BLUES

Poetry Reading

#9FAEC9

RGB 159, 174, 201 · HSL 219°, 28%, 71% · CMYK 21, 13, 0, 21

Poetry Reading is #9FAEC9 in HEX — rgb(159, 174, 201), hsl(219°, 28%, 71%), cmyk(21%, 13%, 0%, 21%).

Poetry Reading pulls into the light end of the blues spectrum — HSL 219°, 28%, 71%. 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#9FAEC9

RGB159, 174, 201

HSL219°, 28%, 71%

HSV219°, 21%, 79%

CMYK21, 13, 0, 21

Decimal10464969

CSS RGBrgb(159, 174, 201)

CSS HSLhsl(219, 28%, 71%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Kilz

Musical Play RB220-02

ΔE 0.7 · #A0AECA

Behr

Poetry Reading MQ5-17

ΔE 1.2 · #9DABC7

PPG

Easter Egg 1166-4

ΔE 2.4 · #99AAC8

Benjamin Moore

Freesia 1432

ΔE 2.5 · #A8B2CD

Valspar

Precious Stone 4002-5C

ΔE 2.8 · #A6B1C8

Dulux

Grey Flannel S41E3

ΔE 3.5 · #98A5C2

Dunn-Edwards

Misted Eve DE5884

ΔE 3.9 · #A2B7CF

Dutch Boy

John's Blue DCP-0617

ΔE 4 · #97B2CD

Sherwin-Williams

Celestial SW6808

ΔE 4.4 · #97B3D0

Vista Paint

Babbling Creek C-587

ΔE 4.5 · #A8BAD3

Hallman-Lindsay

Babbling Creek 588

ΔE 4.5 · #A7BAD3

Farrow & Ball

Lulworth Blue 89

ΔE 6.6 · #A1B8CA

IKEA

IKEA085 85

ΔE 8.4 · #9FC1DF

RAL

Window Grey 7040

ΔE 11.3 · #9DA1AA

Kobra

Violet 23

ΔE 11.9 · #B7B1DC

Colorhouse

Dream .03 Dream-03

ΔE 12.5 · #B4CBD9

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

42/100

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

#9FAEC9

#CABBA0

Analogous

#A0C4CA

#9FAEC9

#A7A0CA

Triadic

#9FAEC9

#CAA0AF

#AFCAA0

Split-Complementary

#9FAEC9

#CAA7A0

#C4CAA0

Tetradic

#9FAEC9

#CAA0C4

#CABBA0

#A0CAA7

Monochromatic

#4B6086

#6F85AE

#9FAEC9

#D1D8E5

#EFF1F6

Rectangle

#9FAEC9

#BBA0CA

#CABBA0

#AFCAA0

Compound

#9FAEC9

#A7A0CA

#CABBA0

#C4CAA0

Variations

Lighter

#B3BFD4

#C8CFDD

#E0E4EA

Darker

#7087B1

#455A82

#27344D

Saturation

#AFB3BB

#A0AFCA

#86A7E4

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

2.24:1

Fail

vs Black

9.37:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#9FAEC9

#A3ACCA

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#9FAEC9

#ACACC6

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#9FAEC9

#9DB2AF

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Focused · Cooling

Poetry Reading 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

#B7AFB2

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#9FAEC9

Daylight 5500K

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

#A4B4D6

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EAEAEC

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.

#B3A181

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: #9FAEC9;

CSS — background

background-color: #9FAEC9;

CSS Variable

--color-poetry-reading: #9FAEC9;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'poetry-reading': '#9FAEC9' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#9FAEC9] text-[#9FAEC9]

SCSS

$poetry-reading: #9FAEC9;

Similar Colors

Freesia

#A7B1CC · ΔE 2.2

Summer Mist

#9DB2D0 · ΔE 2.7

Citadel

#93A6BE · ΔE 4.0

Blue Viola

#ACB3CA · ΔE 4.1

Frozen Canal

#A5B7CD · ΔE 4.3

Blue Pearl

#93A0BD · ΔE 5.2

Dreamy

#9AA1B9 · ΔE 5.3

Enchanted

#AFAFCB · ΔE 5.4

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 #9FAEC9?

#9FAEC9 is Poetry Reading, a soft blue with a cool undertone.

Is #9FAEC9 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Poetry Reading?

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

What colors pair well with Poetry Reading?

Poetry Reading 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 Poetry Reading?

You can download Poetry Reading 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 Poetry Reading?

The hex code is #9FAEC9. In RGB it's 159, 174, 201, and in HSL it's 219°, 28%, 71%.

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