GREYS

Proper Gray

#ADA8A5

RGB 173, 168, 165 · HSL 22°, 5%, 66% · CMYK 0, 3, 5, 32

Proper Gray is #ADA8A5 in HEX — rgb(173, 168, 165), hsl(22°, 5%, 66%), cmyk(0%, 3%, 5%, 32%).

Proper Gray pulls into the light end of the greys spectrum — HSL 22°, 5%, 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#ADA8A5

RGB173, 168, 165

HSL22°, 5%, 66%

HSV22°, 5%, 68%

CMYK0, 3, 5, 32

Decimal11380901

CSS RGBrgb(173, 168, 165)

CSS HSLhsl(22, 5%, 66%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Sherwin-Williams

Proper Gray SW6003

Exact match

Valspar

Rocky Bluffs 4003-1C

ΔE 1.2 · #ADA9A4

Behr

Cathedral Gray PPU18-14

ΔE 1.4 · #ACAAA8

Dulux

Maculata Bark S06A3

ΔE 1.5 · #ADA5A3

Hallman-Lindsay

Smoky Wings 553

ΔE 1.6 · #B2ACA9

Benjamin Moore

Stormy 2112-50

ΔE 1.9 · #AFACAB

PPG

Slate Pebble 1005-4

ΔE 2.2 · #B4ADA9

Vista Paint

Smoky Wings C-552

ΔE 2.2 · #B3ADA8

Dunn-Edwards

Smoky Mountain DE6388

ΔE 2.3 · #AFA8A9

Kilz

Soft Steel RL110

ΔE 2.8 · #ACACAC

RAL

White Aluminium 9006

ΔE 2.9 · #A5A5A5

Farrow & Ball

Manor House Gray 265

ΔE 3.5 · #A2A29D

Dutch Boy

Drifting Sand DCP-0218

ΔE 4.8 · #B6B2A9

Colorhouse

Metal .04 Metal-04

ΔE 5.4 · #9FA198

IKEA

IKEA182 182

ΔE 5.8 · #9AA1A0

Kobra

Grey 42

ΔE 12.8 · #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

#ADA8A5

#A4A9AD

Analogous

#ADA4A5

#ADA8A5

#ADABA4

Triadic

#ADA8A5

#A4ADA7

#A7A4AD

Split-Complementary

#ADA8A5

#A4ADAB

#A4A5AD

Tetradic

#ADA8A5

#A5ADA4

#A4A9AD

#ABA4AD

Monochromatic

#605B57

#88807C

#ADA8A5

#D1CECC

#F3F2F2

Rectangle

#ADA8A5

#A9ADA4

#A4A9AD

#A7A4AD

Compound

#ADA8A5

#ADABA4

#A4A9AD

#A4A5AD

Variations

Lighter

#BDB9B6

#CDCAC9

#E2E0E0

Darker

#8D8580

#625B57

#393533

Saturation

#AAA8A7

#ADA7A4

#D69C7B

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

2.35:1

Fail

vs Black

8.92:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#ADA8A5

#ABA9A6

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#ADA8A5

#A9A9A5

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#ADA8A5

#ADA8A8

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Proper Gray 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

#C1AB97

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#ADA8A5

Daylight 5500K

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

#AEB0BB

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EBEBEA

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.

#7397AB

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: #ADA8A5;

CSS — background

background-color: #ADA8A5;

CSS Variable

--color-proper-gray: #ADA8A5;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'proper-gray': '#ADA8A5' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#ADA8A5] text-[#ADA8A5]

SCSS

$proper-gray: #ADA8A5;

Similar Colors

Stormy Monday

#AEABAA · ΔE 1.7

Elephant Gray

#B5ABA7 · ΔE 2.5

Fusion

#A5A2A0 · ΔE 2.6

Platinum Gray

#A8A9A3 · ΔE 2.8

Stone Harbor

#B4AFA8 · ΔE 3.3

Museum Piece

#B0ACA3 · ΔE 3.5

Silver Dollar

#B3B1B0 · ΔE 3.5

Cape May Cobblestone

#ADABA2 · ΔE 3.5

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 #ADA8A5?

#ADA8A5 is Proper Gray, a soft grey with a cool undertone.

Is #ADA8A5 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Proper Gray?

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

What colors pair well with Proper Gray?

Proper Gray 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 Proper Gray?

You can download Proper Gray 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 Proper Gray?

The hex code is #ADA8A5. In RGB it's 173, 168, 165, and in HSL it's 22°, 5%, 66%.

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