NEUTRALS

Serious Grey

#CEC9C7

RGB 206, 201, 199 · HSL 17°, 7%, 79% · CMYK 0, 2, 3, 19

Serious Grey is #CEC9C7 in HEX — rgb(206, 201, 199), hsl(17°, 7%, 79%), cmyk(0%, 2%, 3%, 19%).

Serious Grey pulls into the airy end of the neutrals spectrum — HSL 17°, 7%, 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#CEC9C7

RGB206, 201, 199

HSL17°, 7%, 79%

HSV17°, 3%, 81%

CMYK0, 2, 3, 19

Decimal13552071

CSS RGBrgb(206, 201, 199)

CSS HSLhsl(17, 7%, 79%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Dulux

Warm Ash S06A1

ΔE 0.4 · #CFC9C7

Sherwin-Williams

Grayish SW6001

ΔE 0.6 · #CFCAC7

Valspar

Modest Silver 4002-1A

ΔE 0.8 · #D0CAC7

Dunn-Edwards

Ice Gray DEC790

ΔE 1.3 · #CAC7C4

PPG

Free Reign 1004-2

ΔE 1.5 · #D1CDCA

Behr

Vintage Taupe 750A-3

ΔE 1.5 · #CAC5C4

Hallman-Lindsay

Orchid Shadow 551

ΔE 1.5 · #CBC5C2

Vista Paint

Silver Queen K-821

ΔE 1.7 · #CAC8C4

Benjamin Moore

Cement 2112-60

ΔE 1.9 · #CECDCB

Farrow & Ball

Worsted 284

ΔE 2.1 · #D3CFCD

Kilz

Boardwalk RK130

ΔE 2.1 · #C8C6C2

Kobra

Silver 47

ΔE 2.6 · #CDCECD

Colorhouse

Air .07 Air-07

ΔE 2.8 · #CEC4C5

RAL

Telegrey 4 7047

ΔE 3 · #D0D0D0

Dutch Boy

Laguna White 7411

ΔE 3.9 · #C8CDC9

IKEA

IKEA187 187

ΔE 5.5 · #BEBFB8

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

59/100

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 MasstoneOrange 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

#CEC9C7

#C6CBCD

Analogous

#CDC6C7

#CEC9C7

#CDCCC6

Triadic

#CEC9C7

#C6CDC8

#C8C6CD

Split-Complementary

#CEC9C7

#C6CDCC

#C6C7CD

Tetradic

#CEC9C7

#C7CDC6

#C6CBCD

#CCC6CD

Monochromatic

#867974

#AAA09D

#CEC9C7

#F1EFEF

#F3F2F1

Rectangle

#CEC9C7

#CBCDC6

#C6CBCD

#C8C6CD

Compound

#CEC9C7

#CDCCC6

#C6CBCD

#C6C7CD

Variations

Lighter

#D7D3D1

#E1DEDD

#EDECEB

Darker

#A89E9A

#776B66

#463E3B

Saturation

#CBC9C8

#CDC8C6

#E6BDAD

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

1.64:1

Fail

vs Black

12.80:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#CEC9C7

#CBCBC8

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#CEC9C7

#CACAC7

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#CEC9C7

#CEC9C9

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Quiet · Versatile

Serious Grey 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

#DAC3B0

Warm Bulb 2700K

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

#CEC9C7

Daylight 5500K

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

#C7C8D5

Cool Bulb 6500K

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

Pairs With

#EBEAEA

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.

#96B4C0

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: #CEC9C7;

CSS — background

background-color: #CEC9C7;

CSS Variable

--color-serious-grey: #CEC9C7;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'serious-grey': '#CEC9C7' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#CEC9C7] text-[#CEC9C7]

SCSS

$serious-grey: #CEC9C7;

Similar Colors

Cement Gray

#CDCCCA · ΔE 1.7

Metro Gray

#CACAC8 · ΔE 1.8

Angelica

#D4CECB · ΔE 2.0

Portland Gray

#D3CCC7 · ΔE 2.1

Porcelain

#D0C5C5 · ΔE 2.6

Violet Pearl

#D3CFD0 · ΔE 2.7

Harbor Gray

#C7C7C2 · ΔE 2.7

Perspective®

#CBCDCA · ΔE 2.8

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 #CEC9C7?

#CEC9C7 is Serious Grey, a soft neutral with a cool undertone.

Is #CEC9C7 warm or cool?

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

What rooms work best with Serious Grey?

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

What colors pair well with Serious Grey?

Serious Grey 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 Serious Grey?

You can download Serious Grey 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 Serious Grey?

The hex code is #CEC9C7. In RGB it's 206, 201, 199, and in HSL it's 17°, 7%, 79%.

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