YELLOWS

Lye

#9E9478

RGB 158, 148, 120 · HSL 44°, 16%, 55% · CMYK 0, 6, 24, 38

Lye is #9E9478 in HEX — rgb(158, 148, 120), hsl(44°, 16%, 55%), cmyk(0%, 6%, 24%, 38%).

Lye pulls into the mid-tone end of the yellows spectrum — HSL 44°, 16%, 55%. The neutral saturation makes it near-neutral and forgiving, and the hue reads warm. In interior projects it shines on kitchens, breakfast nooks, kids' rooms, accent walls — bringing sunlight indoors. Reads best alongside white trim, natural linen, light oak, brushed brass.

Color Codes

HEX#9E9478

RGB158, 148, 120

HSL44°, 16%, 55%

HSV44°, 24%, 62%

CMYK0, 6, 24, 38

Decimal10392696

CSS RGBrgb(158, 148, 120)

CSS HSLhsl(44, 16%, 55%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Benjamin Moore

Bed 1511 · CC-632

ΔE 1.5 · #9A9376

IKEA

IKEA147 147

ΔE 1.7 · #9D947B

PPG

Mossy Gold 11-17

ΔE 1.9 · #9C9273

Hallman-Lindsay

Abbey Stone 365

ΔE 2 · #A29778

Vista Paint

Highland Grass K-970

ΔE 2.2 · #A19276

Sherwin-Williams

Colonial Revival Green Stone SW2826

ΔE 2.6 · #A39B7E

Dunn-Edwards

Courtyard Green DEC776

ΔE 2.7 · #978D71

Colorhouse

Nourish .04 Nourish-04

ΔE 2.7 · #A3977F

Valspar

Cool Moss 6006-4A

ΔE 3.2 · #A39C7E

Behr

Urban Safari PPU8-4

ΔE 3.4 · #968B6F

Dulux

Khaki S17B4

ΔE 3.4 · #9D9980

Dutch Boy

Sierra Beige 7425

ΔE 4 · #A99E80

Kilz

Expedition LF280-01

ΔE 4.5 · #A19D7C

Farrow & Ball

Mouse's Back 40

ΔE 6.4 · #998976

RAL

Yellow Grey 7034

ΔE 7 · #8F8B66

Kobra

Gold 45

ΔE 10.8 · #8E7A5A

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

30/100

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

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

#9E9478

#7A849F

Analogous

#9F827A

#9E9478

#969F7A

Triadic

#9E9478

#7A9F95

#957A9F

Split-Complementary

#9E9478

#7A969F

#827A9F

Tetradic

#9E9478

#7A9F82

#7A849F

#9F7A96

Monochromatic

#4A4536

#766E56

#9E9478

#BFB8A6

#DFDCD3

Rectangle

#9E9478

#849F7A

#7A849F

#957A9F

Compound

#9E9478

#969F7A

#7A849F

#827A9F

Variations

Lighter

#B2AA95

#C4BFB1

#DBD9D2

Darker

#83795D

#5B5340

#353125

Saturation

#928F87

#9F957A

#CFAB4A

Interior Use

Best Rooms

kitchens, breakfast nooks, kids' rooms

Best Uses

accent walls, ceilings, cabinetry highlights

Pairs With

white trim, natural linen, light oak, brushed brass

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

3.02:1

AA Large

vs Black

6.96:1

Deuteranopia

#9E9478

#9C9579

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#9E9478

#96967C

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#9E9478

#A09093

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Bright · Optimistic

Lye brings light into spaces that lack it — kitchens, breakfast nooks, kids' rooms wake up under it. The trick with yellow is restraint: lean toward the muted/buttery end if you want it on walls; reserve high-chroma versions for accents and trim.

SymbolismSunlight, clarity, intellect

PersonalityCheerful, alert, sociable

sunlightclarityjoyalertnesskitchenmorning

How it looks under different light

#B69C75

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#9E9478

Daylight 5500K

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

#A3A199

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.

#596995

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: #9E9478;

CSS — background

background-color: #9E9478;

CSS Variable

--color-lye: #9E9478;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'lye': '#9E9478' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#9E9478] text-[#9E9478]

SCSS

$lye: #9E9478;

Similar Colors

Bed of Ferns

#999275 · ΔE 1.7

Palace Tan

#9D9072 · ΔE 2.2

Hancock Gray

#968D70 · ΔE 2.9

At Home with Nature

#A29675 · ΔE 3.0

Nordic Gray

#9E9079 · ΔE 3.3

Old Salem Gray

#A49A79 · ΔE 3.4

Shiitake Mushroom

#AA9D81 · ΔE 3.9

Beige Gray

#A2947F · ΔE 4.2

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 #9E9478?

#9E9478 is Lye, a mid-tone yellow with a warm undertone.

Is #9E9478 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Lye?

Lye works well in kitchens, breakfast nooks, kids' rooms. Designers typically use it for accent walls, ceilings, cabinetry highlights.

What colors pair well with Lye?

Lye pairs naturally with white trim, natural linen, light oak, brushed brass. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Lye?

You can download Lye 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 Lye?

The hex code is #9E9478. In RGB it's 158, 148, 120, and in HSL it's 44°, 16%, 55%.

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