NEUTRALS

Buffed Plum

#AEAFB9

RGB 174, 175, 185 · HSL 235°, 7%, 70% · CMYK 6, 5, 0, 27

Buffed Plum is #AEAFB9 in HEX — rgb(174, 175, 185), hsl(235°, 7%, 70%), cmyk(6%, 5%, 0%, 27%).

Buffed Plum pulls into the light end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 235°, 7%, 70%. The neutral saturation makes it near-neutral and forgiving, and the hue reads cool. In interior projects it shines on main walls, trims, ceilings — versatile across nearly any style. Reads best alongside soft whites, natural wood, matte black trim, linen.

Color Codes

HEX#AEAFB9

RGB174, 175, 185

HSL235°, 7%, 70%

HSV235°, 6%, 73%

CMYK6, 5, 0, 27

Decimal11448249

CSS RGBrgb(174, 175, 185)

CSS HSLhsl(235, 7%, 70%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Hallman-Lindsay

Buffed Plum 1317

Exact match

Vista Paint

Buffed Plum C-1316

ΔE 0.4 · #AFAFB9

Dulux

Pantomime S43A2

ΔE 0.6 · #ADAFBA

Benjamin Moore

Excalibur 2118-50

ΔE 1.3 · #AAACB7

PPG

Glistening Gray 1043-4

ΔE 1.6 · #B1B3BE

Dutch Boy

Dusky Mood DCP-1318

ΔE 2.5 · #A6ACB8

IKEA

IKEA155 155

ΔE 2.8 · #AAB1B8

Behr

Intercoastal Gray MQ5-23

ΔE 3.7 · #A5B0B9

Valspar

Livid Violet 4002-3C

ΔE 3.7 · #B8B0BC

Sherwin-Williams

Swanky Gray SW6261

ΔE 3.9 · #B5B1B5

Kilz

Hazy Purple RB230-02

ΔE 4.2 · #A2A5B2

Dunn-Edwards

Adirondack DE6339

ΔE 4.3 · #B0B9C1

RAL

Window Grey 7040

ΔE 5.6 · #9DA1AA

Farrow & Ball

Parma Gray 27

ΔE 6.9 · #B2BFC5

Colorhouse

Wool .03 Wool-03

ΔE 6.9 · #A1ABAB

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 12.5 · #CDCECD

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

43/100

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 MasstoneBlue UndertoneViolet

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#AEAFB9

#B8B7AD

Analogous

#ADB3B8

#AEAFB9

#B2ADB8

Triadic

#AEAFB9

#B8ADAE

#AEB8AD

Split-Complementary

#AEAFB9

#B8B2AD

#B3B8AD

Tetradic

#AEAFB9

#B8ADB3

#B8B7AD

#ADB8B2

Monochromatic

#5F606D

#848694

#AEAFB9

#D6D7DB

#F1F2F3

Rectangle

#AEAFB9

#B7ADB8

#B8B7AD

#AEB8AD

Compound

#AEAFB9

#B2ADB8

#B8B7AD

#B3B8AD

Variations

Lighter

#BEBEC6

#CECFD4

#E3E3E6

Darker

#878897

#5B5C6A

#35353E

Saturation

#B1B1B4

#ADAEB8

#8A90DB

Interior Use

Best Rooms

living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens

Best Uses

main walls, trim, accents

Pairs With

soft whites, natural wood, brass, matte black trim

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

2.18:1

Fail

vs Black

9.63:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#AEAFB9

#ADB0BA

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#AEAFB9

#AFAFB8

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#AEAFB9

#ADB1B0

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Buffed Plum 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

#C2B0A6

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#AEAFB9

Daylight 5500K

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

#AFB5CA

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.

#F7F7F7

Ceiling

Whisper tint

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

#B2AD7E

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: #AEAFB9;

CSS — background

background-color: #AEAFB9;

CSS Variable

--color-buffed-plum: #AEAFB9;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'buffed-plum': '#AEAFB9' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#AEAFB9] text-[#AEAFB9]

SCSS

$buffed-plum: #AEAFB9;

Similar Colors

Excalibur Gray

#A9ABB6 · ΔE 1.7

Pigeon Gray

#AAAEB3 · ΔE 3.1

Spring Violet

#B0ACBB · ΔE 3.4

Nickel

#A2A9B1 · ΔE 3.7

Silver Spring

#A3AAB0 · ΔE 4.0

Pebble Creek

#AFA8AE · ΔE 4.2

Manor Blue

#ACB7C0 · ΔE 4.2

Silent Night

#B0B4B7 · ΔE 4.3

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 #AEAFB9?

#AEAFB9 is Buffed Plum, a soft neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #AEAFB9 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Buffed Plum?

Buffed Plum works well in living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens. Designers typically use it for main walls, trim, accents.

What colors pair well with Buffed Plum?

Buffed Plum pairs naturally with soft whites, natural wood, brass, matte black trim. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Buffed Plum?

You can download Buffed Plum 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 Buffed Plum?

The hex code is #AEAFB9. In RGB it's 174, 175, 185, and in HSL it's 235°, 7%, 70%.

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