GREYS

Cystern

#A9AFB4

RGB 169, 175, 180 · HSL 207°, 7%, 68% · CMYK 6, 3, 0, 29

Cystern is #A9AFB4 in HEX — rgb(169, 175, 180), hsl(207°, 7%, 68%), cmyk(6%, 3%, 0%, 29%).

Cystern pulls into the light end of the greys spectrum — HSL 207°, 7%, 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#A9AFB4

RGB169, 175, 180

HSL207°, 7%, 68%

HSV207°, 6%, 71%

CMYK6, 3, 0, 29

Decimal11120564

CSS RGBrgb(169, 175, 180)

CSS HSLhsl(207, 7%, 68%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Vista Paint

Cystern C-510

Exact match

Benjamin Moore

Pigeon 2133-50

ΔE 0.7 · #ABAFB4

Hallman-Lindsay

Cystern 511

ΔE 0.7 · #A9B0B6

Dulux

Techno Grey SN4F4

ΔE 0.9 · #A9B1B6

Sherwin-Williams

Morning Fog SW6255

ΔE 1.2 · #A8AEB1

PPG

Silver Charm 1013-4

ΔE 1.3 · #ADB0B4

IKEA

IKEA155 155

ΔE 1.3 · #AAB1B8

Valspar

Metropolis 4005-1C

ΔE 2 · #ADB1B3

Behr

Intercoastal Gray MQ5-23

ΔE 2.8 · #A5B0B9

Kilz

Hippopotamus Gray RL100

ΔE 3 · #B2B3B5

Dunn-Edwards

Castlerock DE6375

ΔE 3.2 · #A9AAAB

Colorhouse

Wool .03 Wool-03

ΔE 3.7 · #A1ABAB

Dutch Boy

Dusky Mood DCP-1318

ΔE 4 · #A6ACB8

RAL

White Aluminium 9006

ΔE 4.9 · #A5A5A5

Farrow & Ball

Parma Gray 27

ΔE 5.9 · #B2BFC5

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 12 · #889099

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

42/100

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 MasstoneBlue UndertoneViolet

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#A9AFB4

#B3ADA8

Analogous

#A8B3B3

#A9AFB4

#A8A8B3

Triadic

#A9AFB4

#B3A8AE

#AEB3A8

Split-Complementary

#A9AFB4

#B3A8A8

#B3B3A8

Tetradic

#A9AFB4

#B3A8B3

#B3ADA8

#A8B3A8

Monochromatic

#5A6268

#7F8890

#A9AFB4

#D1D4D7

#F1F2F3

Rectangle

#A9AFB4

#ADA8B3

#B3ADA8

#AEB3A8

Compound

#A9AFB4

#A8A8B3

#B3ADA8

#B3B3A8

Variations

Lighter

#B9BEC2

#CBCED1

#E1E3E4

Darker

#828C93

#586067

#33383C

Saturation

#ACAEAF

#A8AEB3

#82B2D9

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

2.22:1

Fail

vs Black

9.48:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#A9AFB4

#ACADB5

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#A9AFB4

#AEAEB3

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#A9AFB4

#A9B0AF

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Cystern 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

#BEB0A2

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#A9AFB4

Daylight 5500K

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

#ABB5C6

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.

#AE9178

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: #A9AFB4;

CSS — background

background-color: #A9AFB4;

CSS Variable

--color-cystern: #A9AFB4;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'cystern': '#A9AFB4' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#A9AFB4] text-[#A9AFB4]

SCSS

$cystern: #A9AFB4;

Similar Colors

Pigeon Gray

#AAAEB3 · ΔE 0.8

Gull Wing Gray

#A7AEB0 · ΔE 1.8

Solitude

#A3AEB4 · ΔE 2.0

Silver Spring

#A3AAB0 · ΔE 2.0

Subway Tile®

#A8AFB0 · ΔE 2.2

Shadow Gray

#A2A9AE · ΔE 2.3

Silent Night

#B0B4B7 · ΔE 2.3

Pike's Peak Gray

#A0AAB1 · ΔE 2.8

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 #A9AFB4?

#A9AFB4 is Cystern, a soft grey with a cool undertone.

Is #A9AFB4 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Cystern?

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

What colors pair well with Cystern?

Cystern 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 Cystern?

You can download Cystern 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 Cystern?

The hex code is #A9AFB4. In RGB it's 169, 175, 180, and in HSL it's 207°, 7%, 68%.

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