NEUTRALS

Putty

#BCB8AA

RGB 188, 184, 170 · HSL 47°, 12%, 70% · CMYK 0, 2, 10, 26

Putty is #BCB8AA in HEX — rgb(188, 184, 170), hsl(47°, 12%, 70%), cmyk(0%, 2%, 10%, 26%).

Putty pulls into the light end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 47°, 12%, 70%. The neutral saturation makes it near-neutral and forgiving, and the hue reads warm. In interior projects it shines on main walls, trims, ceilings — versatile across nearly any style. Reads best alongside soft whites, natural wood, matte black trim, linen.

Color Codes

HEX#BCB8AA

RGB188, 184, 170

HSL47°, 12%, 70%

HSV47°, 10%, 74%

CMYK0, 2, 10, 26

Decimal12368042

CSS RGBrgb(188, 184, 170)

CSS HSLhsl(47, 12%, 70%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Putty S16A2

Exact match

Valspar

Sandy Sage 5008-1C

ΔE 0.6 · #BDB9AA

Benjamin Moore

Cosmopolitan CSP-100

ΔE 0.7 · #BCB7AA

Dunn-Edwards

Play on Gray DE6228

ΔE 0.9 · #BAB6A9

Sherwin-Williams

Techno Gray SW6170

ΔE 1.1 · #BFB9AA

PPG

Hurricane Haze 1032-2

ΔE 1.2 · #BDBBAD

Behr

Barista N210-3

ΔE 1.3 · #BAB8AC

Hallman-Lindsay

Chintz 573

ΔE 1.4 · #C0BBAE

Vista Paint

Chintz C-572

ΔE 1.5 · #C1BBAD

Kilz

Urban Gateway LK110

ΔE 1.8 · #BCB5A9

IKEA

IKEA123 123

ΔE 2.8 · #C5BEB1

Farrow & Ball

Blue Gray 91

ΔE 2.9 · #B4B4A3

Dutch Boy

Drifting Sand DCP-0218

ΔE 3.4 · #B6B2A9

Colorhouse

Nourish .02 Nourish-02

ΔE 4.3 · #C5C2AF

RAL

Silk Grey 7044

ΔE 5.4 · #CAC4B0

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 10.7 · #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

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

#BCB8AA

#A9ADBC

Analogous

#BCAFA9

#BCB8AA

#B6BCA9

Triadic

#BCB8AA

#A9BCB8

#B8A9BC

Split-Complementary

#BCB8AA

#A9B6BC

#AFA9BC

Tetradic

#BCB8AA

#A9BCAF

#A9ADBC

#BCA9B6

Monochromatic

#726D5A

#9A947E

#BCB8AA

#DDDBD4

#F4F3F1

Rectangle

#BCB8AA

#ADBCA9

#A9ADBC

#B8A9BC

Compound

#BCB8AA

#B6BCA9

#A9ADBC

#AFA9BC

Variations

Lighter

#C9C6BA

#D6D4CC

#E6E5E2

Darker

#9D9781

#6F6A55

#413E31

Saturation

#B5B4B0

#BCB8A9

#DDCB88

Interior Use

Best Rooms

living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens

Best Uses

main walls, trim, accents

Pairs With

soft whites, natural wood, brass, matte black trim

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

1.99:1

Fail

vs Black

10.57:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#BCB8AA

#BCB8AB

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#BCB8AA

#B9B9AC

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#BCB8AA

#BDB6B7

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Putty 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

#CCB79B

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#BCB8AA

Daylight 5500K

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

#BABCBF

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.

#7E89B2

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: #BCB8AA;

CSS — background

background-color: #BCB8AA;

CSS Variable

--color-putty: #BCB8AA;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'putty': '#BCB8AA' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#BCB8AA] text-[#BCB8AA]

SCSS

$putty: #BCB8AA;

Similar Colors

Cosmopolitan

#BBB6A9 · ΔE 0.9

Northern Cliffs

#BAB5A7 · ΔE 1.1

Thunder

#BDB8AD · ΔE 1.7

Cape Hatteras Sand

#BEB8AE · ΔE 2.3

Senora Gray

#C0BBA9 · ΔE 2.4

Shale

#C3BDB1 · ΔE 2.4

Bone Black

#B9B8AE · ΔE 2.4

Winterwood

#C1BFB1 · ΔE 2.5

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 #BCB8AA?

#BCB8AA is Putty, a soft neutral with a warm undertone.

Is #BCB8AA warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Putty?

Putty works well in living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens. Designers typically use it for main walls, trim, accents.

What colors pair well with Putty?

Putty pairs naturally with soft whites, natural wood, brass, matte black trim. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Putty?

You can download Putty 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 Putty?

The hex code is #BCB8AA. In RGB it's 188, 184, 170, and in HSL it's 47°, 12%, 70%.

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