NEUTRALS

Japanese Poet

#C4BAB7

RGB 196, 186, 183 · HSL 14°, 10%, 74% · CMYK 0, 5, 7, 23

Japanese Poet is #C4BAB7 in HEX — rgb(196, 186, 183), hsl(14°, 10%, 74%), cmyk(0%, 5%, 7%, 23%).

Japanese Poet pulls into the light end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 14°, 10%, 74%. 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#C4BAB7

RGB196, 186, 183

HSL14°, 10%, 74%

HSV14°, 7%, 77%

CMYK0, 5, 7, 23

Decimal12892855

CSS RGBrgb(196, 186, 183)

CSS HSLhsl(14, 10%, 74%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Japanese Poet S09A2

Exact match

PPG

Luxurious 18-04

ΔE 1.3 · #C3B8B7

Dunn-Edwards

Chocolate Milk DE6059

ΔE 1.4 · #C5B9B4

Sherwin-Williams

Queen Anne Lilac SW0021

ΔE 1.5 · #C0B6B4

Vista Paint

North Island C-551

ΔE 2.1 · #BDB6B2

Kilz

Always Taupe RK170

ΔE 2.2 · #BEB4B1

Valspar

Seagull Beach 1002-10B

ΔE 2.2 · #C7B9B3

Hallman-Lindsay

North Island 552

ΔE 2.4 · #BCB6B4

Behr

Natural Gray PPU18-10

ΔE 2.4 · #C4BFBC

Benjamin Moore

Through CSP-495

ΔE 2.9 · #C1BDBD

Farrow & Ball

Dove Tale 267

ΔE 3.8 · #BBB1AB

Colorhouse

Air .07 Air-07

ΔE 4.3 · #CEC4C5

IKEA

IKEA187 187

ΔE 4.7 · #BEBFB8

RAL

Agate Grey 7038

ΔE 4.8 · #C3C3C3

Dutch Boy

Drifting Sand DCP-0218

ΔE 5.3 · #B6B2A9

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 7.7 · #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 MasstoneRed UndertonePink

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#C4BAB7

#B6C0C3

Analogous

#C3B6BA

#C4BAB7

#C3C0B6

Triadic

#C4BAB7

#B6C3B9

#B9B6C3

Split-Complementary

#C4BAB7

#B6C3C0

#B6BAC3

Tetradic

#C4BAB7

#BAC3B6

#B6C0C3

#C0B6C3

Monochromatic

#7B6A65

#A1918C

#C4BAB7

#E6E1E0

#F4F2F1

Rectangle

#C4BAB7

#C0C3B6

#B6C0C3

#B9B6C3

Compound

#C4BAB7

#C3C0B6

#B6C0C3

#B6BAC3

Variations

Lighter

#CFC7C5

#DBD5D4

#E9E7E6

Darker

#A2918C

#73625C

#433935

Saturation

#BFBCBB

#C3B9B6

#E1A998

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

1.90:1

Fail

vs Black

11.05:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#C4BAB7

#BFBDB8

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#C4BAB7

#BCBCB7

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#C4BAB7

#C4BABA

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Japanese Poet 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

#D2B8A4

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#C4BAB7

Daylight 5500K

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

#C0BDC9

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EBEAEA

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.

#89ADB8

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: #C4BAB7;

CSS — background

background-color: #C4BAB7;

CSS Variable

--color-japanese-poet: #C4BAB7;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'japanese-poet': '#C4BAB7' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#C4BAB7] text-[#C4BAB7]

SCSS

$japanese-poet: #C4BAB7;

Similar Colors

Through the Looking Glass

#C0BCBC · ΔE 2.8

Victorian Mauve

#C2B5B7 · ΔE 3.2

Smoke Embers

#C1BFBA · ΔE 3.4

Batik

#CCB9B5 · ΔE 3.5

After the Rain

#C1B9BD · ΔE 3.8

Boulevard

#C3B8AE · ΔE 3.9

Piano Concerto

#C4BCC0 · ΔE 3.9

Violetta

#C4B7BB · ΔE 4.0

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 #C4BAB7?

#C4BAB7 is Japanese Poet, a soft neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #C4BAB7 warm or cool?

Japanese Poet reads cool, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Japanese Poet?

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

What colors pair well with Japanese Poet?

Japanese Poet 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 Japanese Poet?

You can download Japanese Poet 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 Japanese Poet?

The hex code is #C4BAB7. In RGB it's 196, 186, 183, and in HSL it's 14°, 10%, 74%.

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