NEUTRALS

Watery

#AEBDBB

RGB 174, 189, 187 · HSL 172°, 10%, 71% · CMYK 8, 0, 1, 26

Watery is #AEBDBB in HEX — rgb(174, 189, 187), hsl(172°, 10%, 71%), cmyk(8%, 0%, 1%, 26%).

Watery pulls into the light end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 172°, 10%, 71%. 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#AEBDBB

RGB174, 189, 187

HSL172°, 10%, 71%

HSV172°, 8%, 74%

CMYK8, 0, 1, 26

Decimal11451835

CSS RGBrgb(174, 189, 187)

CSS HSLhsl(172, 10%, 71%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Milky Spearmint SG5G2

ΔE 1.1 · #ABBAB8

Behr

Watery HDC-CT-26

ΔE 1.2 · #AFBEBE

Benjamin Moore

Wedgewood HC-146

ΔE 1.6 · #ADC0BE

PPG

Blue Willow 1145-4

ΔE 1.8 · #A8BBBA

IKEA

IKEA181 181

ΔE 2.1 · #B2BCB8

Vista Paint

Indulgence C-482

ΔE 2.1 · #AFC2C0

Sherwin-Williams

Rain SW6219

ΔE 2.1 · #ABBEBF

Hallman-Lindsay

Indulgence 483

ΔE 2.1 · #AFC2C1

Dunn-Edwards

Haze Blue DE6311

ΔE 2.7 · #B7C0BE

Valspar

Smoke Infusion 5002-1B

ΔE 2.7 · #B4BCB8

Kilz

Bell Bottoms RF240-02

ΔE 4.3 · #A6C1C1

Colorhouse

Water .04 Water-04

ΔE 4.4 · #9FB4B4

Farrow & Ball

Parma Gray 27

ΔE 4.5 · #B2BFC5

Dutch Boy

Fair Maiden DCP-0456

ΔE 4.7 · #B3C3B9

RAL

Agate Grey 7038

ΔE 6.5 · #C3C3C3

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 8.9 · #CDCECD

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

49/100

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 MasstoneTeal UndertoneGreen

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#AEBDBB

#BCAEB0

Analogous

#AEBCB3

#AEBDBB

#AEB7BC

Triadic

#AEBDBB

#BAAEBC

#BCBAAE

Split-Complementary

#AEBDBB

#BCAEB7

#BCB3AE

Tetradic

#AEBDBB

#B3AEBC

#BCAEB0

#B7BCAE

Monochromatic

#5E7370

#849A97

#AEBDBB

#D8DFDE

#F1F4F3

Rectangle

#AEBDBB

#AEB0BC

#BCAEB0

#BCBAAE

Compound

#AEBDBB

#AEB7BC

#BCAEB0

#BCB3AE

Variations

Lighter

#BECAC8

#CFD6D5

#E3E7E6

Darker

#859C99

#596F6C

#33413F

Saturation

#B3B7B7

#AEBCBA

#8CDED3

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

1.95:1

Fail

vs Black

10.80:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#AEBDBB

#B7B8BC

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#AEBDBB

#BBBBBB

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#AEBDBB

#AFBCBC

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Watery 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

#C2BAA7

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#AEBDBB

Daylight 5500K

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

#AFBFCC

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EAEBEB

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.

#B38187

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: #AEBDBB;

CSS — background

background-color: #AEBDBB;

CSS Variable

--color-watery: #AEBDBB;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'watery': '#AEBDBB' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#AEBDBB] text-[#AEBDBB]

SCSS

$watery: #AEBDBB;

Similar Colors

Wedgewood Gray

#ACBFBD · ΔE 1.5

Beach Glass

#B3BEB9 · ΔE 2.2

Iced Marble

#B0B9B3 · ΔE 3.2

Wales Gray

#B9C5C3 · ΔE 3.3

Blue Springs

#B4BBBC · ΔE 3.4

Imperial Gray

#B0B9B2 · ΔE 3.6

Winter Solstice

#B9BFBE · ΔE 3.6

Homestead Green

#A4BBB6 · ΔE 3.6

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 #AEBDBB?

#AEBDBB is Watery, a soft neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #AEBDBB warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Watery?

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

What colors pair well with Watery?

Watery 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 Watery?

You can download Watery 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 Watery?

The hex code is #AEBDBB. In RGB it's 174, 189, 187, and in HSL it's 172°, 10%, 71%.

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