NEUTRALS

Life Lesson

#C5CABE

RGB 197, 202, 190 · HSL 85°, 10%, 77% · CMYK 2, 0, 6, 21

Life Lesson is #C5CABE in HEX — rgb(197, 202, 190), hsl(85°, 10%, 77%), cmyk(2%, 0%, 6%, 21%).

Life Lesson pulls into the light end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 85°, 10%, 77%. 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#C5CABE

RGB197, 202, 190

HSL85°, 10%, 77%

HSV85°, 6%, 79%

CMYK2, 0, 6, 21

Decimal12962494

CSS RGBrgb(197, 202, 190)

CSS HSLhsl(85, 10%, 77%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

PPG

Life Lesson 1128-3

Exact match

Dulux

Pale Green Tea SG5F1

ΔE 0.9 · #C4C8BD

Dutch Boy

Florito DCP-0371

ΔE 1.3 · #C9CBBE

Valspar

Mellow Tune 5003-1B

ΔE 1.3 · #C6CCC2

Benjamin Moore

Gray 1570 · CC-670

ΔE 1.5 · #C0C7BC

Colorhouse

Leaf .03 Leaf-03

ΔE 1.6 · #C9CDBF

Vista Paint

Favored One C-454

ΔE 1.6 · #C1CABD

Behr

Shy Green MQ3-48

ΔE 2.1 · #C9CFC5

Hallman-Lindsay

Favored One 455

ΔE 2.3 · #BFCABD

Sherwin-Williams

Frostwork SW0059

ΔE 2.3 · #CBD0C2

Dunn-Edwards

Silhouette DE6276

ΔE 2.4 · #CBCDC4

Kilz

Loden Frost TB-73

ΔE 2.7 · #BEC5B6

Farrow & Ball

Teresa's Green 236

ΔE 3 · #C0CDC2

IKEA

IKEA187 187

ΔE 4.7 · #BEBFB8

RAL

Silk Grey 7044

ΔE 6.2 · #CAC4B0

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 6.4 · #CDCECD

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

58/100

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

TemperatureNeutral MasstoneYellow-Green UndertoneYellow

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

Color Theory

Complementary

#C5CABE

#C3BECA

Analogous

#CAC9BE

#C5CABE

#BFCABE

Triadic

#C5CABE

#BEC5CA

#CABEC5

Split-Complementary

#C5CABE

#BEBFCA

#C9BECA

Tetradic

#C5CABE

#BECAC9

#C3BECA

#CABEBF

Monochromatic

#7A846C

#A0A894

#C5CABE

#EBEDE9

#F2F4F1

Rectangle

#C5CABE

#BECAC3

#C3BECA

#CABEC5

Compound

#C5CABE

#BFCABE

#C3BECA

#C9BECA

Variations

Lighter

#D1D5CB

#DCDFD9

#EBECE9

Darker

#9FA793

#6E7860

#404638

Saturation

#C5C6C3

#C5CABE

#CAE5A4

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

1.67:1

Fail

vs Black

12.57:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#C5CABE

#CAC7BF

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#C5CABE

#C9C9C0

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#C5CABE

#C6C8C9

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Life Lesson 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

#D3C4AA

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#C5CABE

Daylight 5500K

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

#C0C9CE

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.

#F7F7F7

Ceiling

Whisper tint

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

#A391BD

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: #C5CABE;

CSS — background

background-color: #C5CABE;

CSS Variable

--color-life-lesson: #C5CABE;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'life-lesson': '#C5CABE' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#C5CABE] text-[#C5CABE]

SCSS

$life-lesson: #C5CABE;

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#CECEC0 · ΔE 2.8

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#C8C6B9 · ΔE 2.8

Silver Song

#C2C3B9 · ΔE 2.8

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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 #C5CABE?

#C5CABE is Life Lesson, a soft neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #C5CABE warm or cool?

Life Lesson reads cool, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Life Lesson?

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

What colors pair well with Life Lesson?

Life Lesson 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 Life Lesson?

You can download Life Lesson 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 Life Lesson?

The hex code is #C5CABE. In RGB it's 197, 202, 190, and in HSL it's 85°, 10%, 77%.

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