NEUTRALS

Buffed Plum

#AFAFB9

RGB 175, 175, 185 · HSL 240°, 7%, 71% · CMYK 5, 5, 0, 27

Buffed Plum is #AFAFB9 in HEX — rgb(175, 175, 185), hsl(240°, 7%, 71%), cmyk(5%, 5%, 0%, 27%).

Buffed Plum pulls into the light end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 240°, 7%, 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#AFAFB9

RGB175, 175, 185

HSL240°, 7%, 71%

HSV240°, 5%, 73%

CMYK5, 5, 0, 27

Decimal11513785

CSS RGBrgb(175, 175, 185)

CSS HSLhsl(240, 7%, 71%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Vista Paint

Buffed Plum C-1316

Exact match

Hallman-Lindsay

Buffed Plum 1317

ΔE 0.4 · #AEAFB9

Dulux

Pantomime S43A2

ΔE 0.9 · #ADAFBA

Benjamin Moore

Excalibur 2118-50

ΔE 1.5 · #AAACB7

PPG

Glistening Gray 1043-4

ΔE 1.6 · #B1B3BE

Dutch Boy

Dusky Mood DCP-1318

ΔE 2.8 · #A6ACB8

IKEA

IKEA155 155

ΔE 3.1 · #AAB1B8

Valspar

Livid Violet 4002-3C

ΔE 3.3 · #B8B0BC

Sherwin-Williams

Swanky Gray SW6261

ΔE 3.7 · #B5B1B5

Behr

Intercoastal Gray MQ5-23

ΔE 4.1 · #A5B0B9

Dunn-Edwards

Silver Bullet DE6381

ΔE 4.4 · #B6B5B8

Kilz

Hazy Purple RB230-02

ΔE 4.4 · #A2A5B2

RAL

Window Grey 7040

ΔE 5.8 · #9DA1AA

Farrow & Ball

Parma Gray 27

ΔE 7.1 · #B2BFC5

Colorhouse

Wool .03 Wool-03

ΔE 7.1 · #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

#AFAFB9

#BABAB0

Analogous

#B0B5BA

#AFAFB9

#B5B0BA

Triadic

#AFAFB9

#BAB0B0

#B0BAB0

Split-Complementary

#AFAFB9

#BAB5B0

#B5BAB0

Tetradic

#AFAFB9

#BAB0B5

#BABAB0

#B0BAB5

Monochromatic

#616170

#878797

#AFAFB9

#D9D9DE

#F1F1F3

Rectangle

#AFAFB9

#BAB0BA

#BABAB0

#B0BAB0

Compound

#AFAFB9

#B5B0BA

#BABAB0

#B5BAB0

Variations

Lighter

#C0C0C8

#D0D0D5

#E4E4E6

Darker

#898999

#5C5C6B

#35353F

Saturation

#B3B3B7

#B0B0BA

#8D8DDD

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

2.17:1

Fail

vs Black

9.66:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#AFAFB9

#ADB0BA

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#AFAFB9

#AFAFB8

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#AFAFB9

#AEB1B0

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

#C3B0A6

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#AFAFB9

Daylight 5500K

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

#B0B5CA

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.

#B3B381

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: #AFAFB9;

CSS — background

background-color: #AFAFB9;

CSS Variable

--color-buffed-plum: #AFAFB9;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'buffed-plum': '#AFAFB9' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#AFAFB9] text-[#AFAFB9]

SCSS

$buffed-plum: #AFAFB9;

Similar Colors

Excalibur Gray

#A9ABB6 · ΔE 1.9

Spring Violet

#B0ACBB · ΔE 3.2

Pigeon Gray

#AAAEB3 · ΔE 3.2

Nickel

#A2A9B1 · ΔE 4.0

Pebble Creek

#AFA8AE · ΔE 4.0

Silver Spring

#A3AAB0 · ΔE 4.2

Silent Night

#B0B4B7 · ΔE 4.3

Lavender Blue

#B3B9C7 · ΔE 4.5

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 #AFAFB9?

#AFAFB9 is Buffed Plum, a soft neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #AFAFB9 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 #AFAFB9. In RGB it's 175, 175, 185, and in HSL it's 240°, 7%, 71%.

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