Color guide · Dutch Boy · Blue

Water Drop

238-3DB · #A3C3D8 · LRV 52 · cool blue tone

238-3DB · #A3C3D8 · LRV 52 — cool blue tone, light — bounces daylight without going clinical.

Water DropDutch Boy · 238-3DB
The color, edge to edge.Use your own photo →
Water Drop
DUTCH BOY · 238-3DB · #A3C3D8
Brand · codeDutch Boy238-3DB · all Dutch Boy blues
LRV52Light — bounces daylight without going clinical.
Undertonecool blue tone
FamilyBlue
Hex · RGB · HSL#A3C3D8 · 163, 195, 216 · 204°, 40%, 74%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. 1Williamsburg Wedgwood Blue28
  2. 2Resolute Blue40
  3. 3Water Drop52
  4. 4Honolulu Blue62
  5. 5After Rain68
Undertone and depth

What Color Is Water Drop, Really?

Water Drop reads as a cool blue tone — light — bounces daylight without going clinical. The notes below cover how Dutch Boy 238-3DB behaves in different light and the closest matches at competing US brands.

Room by room

Best Rooms and Uses for Water Drop

Water Drop 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 Water Drop

At LRV 52, Water Drop 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 Water Drop 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 238-3DB 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 Water Drop 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 Water Drop · 11.4 : 1 · passes AA and AAAWhite text on Water Drop · 1.8 : 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 #A3C3D8 in HSL space. Pair Water Drop with one accent and one neutral — the swatches below are starting points, not final picks.

COMPLEMENTARY
#A3C3D8 + #D8B8A3
TRIADIC
#A3C3D8 · #D8A3C3 · #C3D8A3
ANALOGOUS
#A3D8D3 · #A3C3D8 · #A3A8D8

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Jessica Williams

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