GREENS

Desert Cactus

#AFCA9D

RGB 175, 202, 157 · HSL 96°, 30%, 70% · CMYK 13, 0, 22, 21

Desert Cactus is #AFCA9D in HEX — rgb(175, 202, 157), hsl(96°, 30%, 70%), cmyk(13%, 0%, 22%, 21%).

Desert Cactus pulls into the light end of the greens spectrum — HSL 96°, 30%, 70%. The muted saturation makes it quiet but present, and the hue reads warm. In interior projects it shines on bedrooms, bathrooms, libraries — for grounding, restorative spaces. Reads best alongside soft white walls, oak floors, brass, warm clay accents.

Color Codes

HEX#AFCA9D

RGB175, 202, 157

HSL96°, 30%, 70%

HSV96°, 22%, 79%

CMYK13, 0, 22, 21

Decimal11520669

CSS RGBrgb(175, 202, 157)

CSS HSLhsl(96, 30%, 70%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Apium S21F3

ΔE 2.4 · #B7D0A2

Sherwin-Williams

Oh Pistachio SW9033

ΔE 2.6 · #ABCA99

Vista Paint

Garland Pine C-756

ΔE 3.1 · #B9CFA4

Benjamin Moore

Corn 542

ΔE 3.6 · #BBCEA1

Valspar

Heartland Frosty 5008-5C

ΔE 3.6 · #A4C49B

Hallman-Lindsay

Garland Pine 757

ΔE 3.7 · #B9CFA6

Behr

Laurel Mist 430E-3

ΔE 3.7 · #A8C8A1

PPG

Harmonious 1120-5

ΔE 4.3 · #AFC195

Dunn-Edwards

Praying Mantis DE5591

ΔE 4.5 · #A5BE8F

IKEA

IKEA044 44

ΔE 4.6 · #B5D1AB

Colorhouse

Thrive .04 Thrive-04

ΔE 5.2 · #A2C8A1

Kilz

Calming Sensation RG210-02

ΔE 5.4 · #ADCEAA

Dutch Boy

Perrenial Garden DCP-0759

ΔE 7.6 · #9AB68E

Farrow & Ball

Cooking Apple Green 32

ΔE 11.4 · #C4C6A5

RAL

Pastel Green 6019

ΔE 13.4 · #BDECB6

Kobra

Beige 05

ΔE 16.9 · #D0C092

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

54/100

Light

0 · DarkLight · 100

Reflects plenty of light and keeps spaces feeling open and airy while still showing clear colour. A safe, flexible choice for living areas.

Undertone

TemperatureNeutral MasstoneYellow-Green UndertoneYellow

Reads as a neutral yellow-Green with a yellow undertone showing through, especially in daylight. Pair trim and adjacent colours to either calm or amplify that undertone.

Color Theory

Complementary

#AFCA9D

#B79CC9

Analogous

#C5C99C

#AFCA9D

#9CC9A0

Triadic

#AFCA9D

#9CAEC9

#C99CAE

Split-Complementary

#AFCA9D

#A09CC9

#C99CC5

Tetradic

#AFCA9D

#9CC5C9

#B79CC9

#C9A09C

Monochromatic

#608547

#85AF6A

#AFCA9D

#D6E4CD

#F1F6EE

Rectangle

#AFCA9D

#9CC9B7

#B79CC9

#C99CAE

Compound

#AFCA9D

#9CC9A0

#B79CC9

#C99CC5

Variations

Lighter

#BED4AF

#CFDDC5

#E3EADF

Darker

#88B26B

#5C8342

#354D25

Saturation

#B1B9AC

#AEC99C

#A9E481

Interior Use

Best Rooms

bedrooms, bathrooms, libraries

Best Uses

main walls, cabinetry, soft furniture

Pairs With

soft white walls, oak floors, brass, warm clay accents

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

1.79:1

Fail

vs Black

11.76:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#AFCA9D

#C5BE9F

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#AFCA9D

#C6C6A4

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#AFCA9D

#B4C3C6

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Calm · Restorative

Desert Cactus sits in the part of the spectrum the eye relaxes into. Designers reach for green when a room needs to feel like a refuge — bedrooms, libraries, bathrooms — because it lowers visual blood-pressure without flattening the space.

SymbolismGrowth, balance, nature

PersonalitySteady, grounded, thoughtful

calmnaturerestorativebalancebedroomlibrary

How it looks under different light

#C3C491

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#AFCA9D

Daylight 5500K

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

#B0C9B5

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EAECE9

Trim

Matched off-white

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

#F7F8F7

Ceiling

Whisper tint

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

#9D7DB2

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: #AFCA9D;

CSS — background

background-color: #AFCA9D;

CSS Variable

--color-desert-cactus: #AFCA9D;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'desert-cactus': '#AFCA9D' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#AFCA9D] text-[#AFCA9D]

SCSS

$desert-cactus: #AFCA9D;

Similar Colors

Corn Stalk

#BACDA0 · ΔE 3.4

Douglas Fern

#AAD0AC · ΔE 6.4

Landscape

#BFCEA8 · ΔE 6.4

Central Park

#A7B989 · ΔE 6.8

Acadia Green

#AED2B0 · ΔE 7.1

Sienna Laurel

#CBD6A9 · ΔE 8.2

Scenic View

#C4E0AC · ΔE 8.3

Honeydew

#BFE0B8 · ΔE 8.4

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 #AFCA9D?

#AFCA9D is Desert Cactus, a soft green with a warm undertone.

Is #AFCA9D warm or cool?

Desert Cactus reads warm, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Desert Cactus?

Desert Cactus works well in bedrooms, bathrooms, libraries. Designers typically use it for main walls, cabinetry, soft furniture.

What colors pair well with Desert Cactus?

Desert Cactus pairs naturally with soft white walls, oak floors, brass, warm clay accents. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Desert Cactus?

You can download Desert Cactus 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 Desert Cactus?

The hex code is #AFCA9D. In RGB it's 175, 202, 157, and in HSL it's 96°, 30%, 70%.

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