NEUTRALS

Light Blue

#B8BCB5

RGB 184, 188, 181 · HSL 94°, 5%, 72% · CMYK 2, 0, 4, 26

Light Blue is #B8BCB5 in HEX — rgb(184, 188, 181), hsl(94°, 5%, 72%), cmyk(2%, 0%, 4%, 26%).

Light Blue pulls into the light end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 94°, 5%, 72%. 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#B8BCB5

RGB184, 188, 181

HSL94°, 5%, 72%

HSV94°, 4%, 74%

CMYK2, 0, 4, 26

Decimal12106933

CSS RGBrgb(184, 188, 181)

CSS HSLhsl(94, 5%, 72%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Farrow & Ball

Light Blue 22

Exact match

Behr

Keystone Gray HDC-AC-21

ΔE 0.4 · #B7BBB4

Kilz

International Gray RK210

ΔE 0.7 · #BABEB7

Valspar

Granite Dust 5006-1C

ΔE 0.9 · #BABCB6

PPG

Solstice 1010-3

ΔE 1.2 · #BABDB8

Benjamin Moore

Half 1481

ΔE 1.4 · #BCBFB9

Colorhouse

Metal .03 Metal-03

ΔE 1.4 · #B5B8B1

Vista Paint

Hi Ho Silver K-845

ΔE 1.6 · #B9BAB1

Hallman-Lindsay

Fossilized 581

ΔE 1.6 · #B6B8B0

Sherwin-Williams

Argos SW7065

ΔE 1.7 · #BDBDB7

IKEA

IKEA187 187

ΔE 1.7 · #BEBFB8

Dulux

Lyttelton NZ9B3

ΔE 2.1 · #BEBFBA

Dunn-Edwards

Ashwood DE6290

ΔE 3 · #BCC4BD

Dutch Boy

Drifting Sand DCP-0218

ΔE 4.5 · #B6B2A9

RAL

Agate Grey 7038

ΔE 5.1 · #C3C3C3

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 7.7 · #CDCECD

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

49/100

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 MasstoneYellow-Green UndertoneYellow

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#B8BCB5

#B8B4BB

Analogous

#BBBBB4

#B8BCB5

#B4BBB5

Triadic

#B8BCB5

#B4B7BB

#BBB4B7

Split-Complementary

#B8BCB5

#B5B4BB

#BBB4BB

Tetradic

#B8BCB5

#B4BBBB

#B8B4BB

#BBB5B4

Monochromatic

#6A7066

#91978C

#B8BCB5

#DEE0DC

#F2F3F2

Rectangle

#B8BCB5

#B4BBB8

#B8B4BB

#BBB4B7

Compound

#B8BCB5

#B4BBB5

#B8B4BB

#BBB4BB

Variations

Lighter

#C5C9C3

#D4D6D2

#E6E7E5

Darker

#92998D

#646B5F

#3A3E37

Saturation

#B7B9B7

#B7BBB4

#B3DD92

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

1.93:1

Fail

vs Black

10.90:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#B8BCB5

#BBBAB6

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#B8BCB5

#BBBBB6

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#B8BCB5

#B9BBBB

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Light Blue 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

#C9BAA3

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#B8BCB5

Daylight 5500K

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

#B7BFC7

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.

#9F83B5

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: #B8BCB5;

CSS — background

background-color: #B8BCB5;

CSS Variable

--color-light-blue: #B8BCB5;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'light-blue': '#B8BCB5' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#B8BCB5] text-[#B8BCB5]

SCSS

$light-blue: #B8BCB5;

Similar Colors

Half Moon Crest

#BBBEB8 · ΔE 1.1

Metropolitan

#BABDB8 · ΔE 1.2

Gray Horse

#B9BBB1 · ΔE 1.8

Coventry Gray

#B8BAB6 · ΔE 1.9

Imperial Gray

#B0B9B2 · ΔE 2.4

Iced Marble

#B0B9B3 · ΔE 2.4

Picnic Basket

#BBC3BB · ΔE 2.7

Bone Black

#B9B8AE · ΔE 2.7

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 #B8BCB5?

#B8BCB5 is Light Blue, a soft neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #B8BCB5 warm or cool?

Light Blue reads cool, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Light Blue?

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

What colors pair well with Light Blue?

Light Blue 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 Light Blue?

You can download Light Blue 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 Light Blue?

The hex code is #B8BCB5. In RGB it's 184, 188, 181, and in HSL it's 94°, 5%, 72%.

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