ORANGES

Taupe

#B9A281

RGB 185, 162, 129 · HSL 35°, 29%, 62% · CMYK 0, 12, 30, 27

Taupe is #B9A281 in HEX — rgb(185, 162, 129), hsl(35°, 29%, 62%), cmyk(0%, 12%, 30%, 27%).

Taupe pulls into the light end of the oranges spectrum — HSL 35°, 29%, 62%. The muted saturation makes it quiet but present, and the hue reads warm. In interior projects it shines on main walls, ceilings, soft fabrics, large surfaces, particularly within kitchens, living rooms, dining rooms. Reads best alongside cream walls, walnut furniture, terracotta tile, brass.

Color Codes

HEX#B9A281

RGB185, 162, 129

HSL35°, 29%, 62%

HSV35°, 30%, 73%

CMYK0, 12, 30, 27

Decimal12165761

CSS RGBrgb(185, 162, 129)

CSS HSLhsl(35, 29%, 62%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Hallman-Lindsay

Highlight 275

ΔE 1.2 · #BBA583

Benjamin Moore

Trench CSP-1020

ΔE 1.4 · #B6A07D

Behr

Country Cork HDC-CT-07

ΔE 2 · #B9A586

Vista Paint

Flaxen Field C-1428

ΔE 2.3 · #B7A583

Sherwin-Williams

Latte SW6108

ΔE 2.7 · #BAA185

Dunn-Edwards

Desert Gray DEC760

ΔE 2.7 · #B8A487

Dutch Boy

Tan Hide DCP-0261

ΔE 2.7 · #B29B79

Valspar

Glowing Dune 3006-9C

ΔE 2.7 · #BBA47E

PPG

Antelope 15-09

ΔE 3.1 · #BAA589

Dulux

Malt Shake S15D4

ΔE 3.4 · #BBA67F

Colorhouse

Stone .03 Stone-03

ΔE 5.9 · #A89D7E

Kilz

Peanut Shell LC230-02

ΔE 5.9 · #CCAB8C

IKEA

IKEA142 142

ΔE 6.2 · #C6B294

Kobra

Beige 03

ΔE 6.3 · #BA9873

Farrow & Ball

London Stone 6

ΔE 7.4 · #B6A38F

RAL

Pebble Grey 7032

ΔE 11.2 · #B8B799

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

38/100

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

#B9A281

#8299BA

Analogous

#BA8782

#B9A281

#B6BA82

Triadic

#B9A281

#82BAA3

#A382BA

Split-Complementary

#B9A281

#82B6BA

#8782BA

Tetradic

#B9A281

#82BA87

#8299BA

#BA82B6

Monochromatic

#69563A

#9B7E55

#B9A281

#D5C7B3

#F1ECE5

Rectangle

#B9A281

#99BA82

#8299BA

#A382BA

Compound

#B9A281

#B6BA82

#8299BA

#8782BA

Variations

Lighter

#C8B59B

#D3C7B7

#E4DED6

Darker

#A58558

#735C3B

#433522

Saturation

#A7A096

#BAA382

#DDA960

Interior Use

Best Rooms

kitchens, living rooms, dining rooms

Best Uses

main walls, ceilings, soft fabrics, large surfaces

Pairs With

cream walls, walnut furniture, terracotta tile, brass

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

2.46:1

Fail

vs Black

8.55:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#B9A281

#B0A881

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#B9A281

#A6A686

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#B9A281

#BA9EA2

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Warm · Inviting

Taupe reads warm and lived-in — orange-leaning tones invite conversation and slow the room down without dulling it. They flatter wood, linen, and brass, and they brighten north-facing rooms that otherwise tip cold.

SymbolismCreativity, hospitality, harvest

PersonalityFriendly, optimistic, grounded

warmthhospitalitycreativitycomfortsocialearthy

How it looks under different light

#CAA67C

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#B9A281

Daylight 5500K

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

#B7ABA0

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#ECEBEA

Trim

Matched off-white

Same hue at 92% lightness — trim reads coordinated, not stark.

#F8F7F7

Ceiling

Whisper tint

Near-white with a hint of the hero's undertone — ceiling feels intentional.

#6881A5

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: #B9A281;

CSS — background

background-color: #B9A281;

CSS Variable

--color-taupe: #B9A281;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'taupe': '#B9A281' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#B9A281] text-[#B9A281]

SCSS

$taupe: #B9A281;

Similar Colors

Wild Mushroom

#B8A183 · ΔE 1.6

Trench Coat

#B59F7C · ΔE 1.7

Capilano Bridge

#C0A787 · ΔE 2.3

Coffeehouse Tan

#B5A083 · ΔE 2.5

Spice Gold

#BCA47E · ΔE 2.8

Huntington Beige

#BAA887 · ΔE 2.8

Brush Beige

#B8A387 · ΔE 2.9

Brookline Beige

#C0A689 · ΔE 3.0

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 #B9A281?

#B9A281 is Taupe, a soft orange with a warm undertone.

Is #B9A281 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Taupe?

Taupe works well in kitchens, living rooms, dining rooms. Designers typically use it for main walls, ceilings, soft fabrics, large surfaces.

What colors pair well with Taupe?

Taupe pairs naturally with cream walls, walnut furniture, terracotta tile, brass. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Taupe?

You can download Taupe 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 Taupe?

The hex code is #B9A281. In RGB it's 185, 162, 129, and in HSL it's 35°, 29%, 62%.

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