BLUES

French

#A3B1B8

RGB 163, 177, 184 · HSL 200°, 13%, 68% · CMYK 11, 4, 0, 28

French is #A3B1B8 in HEX — rgb(163, 177, 184), hsl(200°, 13%, 68%), cmyk(11%, 4%, 0%, 28%).

French pulls into the light end of the blues spectrum — HSL 200°, 13%, 68%. The neutral saturation makes it near-neutral and forgiving, 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#A3B1B8

RGB163, 177, 184

HSL200°, 13%, 68%

HSV200°, 11%, 72%

CMYK11, 4, 0, 28

Decimal10727864

CSS RGBrgb(163, 177, 184)

CSS HSLhsl(200, 13%, 68%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Benjamin Moore

French CSP-595

Exact match

PPG

Special Delivery 1037-3

ΔE 1.2 · #A5B2B7

Dulux

Puhoi NZ9A5

ΔE 1.4 · #A0B2B9

Behr

Intercoastal Gray MQ5-23

ΔE 1.6 · #A5B0B9

Sherwin-Williams

Dockside Blue SW7601

ΔE 2 · #A0B3BC

Dunn-Edwards

Irogon Blue DEC796

ΔE 2.2 · #9DACB5

Hallman-Lindsay

Cystern 511

ΔE 2.5 · #A9B0B6

IKEA

IKEA155 155

ΔE 2.6 · #AAB1B8

Vista Paint

Bali Blue K-797

ΔE 2.8 · #A1B4BF

Kilz

Chambray Blue TB-45

ΔE 3 · #A7B9BF

Valspar

Blue Arrow 5001-3C

ΔE 3.5 · #A0B0B1

Dutch Boy

Dusky Mood DCP-1318

ΔE 4.2 · #A6ACB8

Colorhouse

Wool .03 Wool-03

ΔE 4.5 · #A1ABAB

Farrow & Ball

Parma Gray 27

ΔE 5.2 · #B2BFC5

RAL

Window Grey 7040

ΔE 6.4 · #9DA1AA

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 12.2 · #889099

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

43/100

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

#A3B1B8

#B8AAA3

Analogous

#A3B8B4

#A3B1B8

#A3A6B8

Triadic

#A3B1B8

#B8A3B1

#B1B8A3

Split-Complementary

#A3B1B8

#B8A3A6

#B8B4A3

Tetradic

#A3B1B8

#B4A3B8

#B8AAA3

#A6B8A3

Monochromatic

#54656D

#788C97

#A3B1B8

#CED6D9

#F1F3F4

Rectangle

#A3B1B8

#AAA3B8

#B8AAA3

#B1B8A3

Compound

#A3B1B8

#A3A6B8

#B8AAA3

#B8B4A3

Variations

Lighter

#B5C1C6

#C9D0D3

#E0E3E5

Darker

#7B909B

#52646D

#2F3A40

Saturation

#AAAEB1

#A3B1B8

#7FBDDC

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

2.20:1

Fail

vs Black

9.54:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#A3B1B8

#AAADB9

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#A3B1B8

#AFAFB7

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#A3B1B8

#A3B2B1

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Focused · Cooling

French 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

#BAB1A5

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#A3B1B8

Daylight 5500K

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

#A7B6C9

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.

#AE8A78

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: #A3B1B8;

CSS — background

background-color: #A3B1B8;

CSS Variable

--color-french: #A3B1B8;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'french': '#A3B1B8' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#A3B1B8] text-[#A3B1B8]

SCSS

$french: #A3B1B8;

Similar Colors

French Toile

#A2B0B7 · ΔE 0.4

Solitude

#A3AEB4 · ΔE 1.5

Nantucket Fog

#A2B4BA · ΔE 1.7

Celtic Blue

#A9B5BC · ΔE 1.8

Nimbus Gray

#A1B0B4 · ΔE 1.8

Little Falls

#9EADB7 · ΔE 2.2

Winter Lake

#9CADB7 · ΔE 2.5

Pike's Peak Gray

#A0AAB1 · ΔE 2.7

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 #A3B1B8?

#A3B1B8 is French, a soft blue with a cool undertone.

Is #A3B1B8 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with French?

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

What colors pair well with French?

French 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 French?

You can download French 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 French?

The hex code is #A3B1B8. In RGB it's 163, 177, 184, and in HSL it's 200°, 13%, 68%.

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