PURPLES

Delicate Mauve

#C5B5CA

RGB 197, 181, 202 · HSL 286°, 17%, 75% · CMYK 2, 10, 0, 21

Delicate Mauve is #C5B5CA in HEX — rgb(197, 181, 202), hsl(286°, 17%, 75%), cmyk(2%, 10%, 0%, 21%).

Delicate Mauve pulls into the light end of the purples spectrum — HSL 286°, 17%, 75%. The neutral saturation makes it near-neutral and forgiving, and the hue reads cool. In interior projects it shines on accent walls, dressing rooms, creative studios — for character without shouting. Reads best alongside warm whites, walnut, brass, deep velvet textiles.

Color Codes

HEX#C5B5CA

RGB197, 181, 202

HSL286°, 17%, 75%

HSV286°, 10%, 79%

CMYK2, 10, 0, 21

Decimal12957130

CSS RGBrgb(197, 181, 202)

CSS HSLhsl(286, 17%, 75%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Classic Lavender S49C2

ΔE 0.5 · #C5B6CB

Vista Paint

Wisteria Wish K-12

ΔE 1.6 · #C9B8CB

PPG

Purple Essence 1176-4

ΔE 1.8 · #C2B1C8

IKEA

IKEA087 87

ΔE 1.9 · #CAB6C9

Benjamin Moore

Wishing 1389

ΔE 3 · #CCB8D1

Kilz

Shady Pink RA250-02

ΔE 3 · #CCB7D0

Dunn-Edwards

Antique Heather DE5975

ΔE 3.1 · #CDBACB

Behr

Iris Pink 690E-3

ΔE 3.4 · #CEBDD5

Hallman-Lindsay

Heather Feather 1198

ΔE 3.7 · #C3ADC5

Valspar

Midsummer Twilight 4001-3C

ΔE 4.8 · #BBAFBD

Sherwin-Williams

Wisteria SW6822

ΔE 6.4 · #BDB4D4

Dutch Boy

So Dainty DCP-1309

ΔE 9.7 · #D4CAD3

Farrow & Ball

Calluna 270

ΔE 10.8 · #CCC8CE

Colorhouse

Air .07 Air-07

ΔE 11.8 · #CEC4C5

Kobra

Violet 23

ΔE 12.5 · #B7B1DC

RAL

Agate Grey 7038

ΔE 13.2 · #C3C3C3

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 MasstoneViolet UndertoneBlue

Reads as a neutral violet with a blue undertone showing through, especially in daylight. Pair trim and adjacent colours to either calm or amplify that undertone.

Color Theory

Complementary

#C5B5CA

#B9CAB4

Analogous

#BAB4CA

#C5B5CA

#CAB4C4

Triadic

#C5B5CA

#CAC5B4

#B4CAC5

Split-Complementary

#C5B5CA

#C4CAB4

#B4CABA

Tetradic

#C5B5CA

#CABAB4

#B9CAB4

#B4C4CA

Monochromatic

#7D5F86

#A288AA

#C5B5CA

#E8E1EA

#F3F0F4

Rectangle

#C5B5CA

#CAB4B9

#B9CAB4

#B4CAC5

Compound

#C5B5CA

#CAB4C4

#B9CAB4

#B4CABA

Variations

Lighter

#D1C3D5

#DCD3DE

#EAE6EB

Darker

#A387AB

#74567D

#443149

Saturation

#C1BCC3

#C5B4CA

#D39AE5

Interior Use

Best Rooms

dressing rooms, creative studios, accent walls

Best Uses

feature walls, cabinetry, textiles

Pairs With

warm whites, walnut, brass, deep velvet textiles

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

1.94:1

Fail

vs Black

10.84:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#C5B5CA

#B9BDCA

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#C5B5CA

#B8B8C7

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#C5B5CA

#C3B9B7

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Sophisticated · Imaginative

Delicate Mauve carries history — long associated with luxury and contemplation. It works in low-light, intimate rooms (dressing rooms, dens, accent walls) where its complexity gets time to unfold. Pair with brass and walnut.

SymbolismLuxury, intuition, creativity

PersonalityRefined, mysterious, artistic

luxurycreativeintuitionintimateaccentrefined

How it looks under different light

#D3B4B3

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#C5B5CA

Daylight 5500K

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

#C0B9D7

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.

#96BA8B

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: #C5B5CA;

CSS — background

background-color: #C5B5CA;

CSS Variable

--color-delicate-mauve: #C5B5CA;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'delicate-mauve': '#C5B5CA' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#C5B5CA] text-[#C5B5CA]

SCSS

$delicate-mauve: #C5B5CA;

Similar Colors

Wishing Well

#CBB7D0 · ΔE 2.8

Lavender Lipstick

#BDABC2 · ΔE 3.7

Violet Petal

#CDBFD1 · ΔE 3.9

Angelina

#CCAEC5 · ΔE 5.5

Hidden Sanctuary

#D6BFCE · ΔE 5.8

French Lilac

#C7C3D9 · ΔE 6.0

African Violet

#C1B9C4 · ΔE 6.2

Blue Orchid

#B8B9D2 · ΔE 6.4

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 #C5B5CA?

#C5B5CA is Delicate Mauve, a soft purple with a cool undertone.

Is #C5B5CA warm or cool?

Delicate Mauve reads cool, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Delicate Mauve?

Delicate Mauve works well in dressing rooms, creative studios, accent walls. Designers typically use it for feature walls, cabinetry, textiles.

What colors pair well with Delicate Mauve?

Delicate Mauve pairs naturally with warm whites, walnut, brass, deep velvet textiles. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Delicate Mauve?

You can download Delicate Mauve 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 Delicate Mauve?

The hex code is #C5B5CA. In RGB it's 197, 181, 202, and in HSL it's 286°, 17%, 75%.

← All colors