GREYS

Bidwell Blue

#A9B9B5

RGB 169, 185, 181 · HSL 165°, 10%, 69% · CMYK 9, 0, 2, 27

Bidwell Blue is #A9B9B5 in HEX — rgb(169, 185, 181), hsl(165°, 10%, 69%), cmyk(9%, 0%, 2%, 27%).

Bidwell Blue pulls into the light end of the greys spectrum — HSL 165°, 10%, 69%. 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#A9B9B5

RGB169, 185, 181

HSL165°, 10%, 69%

HSV165°, 9%, 73%

CMYK9, 0, 2, 27

Decimal11123125

CSS RGBrgb(169, 185, 181)

CSS HSLhsl(165, 10%, 69%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Milky Spearmint SG5G2

ΔE 1.3 · #ABBAB8

Behr

Water Surface QE-43

ΔE 1.8 · #A7BBB9

Hallman-Lindsay

Ocean Cruise 477

ΔE 1.8 · #ACB8B2

PPG

Blue Willow 1145-4

ΔE 2 · #A8BBBA

Vista Paint

Lucinda C-1359

ΔE 2.1 · #A4BAB6

Benjamin Moore

Homestead AC-19

ΔE 2.6 · #A5BCB7

IKEA

IKEA181 181

ΔE 2.7 · #B2BCB8

Sherwin-Williams

Quietude SW6212

ΔE 2.9 · #ADBBB2

Kilz

Sage Pond RG260-01

ΔE 3.1 · #A6B5AC

Colorhouse

Water .04 Water-04

ΔE 3.4 · #9FB4B4

Valspar

Smoke Infusion 5002-1B

ΔE 3.4 · #B4BCB8

Farrow & Ball

Green Blue 84

ΔE 4 · #ADBDB2

Dunn-Edwards

Haze Blue DE6311

ΔE 4.2 · #B7C0BE

Dutch Boy

Fair Maiden DCP-0456

ΔE 4.7 · #B3C3B9

RAL

Agate Grey 7038

ΔE 8 · #C3C3C3

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 10.5 · #CDCECD

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

46/100

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 MasstoneTeal UndertoneGreen

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#A9B9B5

#B8A8AC

Analogous

#A8B8AC

#A9B9B5

#A8B4B8

Triadic

#A9B9B5

#B4A8B8

#B8B4A8

Split-Complementary

#A9B9B5

#B8A8B4

#B8ACA8

Tetradic

#A9B9B5

#ACA8B8

#B8A8AC

#B4B8A8

Monochromatic

#5A6D68

#7E9590

#A9B9B5

#D2DAD8

#F1F4F3

Rectangle

#A9B9B5

#A8ACB8

#B8A8AC

#B8B4A8

Compound

#A9B9B5

#A8B4B8

#B8A8AC

#B8ACA8

Variations

Lighter

#B9C6C3

#CCD4D2

#E1E5E4

Darker

#819993

#566B66

#323F3C

Saturation

#AEB2B1

#A8B8B4

#84DBC6

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

2.04:1

Fail

vs Black

10.29:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#A9B9B5

#B3B3B6

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#A9B9B5

#B6B6B6

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#A9B9B5

#AAB8B8

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Bidwell Blue 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

#BEB7A3

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#A9B9B5

Daylight 5500K

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

#ABBCC7

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.

#B07B88

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: #A9B9B5;

CSS — background

background-color: #A9B9B5;

CSS Variable

--color-bidwell-blue: #A9B9B5;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'bidwell-blue': '#A9B9B5' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#A9B9B5] text-[#A9B9B5]

SCSS

$bidwell-blue: #A9B9B5;

Similar Colors

Wedgewood Gray

#ACBFBD · ΔE 2.5

Homestead Green

#A4BBB6 · ΔE 2.6

Iced Marble

#B0B9B3 · ΔE 2.8

Beach Glass

#B3BEB9 · ΔE 2.9

Imperial Gray

#B0B9B2 · ΔE 3.0

Silver Mink

#A7B2B0 · ΔE 3.0

Mount Saint Anne

#A3B0AE · ΔE 3.4

Raindance

#A7B3AA · ΔE 3.7

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 #A9B9B5?

#A9B9B5 is Bidwell Blue, a soft grey with a cool undertone.

Is #A9B9B5 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Bidwell Blue?

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

What colors pair well with Bidwell Blue?

Bidwell Blue 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 Bidwell Blue?

You can download Bidwell 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 Bidwell Blue?

The hex code is #A9B9B5. In RGB it's 169, 185, 181, and in HSL it's 165°, 10%, 69%.

← All colors