GREYS

Pincushion

#AC989C

RGB 172, 152, 156 · HSL 348°, 11%, 64% · CMYK 0, 12, 9, 33

Pincushion is #AC989C in HEX — rgb(172, 152, 156), hsl(348°, 11%, 64%), cmyk(0%, 12%, 9%, 33%).

Pincushion pulls into the light end of the greys spectrum — HSL 348°, 11%, 64%. 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#AC989C

RGB172, 152, 156

HSL348°, 11%, 64%

HSV348°, 12%, 67%

CMYK0, 12, 9, 33

Decimal11311260

CSS RGBrgb(172, 152, 156)

CSS HSLhsl(348, 11%, 64%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Pincushion S02C3

ΔE 0.6 · #AC989D

PPG

Coffee Custard 1047-5

ΔE 2.4 · #AB9B9C

Behr

Desert Willow 180F-4

ΔE 2.4 · #AD9497

Benjamin Moore

Amethyst 1447

ΔE 2.6 · #A4959A

Valspar

Sweet Shadows 1001-7C

ΔE 2.8 · #A5979D

Dunn-Edwards

Hazelnut DE6032

ΔE 3.5 · #B29E9D

Vista Paint

Luberon K-1163

ΔE 3.6 · #A49191

Sherwin-Williams

Intuitive SW6017

ΔE 4.2 · #B3A3A5

Hallman-Lindsay

Play Time 1220

ΔE 5.9 · #B39BA9

Kilz

Pigeon Gray LA250-02

ΔE 5.9 · #A09B9E

Dutch Boy

Baby Sprout DCP-0134

ΔE 7.1 · #B6A39C

IKEA

IKEA168 168

ΔE 7.5 · #9E9893

RAL

Pearl Light Grey 9022

ΔE 8.1 · #9C9C9C

Farrow & Ball

Cinder Rose 246

ΔE 8.4 · #C7A4A6

Colorhouse

Wool .04 Wool-04

ΔE 10.3 · #8B8A8C

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 12.3 · #889099

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

34/100

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

TemperatureWarm MasstoneRed UndertonePink

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#AC989C

#99ADA9

Analogous

#AD99A7

#AC989C

#AD9F99

Triadic

#AC989C

#9DAD99

#999DAD

Split-Complementary

#AC989C

#99AD9F

#99A7AD

Tetradic

#AC989C

#A7AD99

#99ADA9

#9F99AD

Monochromatic

#604D51

#8B6F75

#AC989C

#CFC4C6

#F1EEEF

Rectangle

#AC989C

#ADA999

#99ADA9

#999DAD

Compound

#AC989C

#AD9F99

#99ADA9

#99A7AD

Variations

Lighter

#BEADB1

#CDC3C5

#E1DCDD

Darker

#91747A

#654F53

#3B2E30

Saturation

#A6A0A1

#AD999D

#D67085

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

2.72:1

Fail

vs Black

7.73:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#AC989C

#A0A09C

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#AC989C

#9C9C9B

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#AC989C

#AB999A

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Pincushion 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

#C09F90

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#AC989C

Daylight 5500K

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

#AEA4B4

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EBEAEA

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.

#6EA89C

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: #AC989C;

CSS — background

background-color: #AC989C;

CSS Variable

--color-pincushion: #AC989C;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'pincushion': '#AC989C' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#AC989C] text-[#AC989C]

SCSS

$pincushion: #AC989C;

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#AC9EAA · ΔE 5.4

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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 #AC989C?

#AC989C is Pincushion, a soft grey with a cool undertone.

Is #AC989C warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Pincushion?

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

What colors pair well with Pincushion?

Pincushion 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 Pincushion?

You can download Pincushion 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 Pincushion?

The hex code is #AC989C. In RGB it's 172, 152, 156, and in HSL it's 348°, 11%, 64%.

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