BLUES

Blue Shell

#9BB3BC

RGB 155, 179, 188 · HSL 196°, 20%, 67% · CMYK 18, 5, 0, 26

Blue Shell is #9BB3BC in HEX — rgb(155, 179, 188), hsl(196°, 20%, 67%), cmyk(18%, 5%, 0%, 26%).

Blue Shell pulls into the light end of the blues spectrum — HSL 196°, 20%, 67%. The muted saturation makes it quiet but present, and the hue reads cool. In interior projects it shines on bedrooms, bathrooms, home offices — for calm, focused environments. Reads best alongside warm white trim, oak or walnut, brass or matte black hardware.

Color Codes

HEX#9BB3BC

RGB155, 179, 188

HSL196°, 20%, 67%

HSV196°, 18%, 74%

CMYK18, 5, 0, 26

Decimal10204092

CSS RGBrgb(155, 179, 188)

CSS HSLhsl(196, 20%, 67%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Lake Camp NZ10A2

ΔE 0.7 · #9BB4BC

Benjamin Moore

Early CC-818

ΔE 0.9 · #9CB2BC

Behr

Supernova N510-4

ΔE 1.1 · #98B1B9

Sherwin-Williams

Dockside Blue SW7601

ΔE 1.7 · #A0B3BC

PPG

Wright Sky Blue FLLW864

ΔE 1.7 · #96AFB7

Vista Paint

Maracay Bay K-163

ΔE 2.2 · #94AFBA

Hallman-Lindsay

Indian Tears 504

ΔE 2.5 · #9EB0BB

Kilz

Beach Water RE150-01

ΔE 3.1 · #A5BAC1

Dunn-Edwards

Irogon Blue DEC796

ΔE 3.7 · #9DACB5

Valspar

Palisade Blue 4006-3B

ΔE 4.1 · #A5B8C6

Colorhouse

Water .04 Water-04

ΔE 5 · #9FB4B4

Farrow & Ball

Lulworth Blue 89

ΔE 5.4 · #A1B8CA

IKEA

IKEA164 164

ΔE 5.9 · #ABB7B9

Dutch Boy

Blue Wings VS-9402

ΔE 6.4 · #8AB1C2

RAL

Window Grey 7040

ΔE 8.8 · #9DA1AA

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 13.2 · #889099

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

43/100

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

Reads as a cool blue with a violet undertone showing through, especially in daylight. Pair trim and adjacent colours to either calm or amplify that undertone.

Color Theory

Complementary

#9BB3BC

#BCA39A

Analogous

#9ABCB4

#9BB3BC

#9AA2BC

Triadic

#9BB3BC

#BC9AB3

#B3BC9A

Split-Complementary

#9BB3BC

#BC9AA2

#BCB49A

Tetradic

#9BB3BC

#B49ABC

#BCA39A

#A2BC9A

Monochromatic

#4B6771

#6C909D

#9BB3BC

#C8D5DA

#F0F3F5

Rectangle

#9BB3BC

#A39ABC

#BCA39A

#B3BC9A

Compound

#9BB3BC

#9AA2BC

#BCA39A

#BCB49A

Variations

Lighter

#AEC2C9

#C4D1D5

#DDE3E6

Darker

#7094A2

#496873

#2A3D43

Saturation

#A6ADB0

#9AB3BC

#78C2DD

Interior Use

Best Rooms

bedrooms, bathrooms, home offices

Best Uses

main walls, ceilings, trim, cabinetry

Pairs With

warm white trim, oak or walnut, brass or matte black hardware

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

2.19:1

Fail

vs Black

9.57:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#9BB3BC

#A8ACBD

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#9BB3BC

#AFAFBB

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#9BB3BC

#9BB4B2

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Focused · Cooling

Blue Shell lowers the temperature of a room — useful in south-facing rooms that overheat visually, and in home offices where you want a clear head. Pair with warm wood and brass to keep it from reading clinical.

SymbolismTrust, depth, stability

PersonalityClear-headed, dependable, contemplative

focustrustcalmofficebedroomdepth

How it looks under different light

#B4B3A8

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#9BB3BC

Daylight 5500K

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

#A1B8CC

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EAEBEB

Trim

Matched off-white

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

#F7F7F8

Ceiling

Whisper tint

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

#AD8476

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: #9BB3BC;

CSS — background

background-color: #9BB3BC;

CSS Variable

--color-blue-shell: #9BB3BC;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'blue-shell': '#9BB3BC' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#9BB3BC] text-[#9BB3BC]

SCSS

$blue-shell: #9BB3BC;

Similar Colors

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#9BB1BB · ΔE 1.1

Exhale

#9FB8C1 · ΔE 1.8

Saratoga Springs

#93B1BC · ΔE 2.5

Ocean City Blue

#97B2B7 · ΔE 2.6

Nantucket Fog

#A2B4BA · ΔE 2.6

Buxton Blue

#9DB6BA · ΔE 2.9

Cape Blue

#A1BAC0 · ΔE 3.0

Winter Lake

#9CADB7 · ΔE 3.0

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 #9BB3BC?

#9BB3BC is Blue Shell, a soft blue with a cool undertone.

Is #9BB3BC warm or cool?

Blue Shell reads cool, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Blue Shell?

Blue Shell works well in bedrooms, bathrooms, home offices. Designers typically use it for main walls, ceilings, trim, cabinetry.

What colors pair well with Blue Shell?

Blue Shell pairs naturally with warm white trim, oak or walnut, brass or matte black hardware. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Blue Shell?

You can download Blue Shell 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 Blue Shell?

The hex code is #9BB3BC. In RGB it's 155, 179, 188, and in HSL it's 196°, 20%, 67%.

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