BLUES

California Lilac

#BBC5E2

RGB 187, 197, 226 · HSL 225°, 40%, 81% · CMYK 17, 13, 0, 11

California Lilac is #BBC5E2 in HEX — rgb(187, 197, 226), hsl(225°, 40%, 81%), cmyk(17%, 13%, 0%, 11%).

California Lilac pulls into the airy end of the blues spectrum — HSL 225°, 40%, 81%. The muted saturation makes it quiet but present, and the hue reads cool. In interior projects it shines on bedrooms, bathrooms, home offices — for calm, focused environments. Reads best alongside warm white trim, oak or walnut, brass or matte black hardware.

Color Codes

HEX#BBC5E2

RGB187, 197, 226

HSL225°, 40%, 81%

HSV225°, 17%, 89%

CMYK17, 13, 0, 11

Decimal12305890

CSS RGBrgb(187, 197, 226)

CSS HSLhsl(225, 40%, 81%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Hallman-Lindsay

Genevieve 1274

ΔE 0.9 · #BCC4E0

Kilz

April Morning RB240-01

ΔE 1.5 · #B6C4E2

Dunn-Edwards

Prim Blue DE5898

ΔE 1.7 · #B9C4DE

Vista Paint

Genevieve C-1273

ΔE 2 · #BAC2DC

Sherwin-Williams

Agapanthus SW9066

ΔE 2.1 · #BBC5DE

Dulux

Powdered Granite S42F1

ΔE 2.3 · #C3CAE6

Valspar

Over the Moon 4003-7B

ΔE 2.4 · #B5BFDA

Benjamin Moore

Oriental 1418

ΔE 2.6 · #B5BEDA

Behr

Coveted Gem N560-2

ΔE 3 · #B7BDD9

Dutch Boy

Simply Sparkling DCP-0594

ΔE 4.7 · #BCCEE6

PPG

Globe Thistle 1246-3

ΔE 5.2 · #C9D1E9

IKEA

IKEA052 52

ΔE 7.1 · #B3C4D5

Colorhouse

Dream .03 Dream-03

ΔE 9.5 · #B4CBD9

Farrow & Ball

Lulworth Blue 89

ΔE 9.6 · #A1B8CA

Kobra

Violet 23

ΔE 11.3 · #B7B1DC

RAL

Agate Grey 7038

ΔE 15.8 · #C3C3C3

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

56/100

Light

0 · DarkLight · 100

Reflects plenty of light and keeps spaces feeling open and airy while still showing clear colour. A safe, flexible choice for living areas.

Undertone

TemperatureCool MasstoneBlue UndertoneViolet

Reads as a cool blue with a violet undertone showing through, especially in daylight. Pair trim and adjacent colours to either calm or amplify that undertone.

Color Theory

Complementary

#BBC5E2

#E2D8BB

Analogous

#BBD8E2

#BBC5E2

#C5BBE2

Triadic

#BBC5E2

#E2BBC5

#C5E2BB

Split-Complementary

#BBC5E2

#E2C5BB

#D8E2BB

Tetradic

#BBC5E2

#E2BBD8

#E2D8BB

#BBE2C5

Monochromatic

#5069B4

#8697CB

#BBC5E2

#EDF0F7

Rectangle

#BBC5E2

#D8BBE2

#E2D8BB

#C5E2BB

Compound

#BBC5E2

#C5BBE2

#E2D8BB

#D8E2BB

Variations

Lighter

#C9D0E8

#D8DDEC

#E9ECF3

Darker

#8092CB

#4059A4

#243361

Saturation

#C9CCD4

#BBC5E2

#ADBEF0

Interior Use

Best Rooms

bedrooms, bathrooms, home offices

Best Uses

main walls, ceilings, trim, cabinetry

Pairs With

warm white trim, oak or walnut, brass or matte black hardware

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

1.72:1

Fail

vs Black

12.20:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#BBC5E2

#BCC5E3

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#BBC5E2

#C3C3DF

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#BBC5E2

#B9CAC6

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Focused · Cooling

California Lilac lowers the temperature of a room — useful in south-facing rooms that overheat visually, and in home offices where you want a clear head. Pair with warm wood and brass to keep it from reading clinical.

SymbolismTrust, depth, stability

PersonalityClear-headed, dependable, contemplative

focustrustcalmofficebedroomdepth

How it looks under different light

#CCC0C5

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#BBC5E2

Daylight 5500K

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

#B9C5E9

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#E9EAEC

Trim

Matched off-white

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

#F7F7F8

Ceiling

Whisper tint

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

#CBBD95

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) · Semi-gloss (trim) · Flat (ceiling)

Light tones absorb less light than expected — eggshell adds warmth on walls, semi-gloss gives trim crisp definition against pale walls.

Best Surfaces

Primary walls · Trim · Ceilings · 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; pale colors typically need 2 coats for full opacity.

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: #BBC5E2;

CSS — background

background-color: #BBC5E2;

CSS Variable

--color-california-lilac: #BBC5E2;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'california-lilac': '#BBC5E2' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#BBC5E2] text-[#BBC5E2]

SCSS

$california-lilac: #BBC5E2;

Similar Colors

Oriental Iris

#B4BDD9 · ΔE 2.9

Feather Soft

#BDC5DC · ΔE 3.2

Purple Lace

#CBCFEA · ΔE 4.6

Blue Orchid

#B8B9D2 · ΔE 5.2

Windmill Wings

#BCD2ED · ΔE 5.7

Blue Ice

#BACBDF · ΔE 5.7

French Lilac

#C7C3D9 · ΔE 6.0

Spring Flowers

#C5CCDF · ΔE 6.0

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 #BBC5E2?

#BBC5E2 is California Lilac, a soft blue with a cool undertone.

Is #BBC5E2 warm or cool?

California Lilac reads cool, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with California Lilac?

California Lilac works well in bedrooms, bathrooms, home offices. Designers typically use it for main walls, ceilings, trim, cabinetry.

What colors pair well with California Lilac?

California Lilac pairs naturally with warm white trim, oak or walnut, brass or matte black hardware. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download California Lilac?

You can download California Lilac 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 California Lilac?

The hex code is #BBC5E2. In RGB it's 187, 197, 226, and in HSL it's 225°, 40%, 81%.

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