ORANGES

Balsam Brown

#CBA874

RGB 203, 168, 116 · HSL 36°, 46%, 63% · CMYK 0, 17, 43, 20

Balsam Brown is #CBA874 in HEX — rgb(203, 168, 116), hsl(36°, 46%, 63%), cmyk(0%, 17%, 43%, 20%).

Balsam Brown pulls into the light end of the oranges spectrum — HSL 36°, 46%, 63%. The balanced saturation makes it confident without overpowering, 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#CBA874

RGB203, 168, 116

HSL36°, 46%, 63%

HSV36°, 43%, 80%

CMYK0, 17, 43, 20

Decimal13346932

CSS RGBrgb(203, 168, 116)

CSS HSLhsl(36, 46%, 63%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Kilz

Golden Compass TB-87

ΔE 1.6 · #CFA974

Vista Paint

Balsam Brown K-995

ΔE 1.6 · #CCA978

Benjamin Moore

Gingerbread 1111

ΔE 1.8 · #CBA573

Behr

Fresh Sawdust BXC-70

ΔE 1.9 · #C7A370

PPG

Burnt Ivory 15-08

ΔE 2 · #CCA571

Sherwin-Williams

Vintage Gold SW9024

ΔE 2.8 · #CBA576

Hallman-Lindsay

Gold Tweed 884

ΔE 2.9 · #C9AB73

Valspar

Antelope Hide 3005-7B

ΔE 3.5 · #C3A069

Dunn-Edwards

Bread Pudding DE6159

ΔE 3.9 · #BFA270

IKEA

IKEA144 144

ΔE 4.3 · #D9B27D

Dulux

Pale Clay S11F4

ΔE 4.7 · #DAAF7D

Colorhouse

Clay .01 Clay-01

ΔE 5 · #C49C6D

RAL

Sand Yellow 1002

ΔE 7.3 · #C6A664

Dutch Boy

Crisp Biscuit VS-9220

ΔE 9.4 · #E3C28D

Kobra

Beige 03

ΔE 9.5 · #BA9873

Farrow & Ball

Sudbury Yellow 51

ΔE 10.4 · #DCB771

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

42/100

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

#CBA874

#7598CC

Analogous

#CC7E75

#CBA874

#C3CC75

Triadic

#CBA874

#75CCA9

#A975CC

Split-Complementary

#CBA874

#75C3CC

#7E75CC

Tetradic

#CBA874

#75CC7E

#7598CC

#CC75C3

Monochromatic

#7B5C2D

#B38642

#CBA874

#E1CCAD

#F5EFE5

Rectangle

#CBA874

#98CC75

#7598CC

#A975CC

Compound

#CBA874

#C3CC75

#7598CC

#7E75CC

Variations

Lighter

#D6BA91

#DDCBB0

#E9E0D3

Darker

#BE8D43

#85612C

#4F3918

Saturation

#AEA394

#CCA975

#E6AE5C

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

2.24:1

Fail

vs Black

9.39:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#CBA874

#BEB174

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#CBA874

#AFAF7C

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#CBA874

#CDA2A8

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Warm · Inviting

Balsam Brown 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

#D8AB72

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#CBA874

Daylight 5500K

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

#C5B096

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.

#5A7FB7

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: #CBA874;

CSS — background

background-color: #CBA874;

CSS Variable

--color-balsam-brown: #CBA874;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'balsam-brown': '#CBA874' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#CBA874] text-[#CBA874]

SCSS

$balsam-brown: #CBA874;

Similar Colors

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#CDA674 · ΔE 2.0

Ginger Root

#CAA472 · ΔE 2.0

Guesthouse

#CAA77A · ΔE 3.6

Summerdale Gold

#C1A873 · ΔE 4.4

Dark Beige

#D8B281 · ΔE 4.4

Roxbury Caramel

#CAA378 · ΔE 4.9

Tavern Ochre

#D6AE73 · ΔE 4.9

Citrine

#C8AB6E · ΔE 5.0

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 #CBA874?

#CBA874 is Balsam Brown, a soft orange with a warm undertone.

Is #CBA874 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Balsam Brown?

Balsam Brown 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 Balsam Brown?

Balsam Brown 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 Balsam Brown?

You can download Balsam Brown 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 Balsam Brown?

The hex code is #CBA874. In RGB it's 203, 168, 116, and in HSL it's 36°, 46%, 63%.

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