GREENS

Water Surface

#A9BDB8

RGB 169, 189, 184 · HSL 165°, 13%, 70% · CMYK 11, 0, 3, 26

Water Surface is #A9BDB8 in HEX — rgb(169, 189, 184), hsl(165°, 13%, 70%), cmyk(11%, 0%, 3%, 26%).

Water Surface pulls into the light end of the greens spectrum — HSL 165°, 13%, 70%. The neutral saturation makes it near-neutral and forgiving, and the hue reads cool. In interior projects it shines on bedrooms, bathrooms, libraries — for grounding, restorative spaces. Reads best alongside soft white walls, oak floors, brass, warm clay accents.

Color Codes

HEX#A9BDB8

RGB169, 189, 184

HSL165°, 13%, 70%

HSV165°, 11%, 74%

CMYK11, 0, 3, 26

Decimal11124152

CSS RGBrgb(169, 189, 184)

CSS HSLhsl(165, 13%, 70%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Hallman-Lindsay

Lucinda historic-lucinda

ΔE 1 · #A6BBB7

Benjamin Moore

Rhine 689

ΔE 1.2 · #A5BCB7

Vista Paint

Lucinda C-1359

ΔE 1.5 · #A4BAB6

Dulux

Clunies SG5H2

ΔE 1.6 · #AEBEB9

Behr

Water Surface QE-43

ΔE 1.8 · #A7BBB9

PPG

Blue Willow 1145-4

ΔE 2.3 · #A8BBBA

Valspar

April Thicket 5003-3C

ΔE 2.7 · #ABBEB4

Sherwin-Williams

Festoon Aqua SW0019

ΔE 2.9 · #A0BBB8

Farrow & Ball

Green Blue 84

ΔE 3.5 · #ADBDB2

IKEA

IKEA181 181

ΔE 3.7 · #B2BCB8

Kilz

Bell Bottoms RF240-02

ΔE 3.7 · #A6C1C1

Dunn-Edwards

Patina Creek DE6297

ΔE 3.8 · #B6C4BD

Dutch Boy

Fair Maiden DCP-0456

ΔE 3.8 · #B3C3B9

Colorhouse

Water .04 Water-04

ΔE 4.2 · #9FB4B4

RAL

Agate Grey 7038

ΔE 8.7 · #C3C3C3

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 10.6 · #CDCECD

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

48/100

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

Reads as a cool teal with a green undertone showing through, especially in daylight. Pair trim and adjacent colours to either calm or amplify that undertone.

Color Theory

Complementary

#A9BDB8

#BCA9AE

Analogous

#A9BCAE

#A9BDB8

#A9B7BC

Triadic

#A9BDB8

#B7A9BC

#BCB7A9

Split-Complementary

#A9BDB8

#BCA9B7

#BCAEA9

Tetradic

#A9BDB8

#AEA9BC

#BCA9AE

#B7BCA9

Monochromatic

#59736D

#7D9B94

#A9BDB8

#D4DEDB

#F1F4F3

Rectangle

#A9BDB8

#A9AEBC

#BCA9AE

#BCB7A9

Compound

#A9BDB8

#A9B7BC

#BCA9AE

#BCAEA9

Variations

Lighter

#BACAC6

#CCD6D4

#E2E7E5

Darker

#7F9E96

#547069

#31423D

Saturation

#B0B5B4

#A9BCB7

#87DEC8

Interior Use

Best Rooms

bedrooms, bathrooms, libraries

Best Uses

main walls, cabinetry, soft furniture

Pairs With

soft white walls, oak floors, brass, warm clay accents

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

1.97:1

Fail

vs Black

10.66:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#A9BDB8

#B6B6B9

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#A9BDB8

#BABAB9

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#A9BDB8

#AABCBC

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Calm · Restorative

Water Surface sits in the part of the spectrum the eye relaxes into. Designers reach for green when a room needs to feel like a refuge — bedrooms, libraries, bathrooms — because it lowers visual blood-pressure without flattening the space.

SymbolismGrowth, balance, nature

PersonalitySteady, grounded, thoughtful

calmnaturerestorativebalancebedroomlibrary

How it looks under different light

#BEBAA5

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#A9BDB8

Daylight 5500K

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

#ABBFC9

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.

#B27E8B

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: #A9BDB8;

CSS — background

background-color: #A9BDB8;

CSS Variable

--color-water-surface: #A9BDB8;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'water-surface': '#A9BDB8' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#A9BDB8] text-[#A9BDB8]

SCSS

$water-surface: #A9BDB8;

Similar Colors

Homestead Green

#A4BBB6 · ΔE 1.4

Wedgewood Gray

#ACBFBD · ΔE 1.9

Wythe Blue

#AABEB4 · ΔE 2.7

Beach Glass

#B3BEB9 · ΔE 3.4

Iced Marble

#B0B9B3 · ΔE 4.0

Imperial Gray

#B0B9B2 · ΔE 4.1

Pleasant Valley

#B1C1B5 · ΔE 4.3

Sylvan Mist

#B7C6BE · ΔE 4.3

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 #A9BDB8?

#A9BDB8 is Water Surface, a soft green with a cool undertone.

Is #A9BDB8 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Water Surface?

Water Surface works well in bedrooms, bathrooms, libraries. Designers typically use it for main walls, cabinetry, soft furniture.

What colors pair well with Water Surface?

Water Surface pairs naturally with soft white walls, oak floors, brass, warm clay accents. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Water Surface?

You can download Water Surface 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 Water Surface?

The hex code is #A9BDB8. In RGB it's 169, 189, 184, and in HSL it's 165°, 13%, 70%.

← All colors