YELLOWS

French Gray

#B5B19A

RGB 181, 177, 154 · HSL 51°, 15%, 66% · CMYK 0, 2, 15, 29

French Gray is #B5B19A in HEX — rgb(181, 177, 154), hsl(51°, 15%, 66%), cmyk(0%, 2%, 15%, 29%).

French Gray pulls into the light end of the yellows spectrum — HSL 51°, 15%, 66%. The neutral saturation makes it near-neutral and forgiving, and the hue reads warm. In interior projects it shines on kitchens, breakfast nooks, kids' rooms, accent walls — bringing sunlight indoors. Reads best alongside white trim, natural linen, light oak, brushed brass.

Color Codes

HEX#B5B19A

RGB181, 177, 154

HSL51°, 15%, 66%

HSV51°, 15%, 71%

CMYK0, 2, 15, 29

Decimal11907482

CSS RGBrgb(181, 177, 154)

CSS HSLhsl(51, 15%, 66%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Farrow & Ball

French Gray 18

Exact match

Behr

Desert Sandstorm BXC-43

ΔE 1.2 · #B5B09B

Sherwin-Williams

Sage SW2860

ΔE 1.6 · #B3AE95

Dulux

Reed Bed S17B3

ΔE 1.9 · #B0AC96

Benjamin Moore

Cheyenne 1502

ΔE 2 · #B0AC94

PPG

Photo Gray 1029-4

ΔE 2.1 · #AEAD96

Dunn-Edwards

Turtle Trail DE6256

ΔE 2.1 · #B6B5A0

Vista Paint

Roman Ruins C-224

ΔE 3.2 · #BFB49D

Hallman-Lindsay

Roman Ruins 225

ΔE 3.6 · #C0B5A0

IKEA

IKEA169 169

ΔE 3.8 · #B7AE9D

Valspar

Carriage House 6003-1C

ΔE 3.8 · #B3AF9F

Kilz

Almost Sage TB-88

ΔE 3.9 · #ACAC90

RAL

Pebble Grey 7032

ΔE 4.2 · #B8B799

Colorhouse

Stone .05 Stone-05

ΔE 5 · #AAA593

Dutch Boy

Olive Gold DCP-0281

ΔE 5.3 · #C7BBA3

Kobra

Beige 05

ΔE 14.4 · #D0C092

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

44/100

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 MasstoneYellow UndertoneGreen

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#B5B19A

#9B9FB5

Analogous

#B5A49B

#B5B19A

#ACB59B

Triadic

#B5B19A

#9BB5B1

#B19BB5

Split-Complementary

#B5B19A

#9BACB5

#A49BB5

Tetradic

#B5B19A

#9BB5A4

#9B9FB5

#B59BAC

Monochromatic

#6A654E

#958F6F

#B5B19A

#D6D4C7

#F4F4F0

Rectangle

#B5B19A

#9FB59B

#9B9FB5

#B19BB5

Compound

#B5B19A

#ACB59B

#9B9FB5

#A49BB5

Variations

Lighter

#C4C1AF

#D2D0C4

#E4E3DD

Darker

#9A9474

#6C674D

#3F3C2D

Saturation

#ACABA4

#B5B19B

#DACB76

Interior Use

Best Rooms

kitchens, breakfast nooks, kids' rooms

Best Uses

accent walls, ceilings, cabinetry highlights

Pairs With

white trim, natural linen, light oak, brushed brass

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

2.16:1

Fail

vs Black

9.72:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#B5B19A

#B6B09B

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#B5B19A

#B2B29D

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#B5B19A

#B7AEB0

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Bright · Optimistic

French Gray brings light into spaces that lack it — kitchens, breakfast nooks, kids' rooms wake up under it. The trick with yellow is restraint: lean toward the muted/buttery end if you want it on walls; reserve high-chroma versions for accents and trim.

SymbolismSunlight, clarity, intellect

PersonalityCheerful, alert, sociable

sunlightclarityjoyalertnesskitchenmorning

How it looks under different light

#C7B18F

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#B5B19A

Daylight 5500K

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

#B4B6B3

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.

#737BAB

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: #B5B19A;

CSS — background

background-color: #B5B19A;

CSS Variable

--color-french-gray: #B5B19A;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'french-gray': '#B5B19A' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#B5B19A] text-[#B5B19A]

SCSS

$french-gray: #B5B19A;

Similar Colors

Nantucket Gray

#AFAB93 · ΔE 2.3

Urban Sophisticate

#BCB5A1 · ΔE 2.7

Killarney

#B8B8A1 · ΔE 2.8

Sag Harbor Gray

#B8AE95 · ΔE 2.8

Finnie Gray

#B4AC99 · ΔE 3.0

Croquet

#B2B69F · ΔE 3.4

Mosaic Tile

#B9B396 · ΔE 3.4

Kid Gloves

#B2AB99 · ΔE 3.4

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 #B5B19A?

#B5B19A is French Gray, a soft yellow with a warm undertone.

Is #B5B19A warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with French Gray?

French Gray works well in kitchens, breakfast nooks, kids' rooms. Designers typically use it for accent walls, ceilings, cabinetry highlights.

What colors pair well with French Gray?

French Gray pairs naturally with white trim, natural linen, light oak, brushed brass. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download French Gray?

You can download French 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 French Gray?

The hex code is #B5B19A. In RGB it's 181, 177, 154, and in HSL it's 51°, 15%, 66%.

← All colors