GREYS

Boiling Mud

#A59C9B

RGB 165, 156, 155 · HSL 6°, 5%, 63% · CMYK 0, 5, 6, 35

Boiling Mud is #A59C9B in HEX — rgb(165, 156, 155), hsl(6°, 5%, 63%), cmyk(0%, 5%, 6%, 35%).

Boiling Mud pulls into the light end of the greys spectrum — HSL 6°, 5%, 63%. 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#A59C9B

RGB165, 156, 155

HSL6°, 5%, 63%

HSV6°, 6%, 65%

CMYK0, 5, 6, 35

Decimal10853531

CSS RGBrgb(165, 156, 155)

CSS HSLhsl(6, 5%, 63%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Boiling Mud S04A3

Exact match

PPG

Equilibrium 1003-4

ΔE 1.9 · #A49F9F

Behr

Smoked Mauve PPU17-12

ΔE 2.1 · #A89C98

Kilz

Historic Monument RK260

ΔE 2.3 · #A39B96

Hallman-Lindsay

Jet Gray 548

ΔE 2.7 · #9D9A9A

Benjamin Moore

Sterling 1461

ΔE 2.8 · #A19F9E

Sherwin-Williams

Polished Concrete SW9167

ΔE 2.8 · #9E9793

IKEA

IKEA168 168

ΔE 3.1 · #9E9893

Dunn-Edwards

Twilight Taupe DE6060

ΔE 3.1 · #A79994

Valspar

Bleached Shadow 4002-1C

ΔE 3.2 · #9C9592

Vista Paint

Gypsum Gap K-1172

ΔE 3.2 · #A99C96

RAL

Pearl Light Grey 9022

ΔE 3.6 · #9C9C9C

Farrow & Ball

Manor House Gray 265

ΔE 4.4 · #A2A29D

Dutch Boy

Baby Sprout DCP-0134

ΔE 6.2 · #B6A39C

Colorhouse

Metal .04 Metal-04

ΔE 6.2 · #9FA198

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 10.2 · #889099

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

34/100

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 MasstoneRed UndertonePink

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#A59C9B

#9CA4A5

Analogous

#A59CA0

#A59C9B

#A5A29C

Triadic

#A59C9B

#9CA59D

#9D9CA5

Split-Complementary

#A59C9B

#9CA5A2

#9CA0A5

Tetradic

#A59C9B

#A0A59C

#9CA4A5

#A29CA5

Monochromatic

#585150

#817674

#A59C9B

#CAC5C4

#EEECEC

Rectangle

#A59C9B

#A4A59C

#9CA4A5

#9D9CA5

Compound

#A59C9B

#A5A29C

#9CA4A5

#9CA0A5

Variations

Lighter

#B7B1B0

#C9C4C4

#DFDDDD

Darker

#877B7A

#5D5453

#363130

Saturation

#A2A09F

#A59D9C

#D2796F

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

2.68:1

Fail

vs Black

7.83:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#A59C9B

#A09F9C

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#A59C9B

#9E9E9B

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#A59C9B

#A59C9C

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Boiling Mud 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

#BBA28F

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#A59C9B

Daylight 5500K

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

#A8A7B4

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EBEAEA

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.

#6BA0A6

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: #A59C9B;

CSS — background

background-color: #A59C9B;

CSS Variable

--color-boiling-mud: #A59C9B;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'boiling-mud': '#A59C9B' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#A59C9B] text-[#A59C9B]

SCSS

$boiling-mud: #A59C9B;

Similar Colors

Sterling Silver

#A09E9D · ΔE 2.7

Fusion

#A5A2A0 · ΔE 3.0

Escarpment

#A29D96 · ΔE 3.7

Soho Loft

#999492 · ΔE 3.8

Storm

#9FA09E · ΔE 4.0

Mauve Desert

#B1A2A4 · ΔE 4.0

Vintage Pewter

#A09E97 · ΔE 4.3

Amethyst Sky

#A39499 · ΔE 4.7

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 #A59C9B?

#A59C9B is Boiling Mud, a soft grey with a cool undertone.

Is #A59C9B warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Boiling Mud?

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

What colors pair well with Boiling Mud?

Boiling Mud 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 Boiling Mud?

You can download Boiling Mud 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 Boiling Mud?

The hex code is #A59C9B. In RGB it's 165, 156, 155, and in HSL it's 6°, 5%, 63%.

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