GREYS

Sharkskin

#B1AA9C

RGB 177, 170, 156 · HSL 40°, 12%, 65% · CMYK 0, 4, 12, 31

Sharkskin is #B1AA9C in HEX — rgb(177, 170, 156), hsl(40°, 12%, 65%), cmyk(0%, 4%, 12%, 31%).

Sharkskin pulls into the light end of the greys spectrum — HSL 40°, 12%, 65%. The neutral saturation makes it near-neutral and forgiving, and the hue reads warm. 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#B1AA9C

RGB177, 170, 156

HSL40°, 12%, 65%

HSV40°, 12%, 69%

CMYK0, 4, 12, 31

Decimal11643548

CSS RGBrgb(177, 170, 156)

CSS HSLhsl(40, 12%, 65%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

PPG

Sharkskin 1025-4

Exact match

Dulux

Stone River SN3A4

ΔE 0.6 · #B0A99C

Vista Paint

Homespun Linen K-948

ΔE 0.7 · #B3AC9E

Sherwin-Williams

Chatroom SW6171

ΔE 1 · #B0AB9C

Benjamin Moore

Upper CSP-70

ΔE 1.3 · #B0A89C

Valspar

Gray Silt 6002-1C

ΔE 1.5 · #ACA799

Farrow & Ball

Hardwick White 5

ΔE 1.9 · #B5AFA0

Behr

Stone Walkway QE-35

ΔE 2.1 · #B5AF9F

Hallman-Lindsay

Langdon Dove historic-langdon-dove

ΔE 2.1 · #B5AB9A

IKEA

IKEA169 169

ΔE 2.4 · #B7AE9D

Kilz

Khaki LL220

ΔE 2.5 · #B3A997

Dunn-Edwards

Shaggy Barked DEC771

ΔE 2.8 · #B3AB98

Colorhouse

Stone .05 Stone-05

ΔE 3.2 · #AAA593

Dutch Boy

Drifting Sand DCP-0218

ΔE 4.1 · #B6B2A9

RAL

White Aluminium 9006

ΔE 8.4 · #A5A5A5

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 15 · #CDCECD

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

TemperatureWarm MasstoneOrange UndertoneYellow

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#B1AA9C

#9BA2B0

Analogous

#B09F9B

#B1AA9C

#ADB09B

Triadic

#B1AA9C

#9BB0A9

#A99BB0

Split-Complementary

#B1AA9C

#9BADB0

#9F9BB0

Tetradic

#B1AA9C

#9BB09F

#9BA2B0

#B09BAD

Monochromatic

#645D4F

#8F8570

#B1AA9C

#D2CEC6

#F4F3F1

Rectangle

#B1AA9C

#A2B09B

#9BA2B0

#A99BB0

Compound

#B1AA9C

#ADB09B

#9BA2B0

#9F9BB0

Variations

Lighter

#C0BAAF

#CFCBC4

#E2E1DD

Darker

#948A75

#675F4F

#3C372E

Saturation

#A9A7A3

#B0A99B

#D8B674

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

2.31:1

Fail

vs Black

9.10:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#B1AA9C

#AFAB9D

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#B1AA9C

#ABAB9E

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#B1AA9C

#B2A8AA

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Sharkskin 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

#C4AC90

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#B1AA9C

Daylight 5500K

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

#B1B1B4

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.

#7083A9

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: #B1AA9C;

CSS — background

background-color: #B1AA9C;

CSS Variable

--color-sharkskin: #B1AA9C;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'sharkskin': '#B1AA9C' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#B1AA9C] text-[#B1AA9C]

SCSS

$sharkskin: #B1AA9C;

Similar Colors

Sea Gull Gray

#AEAA9D · ΔE 1.3

Upper West Side

#AFA79B · ΔE 1.5

Herbal Escape

#AEAA9A · ΔE 1.6

Sandy Hook Gray

#AEA897 · ΔE 1.9

Kid Gloves

#B2AB99 · ΔE 2.2

Valley Forge Tan

#B6AFA3 · ΔE 2.2

Evening Gown

#B5A99D · ΔE 2.2

Smoke & Mirrors

#B1ADA2 · ΔE 2.3

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 #B1AA9C?

#B1AA9C is Sharkskin, a soft grey with a warm undertone.

Is #B1AA9C warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Sharkskin?

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

What colors pair well with Sharkskin?

Sharkskin 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 Sharkskin?

You can download Sharkskin 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 Sharkskin?

The hex code is #B1AA9C. In RGB it's 177, 170, 156, and in HSL it's 40°, 12%, 65%.

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