BLUES

Always Blue

#A2BACB

RGB 162, 186, 203 · HSL 205°, 28%, 72% · CMYK 20, 8, 0, 20

Always Blue is #A2BACB in HEX — rgb(162, 186, 203), hsl(205°, 28%, 72%), cmyk(20%, 8%, 0%, 20%).

Always Blue pulls into the light end of the blues spectrum — HSL 205°, 28%, 72%. 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#A2BACB

RGB162, 186, 203

HSL205°, 28%, 72%

HSV205°, 20%, 80%

CMYK20, 8, 0, 20

Decimal10664651

CSS RGBrgb(162, 186, 203)

CSS HSLhsl(205, 28%, 72%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

PPG

Always Blue 1156-3

Exact match

Farrow & Ball

Lulworth Blue 89

ΔE 0.9 · #A1B8CA

Dunn-Edwards

Anchors Away DE5814

ΔE 1.7 · #9EBBCD

Benjamin Moore

Sheer 837

ΔE 2.3 · #9BB5C8

Dulux

Blue Garter S38E2

ΔE 2.3 · #A2B9CE

Valspar

Palisade Blue 4006-3B

ΔE 2.3 · #A5B8C6

Vista Paint

Grand Bay K-804

ΔE 3.1 · #9FB4C1

Behr

Ridge View 610F-5

ΔE 3.3 · #A1BAD1

Sherwin-Williams

Respite SW6514

ΔE 3.3 · #97B4C3

Kilz

Soft Chambray RD170-01

ΔE 3.7 · #A8C4D6

Hallman-Lindsay

Dancing In The Rain 644

ΔE 3.9 · #ABC5D6

IKEA

IKEA052 52

ΔE 4.8 · #B3C4D5

Dutch Boy

John's Blue DCP-0617

ΔE 6.3 · #97B2CD

Colorhouse

Dream .03 Dream-03

ΔE 6.4 · #B4CBD9

RAL

Window Grey 7040

ΔE 11.3 · #9DA1AA

Kobra

Blue 27

ΔE 12.9 · #87C8D7

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

47/100

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

#A2BACB

#CCB4A4

Analogous

#A4CCC8

#A2BACB

#A4A7CC

Triadic

#A2BACB

#CCA4BB

#BBCCA4

Split-Complementary

#A2BACB

#CCA4A7

#CCC8A4

Tetradic

#A2BACB

#C8A4CC

#CCB4A4

#A7CCA4

Monochromatic

#4D7089

#7396B0

#A2BACB

#D5DFE7

#EFF3F6

Rectangle

#A2BACB

#B4A4CC

#CCB4A4

#BBCCA4

Compound

#A2BACB

#A4A7CC

#CCB4A4

#CCC8A4

Variations

Lighter

#B6C9D6

#CAD6DE

#E1E7EB

Darker

#7398B3

#466A84

#283E4E

Saturation

#B2B9BE

#A4BBCC

#8ABFE5

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

2.01:1

Fail

vs Black

10.42:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#A2BACB

#ADB4CC

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#A2BACB

#B6B6C9

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#A2BACB

#A1BCBA

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Focused · Cooling

Always Blue 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

#B9B8B3

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#A2BACB

Daylight 5500K

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

#A6BDD8

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EAEBEC

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.

#B59883

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: #A2BACB;

CSS — background

background-color: #A2BACB;

CSS Variable

--color-always-blue: #A2BACB;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'always-blue': '#A2BACB' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#A2BACB] text-[#A2BACB]

SCSS

$always-blue: #A2BACB;

Similar Colors

Northern Air

#A0BECE · ΔE 2.3

Glace Bay

#9AB4C7 · ΔE 2.6

Porcelain Glaze

#9AB2C5 · ΔE 3.1

H2O

#A1BFD5 · ΔE 3.5

Frozen Canal

#A5B7CD · ΔE 3.6

November Skies

#ACBAC8 · ΔE 3.7

Mediterranean Sky

#A4C1CD · ΔE 3.9

Serenata

#ABC1CC · 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 #A2BACB?

#A2BACB is Always Blue, a soft blue with a cool undertone.

Is #A2BACB warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Always Blue?

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

What colors pair well with Always Blue?

Always Blue 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 Always Blue?

You can download Always Blue 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 Always Blue?

The hex code is #A2BACB. In RGB it's 162, 186, 203, and in HSL it's 205°, 28%, 72%.

← All colors