NEUTRALS

Mindful Grey

#BDB5AD

RGB 189, 181, 173 · HSL 30°, 11%, 71% · CMYK 0, 4, 8, 26

Mindful Grey is #BDB5AD in HEX — rgb(189, 181, 173), hsl(30°, 11%, 71%), cmyk(0%, 4%, 8%, 26%).

Mindful Grey pulls into the light end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 30°, 11%, 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#BDB5AD

RGB189, 181, 173

HSL30°, 11%, 71%

HSV30°, 8%, 74%

CMYK0, 4, 8, 26

Decimal12432813

CSS RGBrgb(189, 181, 173)

CSS HSLhsl(30, 11%, 71%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Behr

Graceful Gray PPU18-12

ΔE 0.4 · #BEB6AE

Dulux

Buffed Beige SN3F4

ΔE 0.5 · #BDB5AC

PPG

Silver Dollar 1022-3

ΔE 0.5 · #BDB6AE

Sherwin-Williams

Requisite Gray SW7023

ΔE 1.4 · #B9B2A9

Benjamin Moore

La 1551

ΔE 1.6 · #B9B5AD

Farrow & Ball

Dove Tale 267

ΔE 1.8 · #BBB1AB

Kilz

Mountain Canyon RK160

ΔE 2.1 · #C4B9B0

Valspar

Soulful Grey 6004-1B

ΔE 2.1 · #BBB8AF

Vista Paint

North Island C-551

ΔE 2.2 · #BDB6B2

Dutch Boy

Drifting Sand DCP-0218

ΔE 2.2 · #B6B2A9

Dunn-Edwards

Drifting DEC770

ΔE 2.3 · #BEB4A8

Hallman-Lindsay

Light Lichen 211

ΔE 2.7 · #BFB6A9

IKEA

IKEA123 123

ΔE 4.1 · #C5BEB1

Colorhouse

Metal .03 Metal-03

ΔE 4.2 · #B5B8B1

RAL

Agate Grey 7038

ΔE 7.1 · #C3C3C3

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 9.9 · #CDCECD

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

47/100

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

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#BDB5AD

#ADB5BD

Analogous

#BDADAD

#BDB5AD

#BDBDAD

Triadic

#BDB5AD

#ADBDB5

#B5ADBD

Split-Complementary

#BDB5AD

#ADBDBD

#ADADBD

Tetradic

#BDB5AD

#ADBDAD

#ADB5BD

#BDADBD

Monochromatic

#74695D

#9B8F82

#BDB5AD

#DFDBD7

#F4F2F1

Rectangle

#BDB5AD

#B5BDAD

#ADB5BD

#B5ADBD

Compound

#BDB5AD

#BDBDAD

#ADB5BD

#ADADBD

Variations

Lighter

#CAC4BD

#D7D3CE

#E7E5E3

Darker

#9E9184

#706458

#413A33

Saturation

#B7B5B3

#BDB5AD

#DEB58C

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

2.02:1

Fail

vs Black

10.38:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#BDB5AD

#BAB7AE

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#BDB5AD

#B6B6AE

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#BDB5AD

#BDB4B5

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Mindful Grey 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

#CDB49D

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#BDB5AD

Daylight 5500K

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

#BAB9C1

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.

#819AB3

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: #BDB5AD;

CSS — background

background-color: #BDB5AD;

CSS Variable

--color-mindful-grey: #BDB5AD;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'mindful-grey': '#BDB5AD' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#BDB5AD] text-[#BDB5AD]

SCSS

$mindful-grey: #BDB5AD;

Similar Colors

Cape Hatteras Sand

#BEB8AE · ΔE 1.6

La Paloma Gray

#B8B4AC · ΔE 1.7

Silver Fox

#B8B1A7 · ΔE 2.0

Boulevard

#C3B8AE · ΔE 2.0

Thunder

#BDB8AD · ΔE 2.1

Ozark Shadows

#B6B4AC · ΔE 2.4

Stone Harbor

#B4AFA8 · ΔE 2.7

Cosmopolitan

#BBB6A9 · 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 #BDB5AD?

#BDB5AD is Mindful Grey, a soft neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #BDB5AD warm or cool?

Mindful Grey reads cool, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Mindful Grey?

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

What colors pair well with Mindful Grey?

Mindful Grey 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 Mindful Grey?

You can download Mindful Grey 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 Mindful Grey?

The hex code is #BDB5AD. In RGB it's 189, 181, 173, and in HSL it's 30°, 11%, 71%.

← All colors