ORANGES

Polished Brown

#985538

RGB 152, 85, 56 · HSL 18°, 46%, 41% · CMYK 0, 44, 63, 40

Polished Brown is #985538 in HEX — rgb(152, 85, 56), hsl(18°, 46%, 41%), cmyk(0%, 44%, 63%, 40%).

Polished Brown pulls into the rich end of the oranges spectrum — HSL 18°, 46%, 41%. The balanced saturation makes it confident without overpowering, and the hue reads warm. In interior projects it shines on main walls, ceilings, soft fabrics, large surfaces, particularly within kitchens, living rooms, dining rooms. Reads best alongside cream walls, walnut furniture, terracotta tile, brass.

Color Codes

HEX#985538

RGB152, 85, 56

HSL18°, 46%, 41%

HSV18°, 63%, 60%

CMYK0, 44, 63, 40

Decimal9983288

CSS RGBrgb(152, 85, 56)

CSS HSLhsl(18, 46%, 41%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dutch Boy

Caramel Brown D-6783

ΔE 3.7 · #8D5033

Benjamin Moore

Warmed AF-235

ΔE 3.8 · #975B3B

Sherwin-Williams

Pennywise SW6349

ΔE 3.9 · #A2583A

Behr

Nouveau Copper HDC-AC-01

ΔE 4 · #A15B43

Kilz

Autumn Abundance LC100-02

ΔE 4 · #8E5335

PPG

Ancient Copper 1063-7

ΔE 4.6 · #9F543E

Hallman-Lindsay

Mandalay Road 39

ΔE 4.7 · #A05F45

Colorhouse

Clay .04 Clay-04

ΔE 4.8 · #8C4D35

Valspar

Cinnamon Cake 3010-6

ΔE 5.6 · #A96245

Vista Paint

Rustic Hills K-1073

ΔE 6 · #A96348

Dulux

Rusty S08E9

ΔE 6.1 · #95492D

Dunn-Edwards

Georgia Clay DE5181

ΔE 7.8 · #B06144

IKEA

IKEA106 106

ΔE 8.1 · #864633

RAL

Copper Brown 8004

ΔE 9.1 · #8E402A

Farrow & Ball

Picture Gallery Red 42

ΔE 9.4 · #A15A4D

Kobra

Red 16

ΔE 14 · #9A4039

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

13/100

Dark

0 · DarkLight · 100

Soaks up light and feels moody and intimate. Great for studies, dining rooms and accent walls; pair with ample lighting.

Undertone

TemperatureWarm MasstoneOrange UndertoneYellow

Reads as a warm orange with a yellow undertone showing through, especially in daylight. Pair trim and adjacent colours to either calm or amplify that undertone.

Color Theory

Complementary

#985538

#387C99

Analogous

#99384C

#985538

#998538

Triadic

#985538

#389955

#553899

Split-Complementary

#985538

#389985

#384C99

Tetradic

#985538

#4C9938

#387C99

#853899

Monochromatic

#29170F

#613624

#985538

#C27A5B

#D7A793

Rectangle

#985538

#7C9938

#387C99

#553899

Compound

#985538

#998538

#387C99

#384C99

Variations

Lighter

#BE704F

#C89781

#DBC4B9

Darker

#7C432B

#572E1C

#331A10

Saturation

#77635A

#995538

#B54A1C

Interior Use

Best Rooms

kitchens, living rooms, dining rooms

Best Uses

main walls, ceilings, soft fabrics, large surfaces

Pairs With

cream walls, walnut furniture, terracotta tile, brass

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

5.69:1

vs Black

3.69:1

AA Large

Deuteranopia

#985538

#7A7035

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#985538

#64643D

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#985538

#97535A

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Warm · Inviting

Polished Brown reads warm and lived-in — orange-leaning tones invite conversation and slow the room down without dulling it. They flatter wood, linen, and brass, and they brighten north-facing rooms that otherwise tip cold.

SymbolismCreativity, hospitality, harvest

PersonalityFriendly, optimistic, grounded

warmthhospitalitycreativitycomfortsocialearthy

How it looks under different light

#B16C45

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#985538

Daylight 5500K

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

#9F7169

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#ECEAE9

Trim

Matched off-white

Same hue at 92% lightness — trim reads coordinated, not stark.

#F8F7F7

Ceiling

Whisper tint

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

#36677C

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 · Doors · Mouldings

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: #985538;

CSS — background

background-color: #985538;

CSS Variable

--color-polished-brown: #985538;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'polished-brown': '#985538' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#985538] text-[#985538]

SCSS

$polished-brown: #985538;

Similar Colors

Warmed Cognac

#965A3A · ΔE 3.7

Cinnamon

#984F3B · ΔE 5.1

Rusty Nail

#9C6040 · ΔE 5.1

Tawny Rose

#8D4E3A · ΔE 6.3

California Rustic

#874B35 · ΔE 7.0

Baked Clay

#9E5545 · ΔE 7.1

Toasted Chestnut

#88442E · ΔE 7.2

Egyptian Clay

#A95844 · ΔE 7.5

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 #985538?

#985538 is Polished Brown, a mid-tone orange with a warm undertone.

Is #985538 warm or cool?

Polished Brown reads warm, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Polished Brown?

Polished Brown works well in kitchens, living rooms, dining rooms. Designers typically use it for main walls, ceilings, soft fabrics, large surfaces.

What colors pair well with Polished Brown?

Polished Brown pairs naturally with cream walls, walnut furniture, terracotta tile, brass. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Polished Brown?

You can download Polished Brown 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 Polished Brown?

The hex code is #985538. In RGB it's 152, 85, 56, and in HSL it's 18°, 46%, 41%.

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