GREYS

Grey Expose

#A1A196

RGB 161, 161, 150 · HSL 60°, 6%, 61% · CMYK 0, 0, 7, 37

Grey Expose is #A1A196 in HEX — rgb(161, 161, 150), hsl(60°, 6%, 61%), cmyk(0%, 0%, 7%, 37%).

Grey Expose pulls into the light end of the greys spectrum — HSL 60°, 6%, 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#A1A196

RGB161, 161, 150

HSL60°, 6%, 61%

HSV60°, 7%, 63%

CMYK0, 0, 7, 37

Decimal10592662

CSS RGBrgb(161, 161, 150)

CSS HSLhsl(60, 6%, 61%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Farrow & Ball

Pigeon 25

ΔE 1.2 · #A1A093

Benjamin Moore

Oil CSP-760

ΔE 1.4 · #A0A295

Colorhouse

Metal .04 Metal-04

ΔE 1.4 · #9FA198

Vista Paint

Shark Fin C-573

ΔE 1.6 · #A6A49A

Sherwin-Williams

Downing Stone SW2821

ΔE 1.6 · #A6A397

Hallman-Lindsay

Shark Fin 574

ΔE 1.7 · #A5A39A

Dulux

Pozieres SG5F3

ΔE 1.9 · #A1A59A

Valspar

Tornado Watch 6002-2A

ΔE 1.9 · #A5A194

Behr

Shiitake N220-4

ΔE 2.4 · #9F9F90

IKEA

IKEA194 194

ΔE 2.4 · #9A9E95

PPG

Hot Stone 1007-4

ΔE 3.2 · #ABA89E

Kilz

Greyswood TB-16

ΔE 3.4 · #A49D8F

RAL

Signal Grey 7004

ΔE 4 · #969992

Dunn-Edwards

Sycamore Stand DEC781

ΔE 4.6 · #959E8F

Dutch Boy

Smoky Gray VS-9305

ΔE 4.7 · #95958D

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 13.3 · #889099

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

35/100

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 UndertoneGreen

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#A1A196

#9696A2

Analogous

#A29C96

#A1A196

#9CA296

Triadic

#A1A196

#96A2A2

#A296A2

Split-Complementary

#A1A196

#969CA2

#9C96A2

Tetradic

#A1A196

#96A29C

#9696A2

#A2969C

Monochromatic

#54544A

#7C7C6E

#A1A196

#C5C5BE

#E9E9E7

Rectangle

#A1A196

#96A296

#9696A2

#A296A2

Compound

#A1A196

#9CA296

#9696A2

#9C96A2

Variations

Lighter

#B4B4AB

#C6C6C0

#DEDEDB

Darker

#848475

#5B5B50

#35352E

Saturation

#9D9D9A

#A2A296

#D0D067

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

2.61:1

Fail

vs Black

8.05:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#A1A196

#A3A097

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#A1A196

#A1A197

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#A1A196

#A29FA0

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Grey Expose 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

#B8A58C

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#A1A196

Daylight 5500K

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

#A5AAB0

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.

#6666A3

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: #A1A196;

CSS — background

background-color: #A1A196;

CSS Variable

--color-grey-expose: #A1A196;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'grey-expose': '#A1A196' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#A1A196] text-[#A1A196]

SCSS

$grey-expose: #A1A196;

Similar Colors

Oil Cloth

#9FA194 · ΔE 1.4

Vintage Pewter

#A09E97 · ΔE 2.5

Sabre Gray

#A4A79E · ΔE 2.6

Rockport Gray

#A8A295 · ΔE 2.7

Arctic Shadows

#9A9A8E · ΔE 2.7

River Reflections

#A69F93 · ΔE 2.8

Escarpment

#A29D96 · ΔE 3.1

Heather Gray

#99A196 · ΔE 3.2

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 #A1A196?

#A1A196 is Grey Expose, a soft grey with a cool undertone.

Is #A1A196 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Grey Expose?

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

What colors pair well with Grey Expose?

Grey Expose 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 Grey Expose?

You can download Grey Expose 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 Grey Expose?

The hex code is #A1A196. In RGB it's 161, 161, 150, and in HSL it's 60°, 6%, 61%.

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