NEUTRALS

Hippopotamus Gray

#B2B3B5

RGB 178, 179, 181 · HSL 220°, 2%, 70% · CMYK 2, 1, 0, 29

Hippopotamus Gray is #B2B3B5 in HEX — rgb(178, 179, 181), hsl(220°, 2%, 70%), cmyk(2%, 1%, 0%, 29%).

Hippopotamus Gray pulls into the light end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 220°, 2%, 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#B2B3B5

RGB178, 179, 181

HSL220°, 2%, 70%

HSV220°, 2%, 71%

CMYK2, 1, 0, 29

Decimal11711413

CSS RGBrgb(178, 179, 181)

CSS HSLhsl(220, 2%, 70%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Kilz

Hippopotamus Gray RL100

Exact match

Behr

Sparrow 780F-4

ΔE 0.9 · #B1B1B2

Benjamin Moore

Silent 1613

ΔE 1.3 · #B1B5B8

Dunn-Edwards

Silver Bullet DE6381

ΔE 1.3 · #B6B5B8

PPG

Stargazer 1011-3

ΔE 1.5 · #AFB4B6

Valspar

Metropolis 4005-1C

ΔE 1.5 · #ADB1B3

Dulux

Milton Moon SN4G2

ΔE 1.8 · #B1B4B3

Sherwin-Williams

Online SW7072

ΔE 1.9 · #B0B5B5

Vista Paint

Let It Rain C-517

ΔE 2 · #B7B7BB

Hallman-Lindsay

Let It Rain 518

ΔE 2.5 · #B6B8BD

IKEA

IKEA155 155

ΔE 3.6 · #AAB1B8

Colorhouse

Wool .03 Wool-03

ΔE 5.1 · #A1ABAB

RAL

White Aluminium 9006

ΔE 5.3 · #A5A5A5

Farrow & Ball

Lamp Room Gray 88

ΔE 5.5 · #B2B1A9

Dutch Boy

Drifting Sand DCP-0218

ΔE 6.2 · #B6B2A9

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 9.9 · #CDCECD

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

45/100

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

#B2B3B5

#B4B3B1

Analogous

#B1B4B4

#B2B3B5

#B1B1B4

Triadic

#B2B3B5

#B4B1B2

#B2B4B1

Split-Complementary

#B2B3B5

#B4B1B1

#B4B4B1

Tetradic

#B2B3B5

#B4B1B4

#B4B3B1

#B1B4B1

Monochromatic

#646568

#8A8B8F

#B2B3B5

#D8D8DA

#F2F2F3

Rectangle

#B2B3B5

#B3B1B4

#B4B3B1

#B2B4B1

Compound

#B2B3B5

#B1B1B4

#B4B3B1

#B4B4B1

Variations

Lighter

#C1C1C3

#D0D1D2

#E4E4E5

Darker

#8C8E91

#606164

#38393A

Saturation

#B2B2B3

#B1B2B4

#8BA5DA

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

2.10:1

Fail

vs Black

10.01:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#B2B3B5

#B2B3B6

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#B2B3B5

#B3B3B5

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#B2B3B5

#B2B3B3

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Hippopotamus Gray 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

#C5B3A3

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#B2B3B5

Daylight 5500K

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

#B2B8C7

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EBEBEB

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.

#B2A07E

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: #B2B3B5;

CSS — background

background-color: #B2B3B5;

CSS Variable

--color-hippopotamus-gray: #B2B3B5;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'hippopotamus-gray': '#B2B3B5' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#B2B3B5] text-[#B2B3B5]

SCSS

$hippopotamus-gray: #B2B3B5;

Similar Colors

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#B0B4B7 · ΔE 1.2

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#B3B1B0 · ΔE 2.0

Marina Gray

#ADB3B3 · ΔE 2.2

Nightingale

#B6B4B2 · ΔE 2.5

Pigeon Gray

#AAAEB3 · ΔE 2.8

Subway Tile®

#A8AFB0 · ΔE 3.0

Gull Wing Gray

#A7AEB0 · ΔE 3.2

Blue Springs

#B4BBBC · ΔE 3.3

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 #B2B3B5?

#B2B3B5 is Hippopotamus Gray, a soft neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #B2B3B5 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Hippopotamus Gray?

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

What colors pair well with Hippopotamus Gray?

Hippopotamus Gray 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 Hippopotamus Gray?

You can download Hippopotamus Gray 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 Hippopotamus Gray?

The hex code is #B2B3B5. In RGB it's 178, 179, 181, and in HSL it's 220°, 2%, 70%.

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