NEUTRALS

Passive

#CBCCC9

RGB 203, 204, 201 · HSL 80°, 3%, 79% · CMYK 0, 0, 1, 20

Passive is #CBCCC9 in HEX — rgb(203, 204, 201), hsl(80°, 3%, 79%), cmyk(0%, 0%, 1%, 20%).

Passive pulls into the airy end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 80°, 3%, 79%. 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#CBCCC9

RGB203, 204, 201

HSL80°, 3%, 79%

HSV80°, 1%, 80%

CMYK0, 0, 1, 20

Decimal13356233

CSS RGBrgb(203, 204, 201)

CSS HSLhsl(80, 3%, 79%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Sherwin-Williams

Passive SW7064

Exact match

Benjamin Moore

Metro 1459

ΔE 0.7 · #CBCBC9

Vista Paint

Fading Fog K-830

ΔE 0.7 · #CBCBC7

Behr

Mexican Silver QE-49

ΔE 0.9 · #CCCBC7

Valspar

Filtered Shade 4003-1B

ΔE 1.1 · #CDCBC8

Dulux

Snow Season SN4B3

ΔE 1.1 · #CBCECC

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 1.3 · #CDCECD

Hallman-Lindsay

Nomadic Travels 524

ΔE 1.3 · #CACECC

Kilz

Chalk Gray RJ230

ΔE 1.5 · #CED0CE

Farrow & Ball

Skylight 205

ΔE 1.6 · #CCD0CD

Dutch Boy

Laguna White 7411

ΔE 1.6 · #C8CDC9

PPG

Free Reign 1004-2

ΔE 2 · #D1CDCA

Dunn-Edwards

Ice Gray DEC790

ΔE 2.1 · #CAC7C4

RAL

Telegrey 4 7047

ΔE 2.3 · #D0D0D0

Colorhouse

Wool .02 Wool-02

ΔE 4.2 · #C1CDCD

IKEA

IKEA127 127

ΔE 4.8 · #D0D4D8

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

60/100

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

#CBCCC9

#C9C8CB

Analogous

#CBCBC8

#CBCCC9

#C8CBC8

Triadic

#CBCCC9

#C8CACB

#CBC8CA

Split-Complementary

#CBCCC9

#C8C8CB

#CBC8CB

Tetradic

#CBCCC9

#C8CBCB

#C9C8CB

#CBC8C8

Monochromatic

#7E8179

#A4A6A0

#CBCCC9

#F0F0EF

#F2F3F2

Rectangle

#CBCCC9

#C8CBC9

#C9C8CB

#CBC8CA

Compound

#CBCCC9

#C8CBC8

#C9C8CB

#CBC8CB

Variations

Lighter

#D5D5D3

#DFE0DE

#ECEDEC

Darker

#A2A49E

#70726B

#41433E

Saturation

#CACAC9

#CACBC8

#D3E5AE

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

1.61:1

Fail

vs Black

13.02:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#CBCCC9

#CCCBCA

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#CBCCC9

#CCCCC9

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#CBCCC9

#CBCCCC

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Passive 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

#D8C6B2

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#CBCCC9

Daylight 5500K

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

#C5CBD6

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.

#A496C0

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 · Trim · Ceilings · 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: #CBCCC9;

CSS — background

background-color: #CBCCC9;

CSS Variable

--color-passive: #CBCCC9;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'passive': '#CBCCC9' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#CBCCC9] text-[#CBCCC9]

SCSS

$passive: #CBCCC9;

Similar Colors

Perspective®

#CBCDCA · ΔE 0.5

Metro Gray

#CACAC8 · ΔE 0.9

Cement Gray

#CDCCCA · ΔE 0.9

Stonington Gray

#CACBC5 · ΔE 1.6

Sleigh Bells

#CBCFC9 · ΔE 2.1

Harbor Gray

#C7C7C2 · ΔE 2.1

Pebble Beach

#C8CDCD · ΔE 2.1

Whitestone

#C9CECE · 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 #CBCCC9?

#CBCCC9 is Passive, a soft neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #CBCCC9 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Passive?

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

What colors pair well with Passive?

Passive 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 Passive?

You can download Passive 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 Passive?

The hex code is #CBCCC9. In RGB it's 203, 204, 201, and in HSL it's 80°, 3%, 79%.

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