Color guide · Dutch Boy · Blue

Cobalt Salt

138-4DB · #B0D1E7 · LRV 60 · cool blue tone

138-4DB · #B0D1E7 · LRV 60 — cool blue tone, light — bounces daylight without going clinical.

Cobalt SaltDutch Boy · 138-4DB
The color, edge to edge.Use your own photo →
Cobalt Salt
DUTCH BOY · 138-4DB · #B0D1E7
Brand · codeDutch Boy138-4DB · all Dutch Boy blues
LRV60Light — bounces daylight without going clinical.
Undertonecool blue tone
FamilyBlue
Hex · RGB · HSL#B0D1E7 · 176, 209, 231 · 204°, 53%, 80%Display values from the brand. Match it at another brand
Sheen we recommendEggshell on walls · satin on trim and cabinetsWhich sheen where, explained
Where it sits, light to dark
  1. 1Resolute Blue40
  2. 2Lost in the 80s51
  3. 3Cobalt Salt60
  4. 4After Rain68
  5. 5Bashful Blue74
Undertone and depth

What Color Is Cobalt Salt, Really?

Cobalt Salt reads as a cool blue tone — light — bounces daylight without going clinical. The notes below cover how Dutch Boy 138-4DB behaves in different light and the closest matches at competing US brands.

Room by room

Best Rooms and Uses for Cobalt Salt

Cobalt Salt is an easy whole-room color for living spaces and bedrooms, and light enough to carry onto trim or a ceiling if you want a soft, seamless look. Blues calm a room, which makes them popular in bedrooms, bathrooms and home offices.

Light by light

How Lighting Changes Cobalt Salt

At LRV 60, Cobalt Salt is a light color that bounces daylight around a room without tipping into stark white. Its blue undertone is the part to watch: it gets picked up by whatever sits next to it, so test it against your trim, floor and the room's main light before committing. It holds its undertone in most exposures, which is what makes light shades like this so forgiving room to room.

Test it in your light, not a showroom's

Most complaints about Cobalt Salt are a light mismatch. Upload a photo of your actual room and see it on your walls — then ask for the same wall in north light or evening lamps before you buy a single sample.

Upload a photoPainted in about a minuteFree, no account
Visualize in your room
Same color, different store

Need It From Another Brand?

Any paint counter can custom-tint Dutch Boy 138-4DB directly. If you would rather stay in one brand's own deck, these are the closest stock matches, measured as ΔE2000. Under 2 is a difference you will not see on the wall.

Same deck, next chip over

Similar Dutch Boy Colors

The nearest shades to Cobalt Salt within Dutch Boy's own range, ranked by perceptual color distance — useful when you want the same look a touch lighter, darker, or warmer.

Contrast, for text and signage
Black text on Cobalt Salt · 13.1 : 1 · passes AA and AAAWhite text on Cobalt Salt · 1.6 : 1 · fails for text

WCAG 2.1: AA is 4.5 : 1 for normal text, 3 : 1 for large text, AAA is 7 : 1.

Coordinated palette

Generated by hue-rotating #B0D1E7 in HSL space. Pair Cobalt Salt with one accent and one neutral — the swatches below are starting points, not final picks.

COMPLEMENTARY
#B0D1E7 + #E7C6B0
TRIADIC
#B0D1E7 · #E7B0D1 · #D1E7B0
ANALOGOUS
#B0E7E2 · #B0D1E7 · #B0B6E7

Have you painted with Cobalt Salt?

Rate it — one tap helps the next reader decide.

Ask a Question

Jessica Williams

Not sure about Cobalt Salt in your room?

Ask Jessica below — every question gets a real reply, usually within a day.

Keep exploring