Color guide · Dutch Boy · Gray

Purple Shimmer

243-2DB · #BABBC8 · LRV 50 · cool blue tone

243-2DB · #BABBC8 · LRV 50 — cool blue tone, light — bounces daylight without going clinical.

Purple ShimmerDutch Boy · 243-2DB
The color, edge to edge.Use your own photo →
Purple Shimmer
DUTCH BOY · 243-2DB · #BABBC8
Brand · codeDutch Boy243-2DB · all Dutch Boy grays
LRV50Light — bounces daylight without going clinical.
Undertonecool blue tone
FamilyGray
Hex · RGB · HSL#BABBC8 · 186, 187, 200 · 236°, 11%, 76%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. 1Retreat21
  2. 2Stardew43
  3. 3Purple Shimmer50
  4. 4Upward57
  5. 5Sea Salt63
Undertone and depth

What Color Is Purple Shimmer, Really?

Purple Shimmer reads as a cool blue tone — light — bounces daylight without going clinical. The notes below cover how Dutch Boy 243-2DB behaves in different light and the closest matches at competing US brands.

Room by room

Best Rooms and Uses for Purple Shimmer

Purple Shimmer 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. Grays like this read as a modern neutral and sit comfortably alongside both warm woods and cool metals.

Light by light

How Lighting Changes Purple Shimmer

At LRV 50, Purple Shimmer 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 Purple Shimmer 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 243-2DB 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 Purple Shimmer 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 Purple Shimmer · 11 : 1 · passes AA and AAAWhite text on Purple Shimmer · 1.9 : 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 #BABBC8 in HSL space. Pair Purple Shimmer with one accent and one neutral — the swatches below are starting points, not final picks.

COMPLEMENTARY
#BABBC8 + #C8C7BA
TRIADIC
#BABBC8 · #C8BABB · #BBC8BA
ANALOGOUS
#BAC2C8 · #BABBC8 · #C0BAC8

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Jessica Williams

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