NEUTRALS

Swanky Gray

#B5B1B5

RGB 181, 177, 181 · HSL 300°, 3%, 70% · CMYK 0, 2, 0, 29

Swanky Gray is #B5B1B5 in HEX — rgb(181, 177, 181), hsl(300°, 3%, 70%), cmyk(0%, 2%, 0%, 29%).

Swanky Gray pulls into the light end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 300°, 3%, 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#B5B1B5

RGB181, 177, 181

HSL300°, 3%, 70%

HSV300°, 2%, 71%

CMYK0, 2, 0, 29

Decimal11907509

CSS RGBrgb(181, 177, 181)

CSS HSLhsl(300, 3%, 70%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Sherwin-Williams

Swanky Gray SW6261

Exact match

Dulux

Favoured SG6B2

ΔE 0.7 · #B7B3B7

Behr

Winter Cocoa 730B-4

ΔE 1.2 · #B9B4B8

PPG

Silver Bells 1003-3

ΔE 1.5 · #B8B4B6

Dunn-Edwards

Silver Bullet DE6381

ΔE 1.7 · #B6B5B8

Kilz

Hippopotamus Gray RL100

ΔE 2.2 · #B2B3B5

Vista Paint

Let It Rain C-517

ΔE 2.4 · #B7B7BB

Benjamin Moore

Silver 1460

ΔE 2.8 · #B4B2B1

Hallman-Lindsay

Tin Man 547

ΔE 2.9 · #AFADAD

Valspar

Winter Calm 4001-1B

ΔE 3.2 · #BBB4B3

IKEA

IKEA155 155

ΔE 4.4 · #AAB1B8

RAL

White Aluminium 9006

ΔE 5.6 · #A5A5A5

Farrow & Ball

Dove Tale 267

ΔE 5.9 · #BBB1AB

Dutch Boy

Dusky Mood DCP-1318

ΔE 6.1 · #A6ACB8

Colorhouse

Wool .03 Wool-03

ΔE 6.6 · #A1ABAB

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 10.6 · #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 MasstonePink UndertoneRed

A near-neutral with a subtle neutral red undertone — it will pick up colour from surrounding surfaces and shift noticeably under different light.

Color Theory

Complementary

#B5B1B5

#B0B5B0

Analogous

#B3B0B5

#B5B1B5

#B5B0B3

Triadic

#B5B1B5

#B5B5B0

#B0B5B5

Split-Complementary

#B5B1B5

#B3B5B0

#B0B5B3

Tetradic

#B5B1B5

#B5B3B0

#B0B5B0

#B0B3B5

Monochromatic

#696369

#908990

#B5B1B5

#DAD8DA

#F3F2F3

Rectangle

#B5B1B5

#B5B0B0

#B0B5B0

#B0B5B5

Compound

#B5B1B5

#B5B0B3

#B0B5B0

#B0B5B3

Variations

Lighter

#C4C0C4

#D2D0D2

#E5E4E5

Darker

#928B92

#655F65

#3B373B

Saturation

#B3B2B3

#B5B0B5

#DA8BDA

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

2.12:1

Fail

vs Black

9.92:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#B5B1B5

#B2B3B6

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#B5B1B5

#B2B2B4

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#B5B1B5

#B5B2B1

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Swanky 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

#C7B1A3

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#B5B1B5

Daylight 5500K

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

#B4B6C7

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EBEAEB

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.

#7EB27E

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: #B5B1B5;

CSS — background

background-color: #B5B1B5;

CSS Variable

--color-swanky-gray: #B5B1B5;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'swanky-gray': '#B5B1B5' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#B5B1B5] text-[#B5B1B5]

SCSS

$swanky-gray: #B5B1B5;

Similar Colors

Silver Dollar

#B3B1B0 · ΔE 2.8

Silent Night

#B0B4B7 · ΔE 3.1

Nightingale

#B6B4B2 · ΔE 3.4

Pebble Creek

#AFA8AE · ΔE 3.4

Pigeon Gray

#AAAEB3 · ΔE 3.5

After the Rain

#C1B9BD · ΔE 3.6

Stormy Monday

#AEABAA · ΔE 3.7

Sanctuary

#B4A9AF · ΔE 3.7

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 #B5B1B5?

#B5B1B5 is Swanky Gray, a soft neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #B5B1B5 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Swanky Gray?

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

What colors pair well with Swanky Gray?

Swanky 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 Swanky Gray?

You can download Swanky 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 Swanky Gray?

The hex code is #B5B1B5. In RGB it's 181, 177, 181, and in HSL it's 300°, 3%, 70%.

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