Warm Gray Color Palette
Warm Gray Color Palette built around #C9BEB0, a light warm neutral anchor (WCAG contrast 1.83:1 against white). The set combines a light tint + a deep shade + a softened complement + a neutral ground so any palette position has a text-safe pairing.
Semantic roles
Assigned deterministically: lightest = background, darkest = text, most saturated = primary.
| background | #ECE7E0 | |
| surface | #C9BEB0 | |
| text | #665F56 | |
| text-muted | #AEA599 | |
| primary | #C9BEB0 | |
| secondary | #B6BCC3 | |
| accent | #AEA599 |
CSS variables
:root {
--background: #ece7e0;
--surface: #c9beb0;
--text: #665f56;
--text-muted: #aea599;
--primary: #c9beb0;
--secondary: #b6bcc3;
--accent: #aea599;
}Accessibility matrix
Text color (rows) on background (columns). Green = WCAG AA pass for normal text (≥4.5:1).
| Text \ BG | #C9BEB0 | #ECE7E0 | #665F56 | #B6BCC3 | #AEA599 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #C9BEB0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 3.4 | 1.1 | 1.3 |
| #ECE7E0 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 5.1 | 1.6 | 2.0 |
| #665F56 | 3.4 | 5.1 | 1.0 | 3.3 | 2.6 |
| #B6BCC3 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 |
| #AEA599 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 1.0 |
Under deuteranopia
Machado et al. (2009) simulation, severity 1.0 — approximation, not a medical tool.
Colors in this palette
Similar palettes
FAQ
How do I use the warm gray color palette in CSS?
Copy the CSS variables below into :root and use var(--primary), var(--background) etc. Full palette: #C9BEB0, #ECE7E0, #665F56, #B6BCC3, #AEA599.
Do these colors pass accessibility checks?
See the WCAG matrix on this page: every text-on-background pairing with ratio ≥ 4.5 passes AA for normal text; ≥ 3 passes AA for large text and UI components.