BLUES

Water Droplet

#BDC9CE

RGB 189, 201, 206 · HSL 198°, 15%, 77% · CMYK 8, 2, 0, 19

Water Droplet is #BDC9CE in HEX — rgb(189, 201, 206), hsl(198°, 15%, 77%), cmyk(8%, 2%, 0%, 19%).

Water Droplet pulls into the light end of the blues spectrum — HSL 198°, 15%, 77%. The neutral saturation makes it near-neutral and forgiving, 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#BDC9CE

RGB189, 201, 206

HSL198°, 15%, 77%

HSV198°, 8%, 81%

CMYK8, 2, 0, 19

Decimal12437966

CSS RGBrgb(189, 201, 206)

CSS HSLhsl(198, 15%, 77%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Hallman-Lindsay

Water Droplet 503

Exact match

Vista Paint

Water Droplet C-502

ΔE 0.5 · #BDC9CD

Behr

Alice White MQ3-58

ΔE 0.9 · #BFCBD1

Dunn-Edwards

Bay of Hope DE6331

ΔE 1.3 · #BFC9D0

Sherwin-Williams

Upward SW6239

ΔE 1.3 · #BFC9D0

Benjamin Moore

Gentle 1626

ΔE 1.5 · #C1CBCE

Dulux

Oxford Half S37A1H

ΔE 1.5 · #C2CCD2

Valspar

Lighthouse Shadows 4008-3B

ΔE 1.7 · #BBC8D0

Kilz

Soothing Ocean RD160-01

ΔE 2.3 · #B7C7CF

PPG

Keepsakes 1040-2

ΔE 2.4 · #C0CED6

Colorhouse

Wool .02 Wool-02

ΔE 3 · #C1CDCD

Farrow & Ball

Parma Gray 27

ΔE 3.7 · #B2BFC5

Dutch Boy

Savoy DCP-1316

ΔE 4.6 · #C8C8D0

RAL

Agate Grey 7038

ΔE 5.2 · #C3C3C3

IKEA

IKEA127 127

ΔE 5.4 · #D0D4D8

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 5.6 · #CDCECD

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

57/100

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

#BDC9CE

#CDC1BC

Analogous

#BCCDCA

#BDC9CE

#BCBFCD

Triadic

#BDC9CE

#CDBCC8

#C8CDBC

Split-Complementary

#BDC9CE

#CDBCBF

#CDCABC

Tetradic

#BDC9CE

#CABCCD

#CDC1BC

#BFCDBC

Monochromatic

#667F8A

#90A4AD

#BDC9CE

#E8ECEE

#F0F3F4

Rectangle

#BDC9CE

#C1BCCD

#CDC1BC

#C8CDBC

Compound

#BDC9CE

#BCBFCD

#CDC1BC

#CDCABC

Variations

Lighter

#C9D3D7

#D7DEE0

#E8EBED

Darker

#8EA3AD

#5A737E

#34434A

Saturation

#C2C5C7

#BCC8CD

#A3D2E6

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

1.69:1

Fail

vs Black

12.41:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#BDC9CE

#C3C5CF

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#BDC9CE

#C7C7CD

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#BDC9CE

#BDCAC9

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Focused · Cooling

Water Droplet 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

#CDC3B6

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#BDC9CE

Daylight 5500K

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

#BAC8DA

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EAEBEB

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.

#BD9E91

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: #BDC9CE;

CSS — background

background-color: #BDC9CE;

CSS Variable

--color-water-droplet: #BDC9CE;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'water-droplet': '#BDC9CE' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#BDC9CE] text-[#BDC9CE]

SCSS

$water-droplet: #BDC9CE;

Similar Colors

Gentle Gray

#C0CACD · ΔE 1.3

Mt. Rainier Gray

#C1CDD3 · ΔE 1.6

Iced Slate

#C1CAD1 · ΔE 1.7

Feather Gray

#C4CBD0 · ΔE 2.1

Metallic Silver

#C3C9CD · ΔE 2.2

Smoke

#BAC8C9 · ΔE 2.4

Silver Gray

#C4CFD2 · ΔE 2.5

Silver Half Dollar

#C3C8CB · ΔE 2.7

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 #BDC9CE?

#BDC9CE is Water Droplet, a soft blue with a cool undertone.

Is #BDC9CE warm or cool?

Water Droplet reads cool, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Water Droplet?

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

What colors pair well with Water Droplet?

Water Droplet 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 Water Droplet?

You can download Water Droplet 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 Water Droplet?

The hex code is #BDC9CE. In RGB it's 189, 201, 206, and in HSL it's 198°, 15%, 77%.

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