GREYS

Artful

#A8B1AD

RGB 168, 177, 173 · HSL 153°, 5%, 68% · CMYK 5, 0, 2, 31

Artful is #A8B1AD in HEX — rgb(168, 177, 173), hsl(153°, 5%, 68%), cmyk(5%, 0%, 2%, 31%).

Artful pulls into the light end of the greys spectrum — HSL 153°, 5%, 68%. 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#A8B1AD

RGB168, 177, 173

HSL153°, 5%, 68%

HSV153°, 5%, 69%

CMYK5, 0, 2, 31

Decimal11055533

CSS RGBrgb(168, 177, 173)

CSS HSLhsl(153, 5%, 68%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Pukaki NZ9B6

ΔE 1.1 · #ABB2AF

Vista Paint

Vinal Haven C-1460

ΔE 1.3 · #ACB2AE

Hallman-Lindsay

Vinal Haven historic-vinal-haven

ΔE 1.3 · #ACB3AE

Benjamin Moore

Silver 1586

ΔE 1.4 · #A8B3B1

Sherwin-Williams

Mineral Deposit SW7652

ΔE 1.5 · #ABB0AC

Behr

Frozen Pond PPU12-9

ΔE 2.4 · #A5B4AF

PPG

Polaris 10-04

ΔE 2.8 · #A0AEAD

Colorhouse

Wool .03 Wool-03

ΔE 3.1 · #A1ABAB

Valspar

Coastal Jetty 5007-1C

ΔE 3.4 · #ADAFA7

Kilz

Sage Pond RG260-01

ΔE 3.7 · #A6B5AC

IKEA

IKEA181 181

ΔE 4 · #B2BCB8

Dunn-Edwards

Casting Shadow DE6291

ΔE 4.2 · #9DA7A0

Farrow & Ball

Lamp Room Gray 88

ΔE 4.4 · #B2B1A9

RAL

White Aluminium 9006

ΔE 5.4 · #A5A5A5

Dutch Boy

Drifting Sand DCP-0218

ΔE 5.7 · #B6B2A9

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 11.8 · #CDCECD

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

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

#A8B1AD

#B1A9AD

Analogous

#A9B1AA

#A8B1AD

#A9B1B1

Triadic

#A8B1AD

#AEA9B1

#B1AEA9

Split-Complementary

#A8B1AD

#B1A9B1

#B1AAA9

Tetradic

#A8B1AD

#AAA9B1

#B1A9AD

#B1B1A9

Monochromatic

#5C6661

#818D88

#A8B1AD

#D1D6D4

#F2F3F2

Rectangle

#A8B1AD

#A9ADB1

#B1A9AD

#B1AEA9

Compound

#A8B1AD

#A9B1B1

#B1A9AD

#B1AAA9

Variations

Lighter

#BAC1BE

#CCD0CE

#E1E3E3

Darker

#85918B

#5A6560

#343B38

Saturation

#ACAFAE

#A9B1AE

#83D8B2

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

2.20:1

Fail

vs Black

9.56:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#A8B1AD

#AEAEAE

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#A8B1AD

#B0B0AE

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#A8B1AD

#A9B0B0

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Artful 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

#BDB19D

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#A8B1AD

Daylight 5500K

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

#ABB6C1

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.

#AE7891

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: #A8B1AD;

CSS — background

background-color: #A8B1AD;

CSS Variable

--color-artful: #A8B1AD;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'artful': '#A8B1AD' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#A8B1AD] text-[#A8B1AD]

SCSS

$artful: #A8B1AD;

Similar Colors

Boothbay Gray

#AAB2B0 · ΔE 1.3

Silver Mink

#A7B2B0 · ΔE 1.3

Pearl

#A7B0A9 · ΔE 1.7

Mount Saint Anne

#A3B0AE · ΔE 1.9

Marina Gray

#ADB3B3 · ΔE 2.7

Subway Tile®

#A8AFB0 · ΔE 2.9

Castle Walls

#A2ADA5 · ΔE 2.9

Raindance

#A7B3AA · ΔE 3.0

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 #A8B1AD?

#A8B1AD is Artful, a soft grey with a cool undertone.

Is #A8B1AD warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Artful?

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

What colors pair well with Artful?

Artful 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 Artful?

You can download Artful 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 Artful?

The hex code is #A8B1AD. In RGB it's 168, 177, 173, and in HSL it's 153°, 5%, 68%.

← All colors