How Handsome
1040-4 · #A0AEB8 · LRV 41 — cool blue tone, mid-tone — versatile but shifts visibly with light.
- 1Pewter Green12
- 2Retreat21
- 3How Handsome41
- 4Upward57
- 5Sea Salt63
What Color Is How Handsome, Really?
How Handsome reads as a cool blue tone — mid-tone — versatile but shifts visibly with light. The notes below cover how PPG / Glidden 1040-4 behaves in different light and the closest matches at competing US brands.
Best Rooms and Uses for How Handsome
How Handsome is versatile enough for full rooms but has enough depth to anchor a space, so it suits living rooms, bedrooms and cabinetry alike. Grays like this read as a modern neutral and sit comfortably alongside both warm woods and cool metals.
How Lighting Changes How Handsome
How Handsome sits in the mid-range at LRV 41, so it shifts visibly through the day — lighter and more open in morning light, deeper and moodier after dark. 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. South-facing rooms will pull it lighter and warmer, while north light cools it down.
Most complaints about How Handsome 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.
Need It From Another Brand?
Any paint counter can custom-tint PPG / Glidden 1040-4 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.
| Brand | Closest color | ΔE | LRV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherwin-Williams | Aqua-SphereSW 7613 · Sherwin-Williams | 4.9 | 41 | Color page → |
| Behr | OvationMQ5-59 · Behr | 3.2 | 41 | Color page → |
| Benjamin Moore | Little Falls1621 · Benjamin Moore | 0.5 | 41 | Color page → |
| Valspar | Hibernate8004-41C · Valspar | 1.1 | 43 | Color page → |
| Glidden | Set in StonePPG1040-4 · Glidden | 0.0 | 41 | Color page → |
| Dutch Boy | Fogged In433-3DB · Dutch Boy | 0.5 | 41 | Color page → |
Similar PPG / Glidden Colors
The nearest shades to How Handsome within PPG / Glidden's own range, ranked by perceptual color distance — useful when you want the same look a touch lighter, darker, or warmer.
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 #A0AEB8 in HSL space. Pair How Handsome with one accent and one neutral — the swatches below are starting points, not final picks.
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