GREYS

Steel Copy

#9C9D9A

RGB 156, 157, 154 · HSL 80°, 2%, 61% · CMYK 1, 0, 2, 38

Steel Copy is #9C9D9A in HEX — rgb(156, 157, 154), hsl(80°, 2%, 61%), cmyk(1%, 0%, 2%, 38%).

Steel Copy pulls into the light end of the greys spectrum — HSL 80°, 2%, 61%. 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#9C9D9A

RGB156, 157, 154

HSL80°, 2%, 61%

HSV80°, 2%, 62%

CMYK1, 0, 2, 38

Decimal10263962

CSS RGBrgb(156, 157, 154)

CSS HSLhsl(80, 2%, 61%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Steel Copy SN4B8

Exact match

Hallman-Lindsay

Smoky Tone 541

ΔE 1.2 · #9D9E9D

Vista Paint

Smoky Tone C-540

ΔE 1.2 · #9D9D9C

Behr

Gateway Gray MQ6-22

ΔE 1.3 · #9E9E9D

Benjamin Moore

Storm AF-700

ΔE 1.6 · #A0A19F

Valspar

Stone Mason Gray 4008-1C

ΔE 1.6 · #9A9E9D

RAL

Pearl Light Grey 9022

ΔE 1.7 · #9C9C9C

Dunn-Edwards

Walrus DE6368

ΔE 1.9 · #999B9B

Sherwin-Williams

Earl Grey SW7660

ΔE 1.9 · #969A96

Kilz

Serving Platter RK250

ΔE 2.2 · #989D9D

Farrow & Ball

Manor House Gray 265

ΔE 2.2 · #A2A29D

IKEA

IKEA182 182

ΔE 2.7 · #9AA1A0

PPG

Equilibrium 1003-4

ΔE 3.1 · #A49F9F

Colorhouse

Metal .04 Metal-04

ΔE 3.6 · #9FA198

Dutch Boy

Smoky Gray VS-9305

ΔE 4.2 · #95958D

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 8.9 · #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

#9C9D9A

#9B9A9E

Analogous

#9E9D9A

#9C9D9A

#9A9E9A

Triadic

#9C9D9A

#9A9C9E

#9E9A9C

Split-Complementary

#9C9D9A

#9A9A9E

#9D9A9E

Tetradic

#9C9D9A

#9A9E9D

#9B9A9E

#9E9A9A

Monochromatic

#50514D

#767873

#9C9D9A

#C2C3C1

#E8E9E8

Rectangle

#9C9D9A

#9A9E9B

#9B9A9E

#9E9A9C

Compound

#9C9D9A

#9A9E9A

#9B9A9E

#9D9A9E

Variations

Lighter

#B0B1AE

#C4C4C2

#DCDDDC

Darker

#7D7F7A

#565754

#323331

Saturation

#9C9C9B

#9C9E9A

#ACCE69

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

2.73:1

Fail

vs Black

7.70:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#9C9D9A

#9D9C9B

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#9C9D9A

#9D9D9A

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#9C9D9A

#9C9D9D

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Steel Copy 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

#B4A28F

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#9C9D9A

Daylight 5500K

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

#A2A7B3

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.

#7A66A3

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: #9C9D9A;

CSS — background

background-color: #9C9D9A;

CSS Variable

--color-steel-copy: #9C9D9A;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'steel-copy': '#9C9D9A' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#9C9D9A] text-[#9C9D9A]

SCSS

$steel-copy: #9C9D9A;

Similar Colors

Storm

#9FA09E · ΔE 1.3

Sterling Silver

#A09E9D · ΔE 1.7

Timber Wolf

#9A9F9E · ΔE 1.9

Vintage Pewter

#A09E97 · ΔE 2.5

Puritan Gray

#979F9B · ΔE 2.7

Fusion

#A5A2A0 · ΔE 2.8

Escarpment

#A29D96 · ΔE 3.2

Rainstorm

#929591 · 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 #9C9D9A?

#9C9D9A is Steel Copy, a soft grey with a cool undertone.

Is #9C9D9A warm or cool?

Steel Copy reads cool, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Steel Copy?

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

What colors pair well with Steel Copy?

Steel Copy 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 Steel Copy?

You can download Steel Copy 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 Steel Copy?

The hex code is #9C9D9A. In RGB it's 156, 157, 154, and in HSL it's 80°, 2%, 61%.

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