ORANGES

Esoteric

#C4B5A4

RGB 196, 181, 164 · HSL 32°, 21%, 71% · CMYK 0, 8, 16, 23

Esoteric is #C4B5A4 in HEX — rgb(196, 181, 164), hsl(32°, 21%, 71%), cmyk(0%, 8%, 16%, 23%).

Esoteric pulls into the light end of the oranges spectrum — HSL 32°, 21%, 71%. The muted saturation makes it quiet but present, and the hue reads warm. In interior projects it shines on main walls, ceilings, soft fabrics, large surfaces, particularly within kitchens, living rooms, dining rooms. Reads best alongside cream walls, walnut furniture, terracotta tile, brass.

Color Codes

HEX#C4B5A4

RGB196, 181, 164

HSL32°, 21%, 71%

HSV32°, 16%, 77%

CMYK0, 8, 16, 23

Decimal12891556

CSS RGBrgb(196, 181, 164)

CSS HSLhsl(32, 21%, 71%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dunn-Edwards

Steveareno Beige DEC766

ΔE 0.4 · #C5B5A4

Sherwin-Williams

Pavilion Beige SW7512

ΔE 0.6 · #C5B6A4

Vista Paint

Beach Party K-1196

ΔE 1.2 · #C7B5A4

Behr

Ranch Tan QE-28

ΔE 1.4 · #C6B5A2

Farrow & Ball

Jitney 293

ΔE 1.5 · #C4B2A2

Valspar

Mesa Tumbleweed 2008-10A

ΔE 1.6 · #C8B9A9

PPG

Summer Suede 14-14

ΔE 1.9 · #C7B8A4

Dulux

Maloolabar S10C2

ΔE 1.9 · #C7B7A9

Benjamin Moore

Gallery CSP-225

ΔE 2 · #C0B6A4

Kilz

Yorkshire Tan LK130

ΔE 2.3 · #C2B19D

Hallman-Lindsay

Baguette 188

ΔE 2.6 · #CCBBAB

IKEA

IKEA169 169

ΔE 3.9 · #B7AE9D

Dutch Boy

Olive Gold DCP-0281

ΔE 4.2 · #C7BBA3

RAL

Silk Grey 7044

ΔE 6 · #CAC4B0

Colorhouse

Nourish .02 Nourish-02

ΔE 6.1 · #C5C2AF

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 13.4 · #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

Reads as a warm orange with a yellow undertone showing through, especially in daylight. Pair trim and adjacent colours to either calm or amplify that undertone.

Color Theory

Complementary

#C4B5A4

#A6B4C5

Analogous

#C5A7A6

#C4B5A4

#C4C5A6

Triadic

#C4B5A4

#A6C5B6

#B6A6C5

Split-Complementary

#C4B5A4

#A6C4C5

#A7A6C5

Tetradic

#C4B5A4

#A6C5A7

#A6B4C5

#C5A6C4

Monochromatic

#7F6A53

#A69077

#C4B5A4

#E3DCD4

#F5F2F0

Rectangle

#C4B5A4

#B4C5A6

#A6B4C5

#B6A6C5

Compound

#C4B5A4

#C4C5A6

#A6B4C5

#A7A6C5

Variations

Lighter

#D0C5B7

#DBD3CB

#E9E5E1

Darker

#A99279

#7B654D

#483B2C

Saturation

#BAB5B0

#C5B6A6

#E2B888

Interior Use

Best Rooms

kitchens, living rooms, dining rooms

Best Uses

main walls, ceilings, soft fabrics, large surfaces

Pairs With

cream walls, walnut furniture, terracotta tile, brass

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

2.00:1

Fail

vs Black

10.49:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#C4B5A4

#BEB9A5

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#C4B5A4

#B8B8A6

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#C4B5A4

#C5B3B5

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Warm · Inviting

Esoteric reads warm and lived-in — orange-leaning tones invite conversation and slow the room down without dulling it. They flatter wood, linen, and brass, and they brighten north-facing rooms that otherwise tip cold.

SymbolismCreativity, hospitality, harvest

PersonalityFriendly, optimistic, grounded

warmthhospitalitycreativitycomfortsocialearthy

How it looks under different light

#D2B496

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#C4B5A4

Daylight 5500K

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

#C0B9BA

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.

#F8F7F7

Ceiling

Whisper tint

Near-white with a hint of the hero's undertone — ceiling feels intentional.

#8198B3

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: #C4B5A4;

CSS — background

background-color: #C4B5A4;

CSS Variable

--color-esoteric: #C4B5A4;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'esoteric': '#C4B5A4' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#C4B5A4] text-[#C4B5A4]

SCSS

$esoteric: #C4B5A4;

Similar Colors

Old Montreal

#CAB9A8 · ΔE 1.8

Gallery Buff

#BFB5A3 · ΔE 2.1

Stone Hearth

#C4BAAA · ΔE 2.5

Old Soul

#C4BAAB · ΔE 2.7

Pashmina

#BBB2A1 · ΔE 2.8

Brick House Tan

#C8BCA7 · ΔE 3.2

Knitting Basket

#C5B7AC · ΔE 3.4

Stone Castle

#CABDAF · ΔE 3.4

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 #C4B5A4?

#C4B5A4 is Esoteric, a soft orange with a warm undertone.

Is #C4B5A4 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Esoteric?

Esoteric works well in kitchens, living rooms, dining rooms. Designers typically use it for main walls, ceilings, soft fabrics, large surfaces.

What colors pair well with Esoteric?

Esoteric pairs naturally with cream walls, walnut furniture, terracotta tile, brass. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Esoteric?

You can download Esoteric 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 Esoteric?

The hex code is #C4B5A4. In RGB it's 196, 181, 164, and in HSL it's 32°, 21%, 71%.

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