GREYS

Gravel Dust

#BAB9A9

RGB 186, 185, 169 · HSL 56°, 11%, 70% · CMYK 0, 1, 9, 27

Gravel Dust is #BAB9A9 in HEX — rgb(186, 185, 169), hsl(56°, 11%, 70%), cmyk(0%, 1%, 9%, 27%).

Gravel Dust pulls into the light end of the greys spectrum — HSL 56°, 11%, 70%. The neutral saturation makes it near-neutral and forgiving, and the hue reads cool. In interior projects it shines on walls, soft furniture, hard surfaces — as the project's quiet backbone. Reads best alongside white trim, natural wood, brass, soft black accents.

Color Codes

HEX#BAB9A9

RGB186, 185, 169

HSL56°, 11%, 70%

HSV56°, 9%, 73%

CMYK0, 1, 9, 27

Decimal12237225

CSS RGBrgb(186, 185, 169)

CSS HSLhsl(56, 11%, 70%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Sapless Green S18A2

ΔE 1.2 · #BEBCAC

Valspar

Sandy Sage 5008-1C

ΔE 1.3 · #BDB9AA

PPG

Hurricane Haze 1032-2

ΔE 1.4 · #BDBBAD

Vista Paint

Jackson Antique C-1424

ΔE 1.4 · #BEBAA9

Dunn-Edwards

Antique Coin DE6270

ΔE 1.7 · #B5B8A8

Benjamin Moore

Northern 1536

ΔE 2 · #BBB6A8

Sherwin-Williams

Techno Gray SW6170

ΔE 2 · #BFB9AA

Farrow & Ball

Blue Gray 91

ΔE 2.1 · #B4B4A3

Hallman-Lindsay

Fiorito 371

ΔE 2.2 · #BFBFAF

Behr

Barista N210-3

ΔE 2.2 · #BAB8AC

IKEA

IKEA179 179

ΔE 2.5 · #B6BBAD

Kilz

Urban Gateway LK110

ΔE 3.2 · #BCB5A9

Colorhouse

Nourish .02 Nourish-02

ΔE 3.8 · #C5C2AF

Dutch Boy

Drifting Sand DCP-0218

ΔE 4.5 · #B6B2A9

RAL

Silk Grey 7044

ΔE 5.1 · #CAC4B0

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 11.3 · #CDCECD

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

48/100

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

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#BAB9A9

#AAABBB

Analogous

#BBB1AA

#BAB9A9

#B4BBAA

Triadic

#BAB9A9

#AABBBA

#BAAABB

Split-Complementary

#BAB9A9

#AAB4BB

#B1AABB

Tetradic

#BAB9A9

#AABBB1

#AAABBB

#BBAAB4

Monochromatic

#71705B

#999780

#BAB9A9

#DDDCD5

#F4F3F1

Rectangle

#BAB9A9

#ABBBAA

#AAABBB

#BAAABB

Compound

#BAB9A9

#B4BBAA

#AAABBB

#B1AABB

Variations

Lighter

#C9C8BB

#D5D5CD

#E6E6E2

Darker

#9C9A82

#6E6C56

#403F32

Saturation

#B5B5B0

#BBBAAA

#DDD788

Interior Use

Best Rooms

living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms

Best Uses

walls, soft furniture, hard surfaces

Pairs With

white trim, natural wood, brass, soft black accents

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

1.98:1

Fail

vs Black

10.60:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#BAB9A9

#BCB8AA

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#BAB9A9

#B9B9AB

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#BAB9A9

#BBB7B8

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Gravel Dust 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

#CBB79A

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#BAB9A9

Daylight 5500K

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

#B8BCBE

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.

#7E81B2

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: #BAB9A9;

CSS — background

background-color: #BAB9A9;

CSS Variable

--color-gravel-dust: #BAB9A9;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'gravel-dust': '#BAB9A9' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#BAB9A9] text-[#BAB9A9]

SCSS

$gravel-dust: #BAB9A9;

Similar Colors

October Mist

#B6B8A5 · ΔE 2.1

Senora Gray

#C0BBA9 · ΔE 2.1

Northern Cliffs

#BAB5A7 · ΔE 2.2

Cosmopolitan

#BBB6A9 · ΔE 2.3

Winterwood

#C1BFB1 · ΔE 2.6

Horizon Gray

#BFC0B1 · ΔE 2.6

Thunder

#BDB8AD · ΔE 3.1

Bone Black

#B9B8AE · ΔE 3.2

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 #BAB9A9?

#BAB9A9 is Gravel Dust, a soft grey with a cool undertone.

Is #BAB9A9 warm or cool?

Gravel Dust reads cool, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Gravel Dust?

Gravel Dust works well in living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms. Designers typically use it for walls, soft furniture, hard surfaces.

What colors pair well with Gravel Dust?

Gravel Dust pairs naturally with white trim, natural wood, brass, soft black accents. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Gravel Dust?

You can download Gravel Dust 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 Gravel Dust?

The hex code is #BAB9A9. In RGB it's 186, 185, 169, and in HSL it's 56°, 11%, 70%.

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