YELLOWS

Base Sand

#BB9955

RGB 187, 153, 85 · HSL 40°, 43%, 53% · CMYK 0, 18, 55, 27

Base Sand is #BB9955 in HEX — rgb(187, 153, 85), hsl(40°, 43%, 53%), cmyk(0%, 18%, 55%, 27%).

Base Sand pulls into the mid-tone end of the yellows spectrum — HSL 40°, 43%, 53%. The muted saturation makes it quiet but present, 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#BB9955

RGB187, 153, 85

HSL40°, 43%, 53%

HSV40°, 55%, 73%

CMYK0, 18, 55, 27

Decimal12294485

CSS RGBrgb(187, 153, 85)

CSS HSLhsl(40, 43%, 53%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Vista Paint

Botanica Gold K-489

ΔE 1.9 · #BC9D58

Benjamin Moore

Palace CW-425

ΔE 2 · #BC9A52

Behr

Spiced Mustard S300-5

ΔE 2 · #B6954F

Sherwin-Williams

Escapade Gold SW6403

ΔE 2.7 · #B89B59

PPG

Amaretto Sours 1106-6

ΔE 2.8 · #C09856

Dunn-Edwards

Maple Syrup DE5362

ΔE 3.4 · #BB9351

Hallman-Lindsay

Gold Finch 871

ΔE 3.6 · #BA9B5D

Valspar

Corduroy 3007-5A

ΔE 4.1 · #B28E4B

Kilz

Cairo Gold LE110-02

ΔE 4.4 · #C09658

Dulux

Hokey Pokey S14F6

ΔE 4.5 · #C79C57

Colorhouse

Grain .06 Grain-06

ΔE 5 · #CA9F5E

RAL

Sand Yellow 1002

ΔE 5.1 · #C6A664

Farrow & Ball

India Yellow 66

ΔE 5.7 · #CB9E59

IKEA

IKEA157 157

ΔE 5.8 · #B7975E

Dutch Boy

Bacon Beige VS-9202

ΔE 13.8 · #E5A96B

Kobra

Beige 03

ΔE 16.2 · #BA9873

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

34/100

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

#BB9955

#5476BB

Analogous

#BB6554

#BB9955

#AABB54

Triadic

#BB9955

#54BB98

#9854BB

Split-Complementary

#BB9955

#54AABB

#6554BB

Tetradic

#BB9955

#54BB65

#5476BB

#BB54AA

Monochromatic

#544321

#8B6F37

#BB9955

#D0B98A

#E6DAC1

Rectangle

#BB9955

#76BB54

#5476BB

#9854BB

Compound

#BB9955

#AABB54

#5476BB

#6554BB

Variations

Lighter

#C8AD76

#D1C09D

#E2D9C8

Darker

#9D7C3B

#6D5627

#413216

Saturation

#978C78

#BB9854

#DDA431

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

2.69:1

Fail

vs Black

7.80:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#BB9955

#AFA155

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#BB9955

#9F9F61

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#BB9955

#BD9298

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Bright · Optimistic

Base Sand 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

#CC9F5B

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#BB9955

Daylight 5500K

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

#B9A47F

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#ECEBE9

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.

#49659D

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: #BB9955;

CSS — background

background-color: #BB9955;

CSS Variable

--color-base-sand: #BB9955;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'base-sand': '#BB9955' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#BB9955] text-[#BB9955]

SCSS

$base-sand: #BB9955;

Similar Colors

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#BB9951 · ΔE 2.0

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#B9995B · ΔE 3.3

French Horn

#BF9652 · ΔE 3.3

Millington Gold

#B89C5B · ΔE 3.5

Leap of Faith

#C29E54 · ΔE 3.6

Autumn Gold

#C59E55 · ΔE 4.1

Egyptian Sand

#B09755 · ΔE 4.5

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#B19557 · ΔE 4.6

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 #BB9955?

#BB9955 is Base Sand, a mid-tone yellow with a warm undertone.

Is #BB9955 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Base Sand?

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

What colors pair well with Base Sand?

Base Sand 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 Base Sand?

You can download Base Sand 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 Base Sand?

The hex code is #BB9955. In RGB it's 187, 153, 85, and in HSL it's 40°, 43%, 53%.

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