GREYS

Adhesion

#9E9CAB

RGB 158, 156, 171 · HSL 248°, 8%, 64% · CMYK 8, 9, 0, 33

Adhesion is #9E9CAB in HEX — rgb(158, 156, 171), hsl(248°, 8%, 64%), cmyk(8%, 9%, 0%, 33%).

Adhesion pulls into the light end of the greys spectrum — HSL 248°, 8%, 64%. 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#9E9CAB

RGB158, 156, 171

HSL248°, 8%, 64%

HSV248°, 9%, 67%

CMYK8, 9, 0, 33

Decimal10394795

CSS RGBrgb(158, 156, 171)

CSS HSLhsl(248, 8%, 64%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Adhesion S43B3

Exact match

Sherwin-Williams

Ash Violet SW6549

ΔE 1.9 · #A29BAA

Vista Paint

Dusky Mood C-1317

ΔE 2.5 · #979AA7

Behr

Masterpiece MQ5-8

ΔE 2.6 · #9D9EA9

Hallman-Lindsay

Dusky Mood 1318

ΔE 2.7 · #979BA8

Benjamin Moore

Wisteria AF-585

ΔE 2.9 · #9D9DA7

Kilz

Aviator Silver TB-34

ΔE 3.1 · #9DA0AB

PPG

Amethyst Haze 13-23

ΔE 3.2 · #A0A0AA

Valspar

Lucent Purple 4002-4A

ΔE 4.3 · #97919E

RAL

Window Grey 7040

ΔE 4.3 · #9DA1AA

Dunn-Edwards

Shining Knight DE6347

ΔE 4.5 · #989EA7

Dutch Boy

Dusky Mood DCP-1318

ΔE 6.3 · #A6ACB8

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 7.5 · #889099

IKEA

IKEA155 155

ΔE 8.9 · #AAB1B8

Colorhouse

Wool .04 Wool-04

ΔE 10.3 · #8B8A8C

Farrow & Ball

Manor House Gray 265

ΔE 11.2 · #A2A29D

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

TemperatureCool MasstoneBlue UndertoneViolet

A near-neutral with a subtle cool violet undertone — it will pick up colour from surrounding surfaces and shift noticeably under different light.

Color Theory

Complementary

#9E9CAB

#A9AB9C

Analogous

#9CA1AB

#9E9CAB

#A59CAB

Triadic

#9E9CAB

#AB9E9C

#9CAB9E

Split-Complementary

#9E9CAB

#ABA59C

#A1AB9C

Tetradic

#9E9CAB

#AB9CA1

#A9AB9C

#9CABA5

Monochromatic

#52505E

#767387

#9E9CAB

#C6C5CE

#EFEEF1

Rectangle

#9E9CAB

#AB9CA9

#A9AB9C

#9CAB9E

Compound

#9E9CAB

#A59CAB

#A9AB9C

#A1AB9C

Variations

Lighter

#B1B0BB

#C5C4CC

#DEDDE1

Darker

#7B788D

#545262

#312F39

Saturation

#A2A1A5

#9E9CAB

#7F72D5

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

#9E9CAB

#9A9EAC

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#9E9CAB

#9C9CA9

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#9E9CAB

#9D9F9D

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Adhesion 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

#B6A29B

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#9E9CAB

Daylight 5500K

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

#A3A7C0

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EAEAEB

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.

#A0A86E

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: #9E9CAB;

CSS — background

background-color: #9E9CAB;

CSS Variable

--color-adhesion: #9E9CAB;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'adhesion': '#9E9CAB' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#9E9CAB] text-[#9E9CAB]

SCSS

$adhesion: #9E9CAB;

Similar Colors

Wisteria

#9C9CA6 · ΔE 2.9

Yukon Sky

#A0A6B6 · ΔE 4.3

Inspired

#AC9EAA · ΔE 5.1

Comet

#97A2AE · ΔE 5.2

Faded Violet

#8D8FA1 · ΔE 5.7

Coastline

#919DA8 · ΔE 5.7

Heather Field

#A6A6BD · ΔE 5.8

Excalibur Gray

#A9ABB6 · ΔE 5.9

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 #9E9CAB?

#9E9CAB is Adhesion, a soft grey with a cool undertone.

Is #9E9CAB warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Adhesion?

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

What colors pair well with Adhesion?

Adhesion 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 Adhesion?

You can download Adhesion 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 Adhesion?

The hex code is #9E9CAB. In RGB it's 158, 156, 171, and in HSL it's 248°, 8%, 64%.

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