YELLOWS

Barley

#C9B281

RGB 201, 178, 129 · HSL 41°, 40%, 65% · CMYK 0, 11, 36, 21

Barley is #C9B281 in HEX — rgb(201, 178, 129), hsl(41°, 40%, 65%), cmyk(0%, 11%, 36%, 21%).

Barley pulls into the light end of the yellows spectrum — HSL 41°, 40%, 65%. The muted saturation makes it quiet but present, and the hue reads warm. In interior projects it shines on kitchens, breakfast nooks, kids' rooms, accent walls — bringing sunlight indoors. Reads best alongside white trim, natural linen, light oak, brushed brass.

Color Codes

HEX#C9B281

RGB201, 178, 129

HSL41°, 40%, 65%

HSV41°, 36%, 79%

CMYK0, 11, 36, 21

Decimal13218433

CSS RGBrgb(201, 178, 129)

CSS HSLhsl(41, 40%, 65%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Benjamin Moore

Barley 271

Exact match

Sherwin-Williams

Wheat Grass SW6408

ΔE 1.1 · #CBB584

Dulux

Aviva S16D4

ΔE 1.9 · #C5B27F

Dunn-Edwards

Desert Floor DE6186

ΔE 1.9 · #C6B183

Valspar

Tweed Jacket 3007-8A

ΔE 2.3 · #C6B083

PPG

Appalachian Trail 1105-5 · 12-22

ΔE 2.6 · #CFB989

Behr

Pocket Watch N290-5

ΔE 2.9 · #C1AE7A

Colorhouse

Stone .02 Stone-02

ΔE 3.6 · #C1A878

Vista Paint

Dubloon C-889

ΔE 3.6 · #D3B587

Hallman-Lindsay

Dubloon 890

ΔE 4.2 · #D5B688

Kilz

Pale Ale LE160-02

ΔE 4.2 · #D4BC8E

RAL

Beige 1001

ΔE 4.3 · #C2B078

Kobra

Beige 05

ΔE 5.9 · #D0C092

Farrow & Ball

Churlish Green 251

ΔE 7.1 · #C8BD83

IKEA

IKEA144 144

ΔE 7.5 · #D9B27D

Dutch Boy

Crisp Biscuit VS-9220

ΔE 8 · #E3C28D

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

46/100

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

#C9B281

#8299C9

Analogous

#C98F82

#C9B281

#BCC982

Triadic

#C9B281

#82C9B3

#B382C9

Split-Complementary

#C9B281

#82BCC9

#8F82C9

Tetradic

#C9B281

#82C98F

#8299C9

#C982BC

Monochromatic

#7D6636

#B3924D

#C9B281

#E0D3B8

#F7F4ED

Rectangle

#C9B281

#99C982

#8299C9

#B382C9

Compound

#C9B281

#BCC982

#8299C9

#8F82C9

Variations

Lighter

#D4C29B

#DCD0B7

#E9E3D7

Darker

#B89751

#836A33

#4D3E1D

Saturation

#B0AA9B

#C9B382

#E4BD67

Interior Use

Best Rooms

kitchens, breakfast nooks, kids' rooms

Best Uses

accent walls, ceilings, cabinetry highlights

Pairs With

white trim, natural linen, light oak, brushed brass

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

2.07:1

Fail

vs Black

10.17:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#C9B281

#C2B781

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#C9B281

#B6B689

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#C9B281

#CBACB1

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Bright · Optimistic

Barley brings light into spaces that lack it — kitchens, breakfast nooks, kids' rooms wake up under it. The trick with yellow is restraint: lean toward the muted/buttery end if you want it on walls; reserve high-chroma versions for accents and trim.

SymbolismSunlight, clarity, intellect

PersonalityCheerful, alert, sociable

sunlightclarityjoyalertnesskitchenmorning

How it looks under different light

#D6B27C

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#C9B281

Daylight 5500K

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

#C3B7A0

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#ECEBE9

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.

#667FB4

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: #C9B281;

CSS — background

background-color: #C9B281;

CSS Variable

--color-barley: #C9B281;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'barley': '#C9B281' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#C9B281] text-[#C9B281]

SCSS

$barley: #C9B281;

Similar Colors

Barley Grass

#C8B180 · ΔE 0.4

Sombrero

#CEB985 · ΔE 2.8

Wilmington Tan

#CCB084 · ΔE 3.2

Avant Garde

#C1A977 · ΔE 3.4

Bridgewater Tan

#C9AE84 · ΔE 4.0

Late Wheat

#CAB88C · ΔE 4.1

Westwood Tan

#C9B37A · ΔE 4.1

Henderson Buff

#CBBA84 · ΔE 4.1

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 #C9B281?

#C9B281 is Barley, a soft yellow with a warm undertone.

Is #C9B281 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Barley?

Barley works well in kitchens, breakfast nooks, kids' rooms. Designers typically use it for accent walls, ceilings, cabinetry highlights.

What colors pair well with Barley?

Barley pairs naturally with white trim, natural linen, light oak, brushed brass. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Barley?

You can download Barley 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 Barley?

The hex code is #C9B281. In RGB it's 201, 178, 129, and in HSL it's 41°, 40%, 65%.

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