 151, 161, 141 · HSL 90°, 10%, 59% · CMYK 6, 0, 12, 37

Bitter Sage is #97A18D in HEX — rgb(151, 161, 141), hsl(90°, 10%, 59%), cmyk(6%, 0%, 12%, 37%).

Bitter Sage pulls into the mid-tone end of the greys spectrum — HSL 90°, 10%, 59%. 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#97A18D

RGB151, 161, 141

HSL90°, 10%, 59%

HSV90°, 12%, 63%

CMYK6, 0, 12, 37

Decimal9937293

CSS RGBrgb(151, 161, 141)

CSS HSLhsl(90, 10%, 59%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Hallman-Lindsay

Big Fish 435

ΔE 0.9 · #99A38E

Valspar

Irish Paddock 5006-4A

ΔE 1.7 · #96A38D

Dulux

Triamble S21B4

ΔE 1.8 · #95A089

Vista Paint

Big Fish C-434

ΔE 1.8 · #99A38C

Dunn-Edwards

Meadowood DEC777

ΔE 2.1 · #9DA28E

Kilz

Weeping Willow TB-77

ΔE 2.3 · #919B88

Benjamin Moore

Herb 460

ΔE 2.4 · #98A594

Sherwin-Williams

Coastal Plain SW6192

ΔE 2.7 · #9FA694

Behr

Ashwood 720D-4

ΔE 2.8 · #9EA892

PPG

Farm Fresh 1129-5

ΔE 2.8 · #8E9B88

Farrow & Ball

Lichen 19

ΔE 4.6 · #A1A189

Colorhouse

Nourish .03 Nourish-03

ΔE 5.3 · #A5A392

IKEA

IKEA150 150

ΔE 5.4 · #A7A58F

RAL

Signal Grey 7004

ΔE 8 · #969992

Dutch Boy

Smoky Gray VS-9305

ΔE 8.4 · #95958D

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 17.2 · #889099

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

34/100

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

#97A18D

#968CA1

Analogous

#A1A18C

#97A18D

#8CA18C

Triadic

#97A18D

#8C96A1

#A18C96

Split-Complementary

#97A18D

#8C8CA1

#A18CA1

Tetradic

#97A18D

#8CA1A1

#968CA1

#A18C8C

Monochromatic

#4A5143

#707B65

#97A18D

#BDC3B6

#E3E6E0

Rectangle

#97A18D

#8CA196

#968CA1

#A18C96

Compound

#97A18D

#8CA18C

#968CA1

#A18CA1

Variations

Lighter

#ABB4A3

#C0C6BB

#DADDD8

Darker

#78856C

#535C4A

#30362B

Saturation

#969A93

#96A18C

#96D05D

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

2.69:1

Fail

vs Black

7.80:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#97A18D

#A09C8E

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#97A18D

#9F9F90

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#97A18D

#999E9F

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Bitter Sage 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

#B1A585

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#97A18D

Daylight 5500K

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

#9EAAA9

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.

#8060A0

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: #97A18D;

CSS — background

background-color: #97A18D;

CSS Variable

--color-bitter-sage: #97A18D;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'bitter-sage': '#97A18D' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#97A18D] text-[#97A18D]

SCSS

$bitter-sage: #97A18D;

Similar Colors

Herb Bouquet

#97A493 · ΔE 2.2

Raintree Green

#9A9C87 · ΔE 3.5

High Park

#8C9985 · ΔE 3.5

Louisburg Green

#9C9E87 · ΔE 3.6

Grenadier Pond

#90A393 · ΔE 4.0

Greenwich Village

#93A58C · ΔE 4.2

Homestead

#939880 · ΔE 4.4

Kennebunkport Green

#919D82 · ΔE 4.4

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 #97A18D?

#97A18D is Bitter Sage, a mid-tone grey with a cool undertone.

Is #97A18D warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Bitter Sage?

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

What colors pair well with Bitter Sage?

Bitter Sage 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 Bitter Sage?

You can download Bitter Sage 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 Bitter Sage?

The hex code is #97A18D. In RGB it's 151, 161, 141, and in HSL it's 90°, 10%, 59%.

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