NEUTRALS

Pipe Clay

#CBC8BD

RGB 203, 200, 189 · HSL 47°, 12%, 77% · CMYK 0, 1, 7, 20

Pipe Clay is #CBC8BD in HEX — rgb(203, 200, 189), hsl(47°, 12%, 77%), cmyk(0%, 1%, 7%, 20%).

Pipe Clay pulls into the light end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 47°, 12%, 77%. The neutral saturation makes it near-neutral and forgiving, and the hue reads warm. 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#CBC8BD

RGB203, 200, 189

HSL47°, 12%, 77%

HSV47°, 7%, 80%

CMYK0, 1, 7, 20

Decimal13355197

CSS RGBrgb(203, 200, 189)

CSS HSLhsl(47, 12%, 77%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Pipe Clay S16A1

Exact match

Benjamin Moore

Apparition 860

ΔE 0.8 · #CDC9BF

Sherwin-Williams

Repose Gray SW7015

ΔE 1.1 · #CCC9C0

Kilz

Smoke Ring RK100

ΔE 1.2 · #C9C7BE

Hallman-Lindsay

Hidden Cove 210

ΔE 1.2 · #CDC7BD

Vista Paint

Hidden Cove C-209

ΔE 1.3 · #CDC7BB

PPG

Swirling Smoke 1007-2

ΔE 1.4 · #CECAC1

Colorhouse

Stone .04 Stone-04

ΔE 1.9 · #C9CABD

Behr

Wheat Bread 720C-3

ΔE 2 · #CDC5BA

Valspar

Villa Grey 6005-1B

ΔE 2 · #D1CCBF

Dutch Boy

Florito DCP-0371

ΔE 2.2 · #C9CBBE

Farrow & Ball

Cornforth White 228

ΔE 2.4 · #D1CBC3

Dunn-Edwards

Silhouette DE6276

ΔE 2.6 · #CBCDC4

IKEA

IKEA173 173

ΔE 3.8 · #D1C9B8

RAL

Silk Grey 7044

ΔE 5.1 · #CAC4B0

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 5.9 · #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

TemperatureWarm MasstoneYellow UndertoneGreen

Reads as a warm yellow with a green undertone showing through, especially in daylight. Pair trim and adjacent colours to either calm or amplify that undertone.

Color Theory

Complementary

#CBC8BD

#BDC0CB

Analogous

#CBC1BD

#CBC8BD

#C7CBBD

Triadic

#CBC8BD

#BDCBC8

#C8BDCB

Split-Complementary

#CBC8BD

#BDC7CB

#C1BDCB

Tetradic

#CBC8BD

#BDCBC1

#BDC0CB

#CBBDC7

Monochromatic

#868069

#AAA592

#CBC8BD

#EDECE8

#F4F3F1

Rectangle

#CBC8BD

#C0CBBD

#BDC0CB

#C8BDCB

Compound

#CBC8BD

#C7CBBD

#BDC0CB

#C1BDCB

Variations

Lighter

#D6D3CA

#DFDED8

#ECEBE9

Darker

#A9A491

#7A745E

#484436

Saturation

#C6C6C2

#CBC8BD

#E5D7A4

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

1.68:1

Fail

vs Black

12.54:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#CBC8BD

#CBC8BE

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#CBC8BD

#C9C9BE

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#CBC8BD

#CCC6C8

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Pipe Clay 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

#D8C3A9

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#CBC8BD

Daylight 5500K

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

#C5C8CD

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.

#919ABD

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: #CBC8BD;

CSS — background

background-color: #CBC8BD;

CSS Variable

--color-pipe-clay: #CBC8BD;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'pipe-clay': '#CBC8BD' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#CBC8BD] text-[#CBC8BD]

SCSS

$pipe-clay: #CBC8BD;

Similar Colors

Apparition

#CCC8BE · ΔE 0.7

London Fog

#CCC7BD · ΔE 0.9

Brushed Aluminum

#C8C6B9 · ΔE 1.4

Seattle Mist

#C9C5B8 · ΔE 1.6

Rodeo

#D0CDC2 · ΔE 1.8

Revere Pewter

#CBC6B8 · ΔE 1.9

Wish

#CFCAC2 · ΔE 2.0

Nimbus

#CFCCC4 · ΔE 2.2

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 #CBC8BD?

#CBC8BD is Pipe Clay, a soft neutral with a warm undertone.

Is #CBC8BD warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Pipe Clay?

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

What colors pair well with Pipe Clay?

Pipe Clay 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 Pipe Clay?

You can download Pipe Clay 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 Pipe Clay?

The hex code is #CBC8BD. In RGB it's 203, 200, 189, and in HSL it's 47°, 12%, 77%.

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