BLUES

Instigate

#ACA6C7

RGB 172, 166, 199 · HSL 251°, 23%, 72% · CMYK 14, 17, 0, 22

Instigate is #ACA6C7 in HEX — rgb(172, 166, 199), hsl(251°, 23%, 72%), cmyk(14%, 17%, 0%, 22%).

Instigate pulls into the light end of the blues spectrum — HSL 251°, 23%, 72%. The muted saturation makes it quiet but present, and the hue reads cool. In interior projects it shines on bedrooms, bathrooms, home offices — for calm, focused environments. Reads best alongside warm white trim, oak or walnut, brass or matte black hardware.

Color Codes

HEX#ACA6C7

RGB172, 166, 199

HSL251°, 23%, 72%

HSV251°, 17%, 78%

CMYK14, 17, 0, 22

Decimal11314887

CSS RGBrgb(172, 166, 199)

CSS HSLhsl(251, 23%, 72%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Instigate S43E3

Exact match

Sherwin-Williams

Forever Lilac SW9067

ΔE 1.5 · #AFA5C7

Valspar

Dusky Lavender 4001-7C

ΔE 2.1 · #B2AAC9

Benjamin Moore

Crocus 1404

ΔE 2.7 · #B3ABC9

Vista Paint

Petunia Trail C-1252

ΔE 3.6 · #B6AECC

Hallman-Lindsay

Royal Proclamation 1297

ΔE 3.6 · #AAA0BC

Behr

Plum Frost 660F-4

ΔE 3.6 · #B0AFD2

Kilz

Ginger Lily RA280-01

ΔE 3.9 · #B6AED3

Dunn-Edwards

Grape Gatsby DE5948

ΔE 4.6 · #A19ABD

PPG

Puturple 1248-5

ΔE 6.4 · #ADA2CE

Kobra

Violet 23

ΔE 6.8 · #B7B1DC

Dutch Boy

Celestial Horizon DCP-0589

ΔE 10.4 · #8FA4BF

IKEA

IKEA121 121

ΔE 10.6 · #8896B3

Farrow & Ball

Lulworth Blue 89

ΔE 14 · #A1B8CA

RAL

Window Grey 7040

ΔE 14.2 · #9DA1AA

Colorhouse

Dream .03 Dream-03

ΔE 18.5 · #B4CBD9

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

TemperatureCool MasstoneBlue UndertoneViolet

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#ACA6C7

#C2C8A7

Analogous

#A7B2C8

#ACA6C7

#BEA7C8

Triadic

#ACA6C7

#C8ADA7

#A7C8AD

Split-Complementary

#ACA6C7

#C8BEA7

#B2C8A7

Tetradic

#ACA6C7

#C8A7B2

#C2C8A7

#A7C8BE

Monochromatic

#5B5284

#8178AB

#ACA6C7

#D9D6E5

#F0EFF5

Rectangle

#ACA6C7

#C8A7C2

#C2C8A7

#A7C8AD

Compound

#ACA6C7

#BEA7C8

#C2C8A7

#B2C8A7

Variations

Lighter

#BEB9D3

#CFCCDD

#E3E2EA

Darker

#8279AD

#554B7F

#312B4A

Saturation

#B4B3BD

#ADA7C8

#9C8CE4

Interior Use

Best Rooms

bedrooms, bathrooms, home offices

Best Uses

main walls, ceilings, trim, cabinetry

Pairs With

warm white trim, oak or walnut, brass or matte black hardware

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

2.32:1

Fail

vs Black

9.03:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#ACA6C7

#A3ABC7

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#ACA6C7

#A7A7C3

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#ACA6C7

#A9ACA9

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Focused · Cooling

Instigate lowers the temperature of a room — useful in south-facing rooms that overheat visually, and in home offices where you want a clear head. Pair with warm wood and brass to keep it from reading clinical.

SymbolismTrust, depth, stability

PersonalityClear-headed, dependable, contemplative

focustrustcalmofficebedroomdepth

How it looks under different light

#C0A9B0

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#ACA6C7

Daylight 5500K

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

#AEAED5

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EAEAEB

Trim

Matched off-white

Same hue at 92% lightness — trim reads coordinated, not stark.

#F7F7F8

Ceiling

Whisper tint

Near-white with a hint of the hero's undertone — ceiling feels intentional.

#ACB583

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: #ACA6C7;

CSS — background

background-color: #ACA6C7;

CSS Variable

--color-instigate: #ACA6C7;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'instigate': '#ACA6C7' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#ACA6C7] text-[#ACA6C7]

SCSS

$instigate: #ACA6C7;

Similar Colors

Crocus

#B2AAC8 · ΔE 2.4

Enchanted

#AFAFCB · ΔE 4.5

Heather Field

#A6A6BD · ΔE 6.0

Heather Plum

#BDADD5 · ΔE 6.3

Freesia

#A7B1CC · ΔE 7.2

Victorian Trim

#AAB0DB · ΔE 7.2

Lavender Lipstick

#BDABC2 · ΔE 7.4

Snugglepuss

#9C94BB · ΔE 7.4

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 #ACA6C7?

#ACA6C7 is Instigate, a soft blue with a cool undertone.

Is #ACA6C7 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Instigate?

Instigate works well in bedrooms, bathrooms, home offices. Designers typically use it for main walls, ceilings, trim, cabinetry.

What colors pair well with Instigate?

Instigate pairs naturally with warm white trim, oak or walnut, brass or matte black hardware. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Instigate?

You can download Instigate 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 Instigate?

The hex code is #ACA6C7. In RGB it's 172, 166, 199, and in HSL it's 251°, 23%, 72%.

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