NEUTRALS

Soft Sage

#BCBCAE

RGB 188, 188, 174 · HSL 60°, 9%, 71% · CMYK 0, 0, 7, 26

Soft Sage is #BCBCAE in HEX — rgb(188, 188, 174), hsl(60°, 9%, 71%), cmyk(0%, 0%, 7%, 26%).

Soft Sage pulls into the light end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 60°, 9%, 71%. The neutral saturation makes it near-neutral and forgiving, and the hue reads cool. 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#BCBCAE

RGB188, 188, 174

HSL60°, 9%, 71%

HSV60°, 7%, 74%

CMYK0, 0, 7, 26

Decimal12369070

CSS RGBrgb(188, 188, 174)

CSS HSLhsl(60, 9%, 71%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

PPG

Hurricane Haze 1032-2

ΔE 0.8 · #BDBBAD

Dulux

Grey Jade S19A2

ΔE 0.9 · #B9BBAD

Sherwin-Williams

Austere Gray SW6184

ΔE 1.2 · #BEBFB2

Hallman-Lindsay

Fiorito 371

ΔE 1.5 · #BFBFAF

Benjamin Moore

Winterwood 1486

ΔE 1.8 · #C2C0B2

Behr

Barista N210-3

ΔE 1.8 · #BAB8AC

Valspar

Sandy Sage 5008-1C

ΔE 1.8 · #BDB9AA

Vista Paint

Fiorito C-370

ΔE 1.9 · #BFBFAE

IKEA

IKEA179 179

ΔE 2 · #B6BBAD

Farrow & Ball

Mizzle 266

ΔE 2.2 · #C0C2B3

Dunn-Edwards

Antique Coin DE6270

ΔE 2.4 · #B5B8A8

Kilz

Patio Gray TB-64

ΔE 3.4 · #B6BDB3

Colorhouse

Nourish .02 Nourish-02

ΔE 3.7 · #C5C2AF

Dutch Boy

Drifting Sand DCP-0218

ΔE 4.4 · #B6B2A9

RAL

Silk Grey 7044

ΔE 5.1 · #CAC4B0

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 9.7 · #CDCECD

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

50/100

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

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

#BCBCAE

#AEAEBC

Analogous

#BCB5AE

#BCBCAE

#B5BCAE

Triadic

#BCBCAE

#AEBCBC

#BCAEBC

Split-Complementary

#BCBCAE

#AEB5BC

#B5AEBC

Tetradic

#BCBCAE

#AEBCB5

#AEAEBC

#BCAEB5

Monochromatic

#72725F

#999985

#BCBCAE

#DFDFD8

#F3F3F1

Rectangle

#BCBCAE

#AEBCAE

#AEAEBC

#BCAEBC

Compound

#BCBCAE

#B5BCAE

#AEAEBC

#B5AEBC

Variations

Lighter

#C9C9BF

#D6D6CF

#E7E7E3

Darker

#9B9B86

#6D6D5A

#404034

Saturation

#B7B7B3

#BCBCAE

#DDDD8D

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

1.92:1

Fail

vs Black

10.94:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#BCBCAE

#BEBBAF

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#BCBCAE

#BCBCB0

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#BCBCAE

#BDBABB

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Soft Sage 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

#CCBA9E

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#BCBCAE

Daylight 5500K

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

#BABFC2

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.

#8181B3

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: #BCBCAE;

CSS — background

background-color: #BCBCAE;

CSS Variable

--color-soft-sage: #BCBCAE;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'soft-sage': '#BCBCAE' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#BCBCAE] text-[#BCBCAE]

SCSS

$soft-sage: #BCBCAE;

Similar Colors

Winterwood

#C1BFB1 · ΔE 1.5

Horizon Gray

#BFC0B1 · ΔE 1.5

Gray Horse

#B9BBB1 · ΔE 2.3

Bone Black

#B9B8AE · ΔE 2.5

Cosmopolitan

#BBB6A9 · ΔE 2.7

Thunder

#BDB8AD · ΔE 2.7

Shale

#C3BDB1 · ΔE 2.7

Senora Gray

#C0BBA9 · ΔE 2.9

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 #BCBCAE?

#BCBCAE is Soft Sage, a soft neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #BCBCAE warm or cool?

Soft Sage reads cool, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Soft Sage?

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

What colors pair well with Soft Sage?

Soft Sage 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 Soft Sage?

You can download Soft Sage 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 Soft Sage?

The hex code is #BCBCAE. In RGB it's 188, 188, 174, and in HSL it's 60°, 9%, 71%.

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