NEUTRALS

French Lilac

#BDB8BB

RGB 189, 184, 187 · HSL 324°, 4%, 73% · CMYK 0, 3, 1, 26

French Lilac is #BDB8BB in HEX — rgb(189, 184, 187), hsl(324°, 4%, 73%), cmyk(0%, 3%, 1%, 26%).

French Lilac pulls into the light end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 324°, 4%, 73%. 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#BDB8BB

RGB189, 184, 187

HSL324°, 4%, 73%

HSV324°, 3%, 74%

CMYK0, 3, 1, 26

Decimal12433595

CSS RGBrgb(189, 184, 187)

CSS HSLhsl(324, 4%, 73%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Behr

French Lilac PPU16-10

Exact match

Vista Paint

Pashmina K-773

ΔE 1.2 · #BBB7B8

Dulux

Silver Thaw SG5A2

ΔE 1.3 · #BBB6B7

Sherwin-Williams

Veiled Violet SW6268

ΔE 1.5 · #BDB5B9

Benjamin Moore

AF-ter 1452

ΔE 1.6 · #C2BABE

PPG

Silver Bells 1003-3

ΔE 1.7 · #B8B4B6

Dunn-Edwards

Silver Bullet DE6381

ΔE 2.1 · #B6B5B8

Valspar

Winter Calm 4001-1B

ΔE 2.7 · #BBB4B3

Hallman-Lindsay

Let It Rain 518

ΔE 2.8 · #B6B8BD

Kilz

Hippopotamus Gray RL100

ΔE 3.3 · #B2B3B5

RAL

Agate Grey 7038

ΔE 4.3 · #C3C3C3

Colorhouse

Air .07 Air-07

ΔE 5.2 · #CEC4C5

Farrow & Ball

Dove Tale 267

ΔE 5.8 · #BBB1AB

IKEA

IKEA155 155

ΔE 5.9 · #AAB1B8

Dutch Boy

Savoy DCP-1316

ΔE 6.4 · #C8C8D0

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 8 · #CDCECD

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

49/100

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

TemperatureNeutral MasstonePink UndertoneRed

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#BDB8BB

#B7BDBA

Analogous

#BCB7BD

#BDB8BB

#BDB7B8

Triadic

#BDB8BB

#BBBDB7

#B7BBBD

Split-Complementary

#BDB8BB

#B8BDB7

#B7BDBC

Tetradic

#BDB8BB

#BDBCB7

#B7BDBA

#B7B8BD

Monochromatic

#72696F

#989095

#BDB8BB

#E2DFE1

#F3F2F2

Rectangle

#BDB8BB

#BDBAB7

#B7BDBA

#B7BBBD

Compound

#BDB8BB

#BDB7B8

#B7BDBA

#B7BDBC

Variations

Lighter

#CAC6C8

#D7D4D6

#E8E6E7

Darker

#999096

#6B6267

#3E393C

Saturation

#BBB9BA

#BDB7BB

#DE96C1

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

1.96:1

Fail

vs Black

10.74:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#BDB8BB

#BABABC

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#BDB8BB

#B9B9BB

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#BDB8BB

#BDB9B8

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

French Lilac 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

#CDB7A7

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#BDB8BB

Daylight 5500K

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

#BABCCC

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EBEAEB

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.

#86B699

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: #BDB8BB;

CSS — background

background-color: #BDB8BB;

CSS Variable

--color-french-lilac: #BDB8BB;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'french-lilac': '#BDB8BB' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#BDB8BB] text-[#BDB8BB]

SCSS

$french-lilac: #BDB8BB;

Similar Colors

After the Rain

#C1B9BD · ΔE 1.4

Through the Looking Glass

#C0BCBC · ΔE 2.1

Piano Concerto

#C4BCC0 · ΔE 2.1

Iced Mauve

#C4BBC0 · ΔE 2.3

Violetta

#C4B7BB · ΔE 3.1

Victorian Mauve

#C2B5B7 · ΔE 3.1

Nightingale

#B6B4B2 · ΔE 3.5

Silver Dollar

#B3B1B0 · ΔE 3.8

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 #BDB8BB?

#BDB8BB is French Lilac, a soft neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #BDB8BB warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with French Lilac?

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

What colors pair well with French Lilac?

French Lilac 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 French Lilac?

You can download French 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 French Lilac?

The hex code is #BDB8BB. In RGB it's 189, 184, 187, and in HSL it's 324°, 4%, 73%.

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