GREYS

Cathedral Grey

#ABA9A7

RGB 171, 169, 167 · HSL 30°, 2%, 66% · CMYK 0, 1, 2, 33

Cathedral Grey is #ABA9A7 in HEX — rgb(171, 169, 167), hsl(30°, 2%, 66%), cmyk(0%, 1%, 2%, 33%).

Cathedral Grey pulls into the light end of the greys spectrum — HSL 30°, 2%, 66%. 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#ABA9A7

RGB171, 169, 167

HSL30°, 2%, 66%

HSV30°, 2%, 67%

CMYK0, 1, 2, 33

Decimal11250087

CSS RGBrgb(171, 169, 167)

CSS HSLhsl(30, 2%, 66%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Behr

Cathedral Gray PPU18-14

ΔE 0.4 · #ACAAA8

Dulux

Tirau Double NZ9C4

ΔE 1 · #ABABA9

Sherwin-Williams

Proper Gray SW6003

ΔE 1.3 · #ADA8A5

Benjamin Moore

Stormy 2112-50

ΔE 1.4 · #AFACAB

Vista Paint

Tin Man C-546

ΔE 1.6 · #AEACAC

Kilz

Soft Steel RL110

ΔE 1.7 · #ACACAC

Valspar

Rocky Bluffs 4003-1C

ΔE 1.8 · #ADA9A4

Hallman-Lindsay

Tin Man 547

ΔE 1.9 · #AFADAD

PPG

Wright Soft Grey FLLW872

ΔE 2 · #ACADAD

Dunn-Edwards

Castlerock DE6375

ΔE 2 · #A9AAAB

RAL

White Aluminium 9006

ΔE 2.1 · #A5A5A5

Farrow & Ball

Manor House Gray 265

ΔE 3.4 · #A2A29D

Colorhouse

Wool .03 Wool-03

ΔE 4.6 · #A1ABAB

IKEA

IKEA182 182

ΔE 5 · #9AA1A0

Dutch Boy

Drifting Sand DCP-0218

ΔE 5.1 · #B6B2A9

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 12.2 · #889099

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

40/100

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 MasstoneOrange UndertoneYellow

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#ABA9A7

#A7A8AA

Analogous

#AAA7A7

#ABA9A7

#AAAAA7

Triadic

#ABA9A7

#A7AAA8

#A8A7AA

Split-Complementary

#ABA9A7

#A7AAAA

#A7A7AA

Tetradic

#ABA9A7

#A7AAA7

#A7A8AA

#AAA7AA

Monochromatic

#5E5C5A

#858280

#ABA9A7

#D0CFCE

#F3F2F2

Rectangle

#ABA9A7

#A8AAA7

#A7A8AA

#A8A7AA

Compound

#ABA9A7

#AAAAA7

#A7A8AA

#A7A7AA

Variations

Lighter

#BBBAB8

#CCCBCA

#E1E1E0

Darker

#898784

#5F5D5B

#373635

Saturation

#A9A8A8

#AAA8A7

#D5A87C

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

2.34:1

Fail

vs Black

8.96:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#ABA9A7

#AAAAA8

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#ABA9A7

#A9A9A7

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#ABA9A7

#ABA9A9

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Cathedral Grey 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

#C0AB98

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#ABA9A7

Daylight 5500K

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

#ADB0BD

Cool Bulb 6500K

Cool white LED / overcast daylight — pulls colour toward blue.

Pairs With

#EBEBEB

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.

#738FAB

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: #ABA9A7;

CSS — background

background-color: #ABA9A7;

CSS Variable

--color-cathedral-grey: #ABA9A7;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'cathedral-grey': '#ABA9A7' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#ABA9A7] text-[#ABA9A7]

SCSS

$cathedral-grey: #ABA9A7;

Similar Colors

Stormy Monday

#AEABAA · ΔE 1.1

Platinum Gray

#A8A9A3 · ΔE 2.5

Fusion

#A5A2A0 · ΔE 2.6

Slate

#A3A8A8 · ΔE 3.0

Silver Dollar

#B3B1B0 · ΔE 3.0

San Antonio Gray

#B4B2AE · ΔE 3.5

Elephant Gray

#B5ABA7 · ΔE 3.5

Stone Harbor

#B4AFA8 · ΔE 3.8

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 #ABA9A7?

#ABA9A7 is Cathedral Grey, a soft grey with a cool undertone.

Is #ABA9A7 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Cathedral Grey?

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

What colors pair well with Cathedral Grey?

Cathedral Grey 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 Cathedral Grey?

You can download Cathedral Grey 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 Cathedral Grey?

The hex code is #ABA9A7. In RGB it's 171, 169, 167, and in HSL it's 30°, 2%, 66%.

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