GREYS

Zen

#AABAB0

RGB 170, 186, 176 · HSL 143°, 10%, 70% · CMYK 9, 0, 5, 27

Zen is #AABAB0 in HEX — rgb(170, 186, 176), hsl(143°, 10%, 70%), cmyk(9%, 0%, 5%, 27%).

Zen pulls into the light end of the greys spectrum — HSL 143°, 10%, 70%. 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#AABAB0

RGB170, 186, 176

HSL143°, 10%, 70%

HSV143°, 9%, 73%

CMYK9, 0, 5, 27

Decimal11188912

CSS RGBrgb(170, 186, 176)

CSS HSLhsl(143, 10%, 70%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Behr

Zen PPU11-14

Exact match

Sherwin-Williams

Quietude SW6212

ΔE 1.1 · #ADBBB2

Farrow & Ball

Green Blue 84

ΔE 1.2 · #ADBDB2

Valspar

April Thicket 5003-3C

ΔE 1.6 · #ABBEB4

Kilz

Sage Pond RG260-01

ΔE 1.9 · #A6B5AC

Benjamin Moore

Wythe HC-143

ΔE 2.1 · #ABBFB5

PPG

Dusty Aqua 10-29

ΔE 2.3 · #A2B5AB

Hallman-Lindsay

Ocean Cruise 477

ΔE 2.7 · #ACB8B2

Vista Paint

Ocean Cruise C-476

ΔE 2.8 · #AAB5AE

Dunn-Edwards

Pistachio Ice Cream DE5717

ΔE 3 · #A0B7AD

Dulux

Clunies SG5H2

ΔE 3.2 · #AEBEB9

Dutch Boy

Fair Maiden DCP-0456

ΔE 3.3 · #B3C3B9

IKEA

IKEA181 181

ΔE 4.2 · #B2BCB8

Colorhouse

Water .06 Water-06

ΔE 4.5 · #9EAEA3

RAL

Agate Grey 7038

ΔE 9.4 · #C3C3C3

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 11.4 · #CDCECD

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

47/100

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 MasstoneGreen UndertoneBlue

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#AABAB0

#BAABB4

Analogous

#ADBAAB

#AABAB0

#ABBAB8

Triadic

#AABAB0

#B1ABBA

#BAB1AB

Split-Complementary

#AABAB0

#B8ABBA

#BAABAD

Tetradic

#AABAB0

#ABADBA

#BAABB4

#BAB8AB

Monochromatic

#5C7064

#81988A

#AABAB0

#D5DDD8

#F1F4F2

Rectangle

#AABAB0

#ABB4BA

#BAABB4

#BAB1AB

Compound

#AABAB0

#ABBAB8

#BAABB4

#BAABAD

Variations

Lighter

#BCC8C0

#CDD5D0

#E2E6E4

Darker

#839B8C

#576D60

#334038

Saturation

#B0B5B2

#ABBAB1

#88DDA9

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

2.03:1

Fail

vs Black

10.36:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#AABAB0

#B5B4B1

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#AABAB0

#B7B7B1

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#AABAB0

#ABB8B9

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Zen 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

#BFB89F

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#AABAB0

Daylight 5500K

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

#ACBDC3

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.

#B27E9E

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: #AABAB0;

CSS — background

background-color: #AABAB0;

CSS Variable

--color-zen: #AABAB0;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'zen': '#AABAB0' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#AABAB0] text-[#AABAB0]

SCSS

$zen: #AABAB0;

Similar Colors

Wythe Blue

#AABEB4 · ΔE 1.8

Pleasant Valley

#B1C1B5 · ΔE 2.7

Raindance

#A7B3AA · ΔE 2.7

Misted Green

#B0B8AE · ΔE 2.9

Imperial Gray

#B0B9B2 · ΔE 3.1

Woodland Green

#B3C2B5 · ΔE 3.3

Iced Marble

#B0B9B3 · ΔE 3.4

Homestead Green

#A4BBB6 · ΔE 3.6

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 #AABAB0?

#AABAB0 is Zen, a soft grey with a cool undertone.

Is #AABAB0 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Zen?

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

What colors pair well with Zen?

Zen 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 Zen?

You can download Zen 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 Zen?

The hex code is #AABAB0. In RGB it's 170, 186, 176, and in HSL it's 143°, 10%, 70%.

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