YELLOWS

Wells Gray

#B9B5A4

RGB 185, 181, 164 · HSL 49°, 13%, 68% · CMYK 0, 2, 11, 27

Wells Gray is #B9B5A4 in HEX — rgb(185, 181, 164), hsl(49°, 13%, 68%), cmyk(0%, 2%, 11%, 27%).

Wells Gray pulls into the light end of the yellows spectrum — HSL 49°, 13%, 68%. 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#B9B5A4

RGB185, 181, 164

HSL49°, 13%, 68%

HSV49°, 11%, 73%

CMYK0, 2, 11, 27

Decimal12170660

CSS RGBrgb(185, 181, 164)

CSS HSLhsl(49, 13%, 68%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dunn-Edwards

Wells Gray DE6242

Exact match

Sherwin-Williams

Silver Gray SW0049

ΔE 1.3 · #B8B2A2

Benjamin Moore

Northern 1536

ΔE 1.7 · #BBB6A8

Farrow & Ball

Blue Gray 91

ΔE 1.7 · #B4B4A3

Vista Paint

Jackson Antique C-1424

ΔE 1.8 · #BEBAA9

Valspar

Sandy Sage 5008-1C

ΔE 1.9 · #BDB9AA

Dulux

Putty S16A2

ΔE 2 · #BCB8AA

Behr

Stone Walkway QE-35

ΔE 2.2 · #B5AF9F

PPG

Pine Crush 1028-3

ΔE 2.3 · #B7B8A5

IKEA

IKEA169 169

ΔE 2.9 · #B7AE9D

Kilz

Urban Gateway LK110

ΔE 2.9 · #BCB5A9

Hallman-Lindsay

Frond 232

ΔE 2.9 · #C2BAAB

Dutch Boy

Drifting Sand DCP-0218

ΔE 4.4 · #B6B2A9

Colorhouse

Nourish .02 Nourish-02

ΔE 4.7 · #C5C2AF

RAL

Silk Grey 7044

ΔE 5.8 · #CAC4B0

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 12.7 · #CDCECD

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

46/100

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

#B9B5A4

#A3A7B8

Analogous

#B8AAA3

#B9B5A4

#B1B8A3

Triadic

#B9B5A4

#A3B8B4

#B4A3B8

Split-Complementary

#B9B5A4

#A3B1B8

#AAA3B8

Tetradic

#B9B5A4

#A3B8AA

#A3A7B8

#B8A3B1

Monochromatic

#6D6954

#979178

#B9B5A4

#D9D7CE

#F4F3F1

Rectangle

#B9B5A4

#A7B8A3

#A3A7B8

#B4A3B8

Compound

#B9B5A4

#B1B8A3

#A3A7B8

#AAA3B8

Variations

Lighter

#C6C3B5

#D3D1C9

#E5E4E0

Darker

#9B957B

#6D6852

#403D2F

Saturation

#B1AFAA

#B8B4A3

#DCCB7F

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

2.06:1

Fail

vs Black

10.21:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#B9B5A4

#B9B5A5

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#B9B5A4

#B6B6A6

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#B9B5A4

#BAB3B4

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Bright · Optimistic

Wells 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

#CAB496

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#B9B5A4

Daylight 5500K

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

#B7B9BA

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.

#7882AE

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: #B9B5A4;

CSS — background

background-color: #B9B5A4;

CSS Variable

--color-wells-gray: #B9B5A4;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'wells-gray': '#B9B5A4' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#B9B5A4] text-[#B9B5A4]

SCSS

$wells-gray: #B9B5A4;

Similar Colors

Northern Cliffs

#BAB5A7 · ΔE 1.7

Urban Sophisticate

#BCB5A1 · ΔE 2.0

Pashmina

#BBB2A1 · ΔE 2.1

Cosmopolitan

#BBB6A9 · ΔE 2.3

Senora Gray

#C0BBA9 · ΔE 2.3

Gallery Buff

#BFB5A3 · ΔE 2.5

October Mist

#B6B8A5 · ΔE 2.6

Stone Hearth

#C4BAAA · 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 #B9B5A4?

#B9B5A4 is Wells Gray, a soft yellow with a warm undertone.

Is #B9B5A4 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Wells Gray?

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

What colors pair well with Wells Gray?

Wells 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 Wells Gray?

You can download Wells 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 Wells Gray?

The hex code is #B9B5A4. In RGB it's 185, 181, 164, and in HSL it's 49°, 13%, 68%.

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