Colors that go with Hidden Gem for a living room
Hidden Gem · #5E7A72
Hidden Gem (#5E7A72) — smokey jade — Behr's 2026 colour of the year, N430-6A (swatch is an honest sRGB approximation — the official code is authoritative) — pairs best with muted red, terracotta & clay, ochre & gold, and teal. In a living room, ground it with muted red, drawn from 8 historically-grounded combinations below.
A living room can take a stronger pairing — one grounding partner plus a warm accent keeps a shared space inviting without going flat.
About hidden gem
Hidden Gem is smokey jade — Behr's 2026 colour of the year, N430-6A (swatch is an honest sRGB approximation — the official code is authoritative) — a nearly neutral, cool colour that reads as deep and grounding. As a cool tone it looks most resolved next to warm and neutral partners that add the warmth it lacks, and it needs both lighter and deeper shades nearby for the value contrast the eye reads as finished. That balance is what makes it feel warm in a living room.
- HEX
- #5E7A72
- RGB
- 94, 122, 114
- HSL
- 163°, 13%, 42%
- CMYK
- 23, 0, 7, 52
Accessibility: put light text on hidden gem for AA legibility (contrast 4.5:1 against off-white).
Why hidden gem pairs with muted red, terracotta & clay, ochre & gold, and teal
Across the 8 historical combinations below, hidden gem sits most often beside muted red, terracotta & clay, ochre & gold, and teal. That tracks with colour theory: a cool, deep tone like this one wants warm and neutral partners that add the warmth it lacks so the scheme feels intentional rather than flat, and both lighter and deeper partners supply the light-to-dark range the eye needs. A living room can take a stronger pairing — one grounding partner plus a warm accent keeps a shared space inviting without going flat.
- muted red
- terracotta & clay
- ochre & gold
- teal
Using hidden gem in a living room
In a living room, ground it with muted red and terracotta & clay. Because hidden gem is deep and grounding, keep it to anchor pieces or a single feature area and let muted red carry the larger surfaces.
8 combinations with hidden gem, from the 1933 Dictionary
Light Brown Drab & Vinaceous Tawny +2
Plate 244 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Light Brown Drab, Vinaceous Tawny, Andover Green, Antwarp Blue.
#6d7e77 #b59392 #c56127 #007190
Sulphine Yellow & Pale Raw Umber +1
Plate 160 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Sulphine Yellow, Pale Raw Umber, Dark Medici Blue.
#547076 #c19f2c #71502f
Spinel Red & Dark Medici Blue +1
Plate 224 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Spinel Red, Dark Medici Blue, Taupe Brown.
#547076 #f27291 #7a4456
Red Orange & Pale Lemon Yellow +2
Plate 241 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Red Orange, Pale Lemon Yellow, Isabella Color, Dark Medici Blue.
#547076 #dd4027 #ffefae #c5a56e
Hay's Russet & Ecru +2
Plate 249 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Hay's Russet, Ecru, Olive Ocher, Dark Medici Blue.
#547076 #793327 #c2ae93 #d6b43e
Celadon & Unbleached
Celadon pottery green beside the unbleached warmth of raw silk.
#6E7B6A #8DB6A5 #F3EBDA
Deep Violet / Plumbeous & Veronia Purple +1
Plate 183 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Deep Violet / Plumbeous, Veronia Purple, Red Violet.
#70727c #8c4c62 #59256a
Cream Yellow & Vandyke Brown +1
Plate 192 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Cream Yellow, Vandyke Brown, Deep Violet / Plumbeous.
#70727c #fdbf68 #4b3317
Hidden Gem in other settings
Other colors
Studio
Work with this pairing
You have the hex codes for Hidden Gem for a living room. These are the materials a colour study like this actually gets made with.
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Strathmore
300 Series watercolour pad, 140 lb cold press
140 lb cold press is the weight that takes a wet wash without buckling — the paper most colour studies end up on.
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Pentel
Fude Touch brush sign pen
A felt brush tip for the labelling and linework around a swatch study — the annotation half of a colour notebook.
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Library
Go deeper on colour
The colour-theory books behind pairings like Hidden Gem — history, reference and the science of what works together.
Torn between the two Wada dictionaries? Vol 1 vs Vol 2, compared plate by plate →
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