GREYS

Shiny Armour

#A1A9A8

RGB 161, 169, 168 · HSL 173°, 4%, 65% · CMYK 5, 0, 1, 34

Shiny Armour is #A1A9A8 in HEX — rgb(161, 169, 168), hsl(173°, 4%, 65%), cmyk(5%, 0%, 1%, 34%).

Shiny Armour pulls into the light end of the greys spectrum — HSL 173°, 4%, 65%. 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#A1A9A8

RGB161, 169, 168

HSL173°, 4%, 65%

HSV173°, 5%, 66%

CMYK5, 0, 1, 34

Decimal10594728

CSS RGBrgb(161, 169, 168)

CSS HSLhsl(173, 4%, 65%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Benjamin Moore

Adagio 1593

ΔE 0.6 · #A1A9A9

Colorhouse

Wool .03 Wool-03

ΔE 1.1 · #A1ABAB

Sherwin-Williams

Gris SW7659

ΔE 1.5 · #A5A9A8

Dulux

Maraetai Half NZ9A7

ΔE 2.1 · #A5A8A5

Vista Paint

Waterby K-852

ΔE 2.2 · #A0ADAD

PPG

Stepping Stone 1010-4

ΔE 2.2 · #A4A7A4

Behr

Portsmouth Bay QE-52

ΔE 2.3 · #A0ACAE

Hallman-Lindsay

Citadel Blue historic-citadel-blue

ΔE 2.4 · #9EABAD

IKEA

IKEA182 182

ΔE 2.9 · #9AA1A0

Dunn-Edwards

Baby Seal DE6361

ΔE 2.9 · #A1A5A8

RAL

White Aluminium 9006

ΔE 3.2 · #A5A5A5

Kilz

Soft Steel RL110

ΔE 3.5 · #ACACAC

Valspar

Blue Arrow 5001-3C

ΔE 3.7 · #A0B0B1

Farrow & Ball

Manor House Gray 265

ΔE 4.3 · #A2A29D

Dutch Boy

Dusky Mood DCP-1318

ΔE 7.4 · #A6ACB8

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 10.8 · #889099

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

39/100

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 MasstoneTeal 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

#A1A9A8

#A9A2A3

Analogous

#A2A9A5

#A1A9A8

#A2A7A9

Triadic

#A1A9A8

#A8A2A9

#A9A8A2

Split-Complementary

#A1A9A8

#A9A2A7

#A9A5A2

Tetradic

#A1A9A8

#A5A2A9

#A9A2A3

#A7A9A2

Monochromatic

#565D5C

#7A8583

#A1A9A8

#CACECE

#F2F3F3

Rectangle

#A1A9A8

#A2A3A9

#A9A2A3

#A9A8A2

Compound

#A1A9A8

#A2A7A9

#A9A2A3

#A9A5A2

Variations

Lighter

#B5BABA

#C8CBCB

#DFE1E0

Darker

#7F8A89

#575F5E

#333737

Saturation

#A5A7A7

#A2A9A8

#77D4C9

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

2.40:1

Fail

vs Black

8.76:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#A1A9A8

#A6A6A9

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#A1A9A8

#A8A8A8

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#A1A9A8

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Shiny Armour 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

#B8AB99

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#A1A9A8

Daylight 5500K

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

#A5B0BD

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EAEBEB

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.

#A97077

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: #A1A9A8;

CSS — background

background-color: #A1A9A8;

CSS Variable

--color-shiny-armour: #A1A9A8;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'shiny-armour': '#A1A9A8' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#A1A9A8] text-[#A1A9A8]

SCSS

$shiny-armour: #A1A9A8;

Similar Colors

Adagio

#A0A8A8 · ΔE 0.7

Slate

#A3A8A8 · ΔE 1.3

Cobblestone Path

#9EA5A5 · ΔE 1.5

Subway Tile®

#A8AFB0 · ΔE 2.6

Gull Wing Gray

#A7AEB0 · ΔE 2.6

Mount Saint Anne

#A3B0AE · ΔE 2.9

Silver Mink

#A7B2B0 · ΔE 3.3

Shadow Gray

#A2A9AE · ΔE 3.3

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 #A1A9A8?

#A1A9A8 is Shiny Armour, a soft grey with a cool undertone.

Is #A1A9A8 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Shiny Armour?

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

What colors pair well with Shiny Armour?

Shiny Armour 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 Shiny Armour?

You can download Shiny Armour 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 Shiny Armour?

The hex code is #A1A9A8. In RGB it's 161, 169, 168, and in HSL it's 173°, 4%, 65%.

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