#E9E7E2
#A3A19C
#5F5E5B
#191919
Background
Primary Accent
Secondary
Body Text

Chimney Smoke Color Palette

#E9E7E2 · #A3A19C · #5F5E5B · #191919

AAA
WCAG Grade
14.2:1
Contrast Ratio
555
Saves
2,310
AI Copies
AI Prompt

Use #E9E7E2 as the background. Use #A3A19C as the primary accent. Use #5F5E5B as secondary. Use #191919 as body text/supporting color. Palette mood: Chimney Smoke — vintage, mono, moody, earthy, night.

Hex Codes, RGB & CMYK Color Values

Technical breakdown for the Chimney Smoke color scheme. Use these values for web design (HEX/RGB), print projects (CMYK), or specialized design software (HSL).

Swatch Design Role HEX RGB CMYK HSL
Background
Luminance: 80.0%
233, 231, 226 0%, 1%, 3%, 9% 43°, 14%, 90%
Primary Accent
Luminance: 35.7%
163, 161, 156 0%, 1%, 4%, 36% 43°, 4%, 63%
Secondary
Luminance: 11.2%
95, 94, 91 0%, 1%, 4%, 63% 45°, 2%, 36%
Body Text
Luminance: 1.0%
25, 25, 25 0%, 0%, 0%, 90% 0°, 0%, 10%

Chimney Smoke Tints & Shades

Hover states, borders and elevation need lighter and darker steps of your base colors. Here are computed tints and shades for every color in the Chimney Smoke palette — click any swatch to copy its hex.

#E9E7E2 muted orange
#A3A19C neutral gray
#5F5E5B neutral gray
#191919 neutral gray

Chimney Smoke Palette Contrast Matrix (WCAG 2.1)

Every color tested as text on every other color as background. Body copy needs 4.5:1 (AA), large text and UI components 3:1. AAA requires 7:1.

Text on Background Preview Ratio Grade Safe For
#191919 on #E9E7E2
Aa Sample Text
14.23:1 AAA Body text, headings, UI
#E9E7E2 on #191919
Aa Sample Text
14.23:1 AAA Body text, headings, UI
#191919 on #A3A19C
Aa Sample Text
6.81:1 AA Body text, UI
#A3A19C on #191919
Aa Sample Text
6.81:1 AA Body text, UI
#5F5E5B on #E9E7E2
Aa Sample Text
5.25:1 AA Body text, UI
#E9E7E2 on #5F5E5B
Aa Sample Text
5.25:1 AA Body text, UI
#191919 on #5F5E5B
Aa Sample Text
2.71:1 Fail Decorative use only
#5F5E5B on #191919
Aa Sample Text
2.71:1 Fail Decorative use only
#5F5E5B on #A3A19C
Aa Sample Text
2.51:1 Fail Decorative use only
#A3A19C on #5F5E5B
Aa Sample Text
2.51:1 Fail Decorative use only
#A3A19C on #E9E7E2
Aa Sample Text
2.09:1 Fail Decorative use only
#E9E7E2 on #A3A19C
Aa Sample Text
2.09:1 Fail Decorative use only

Chimney Smoke Color Psychology & Meaning

Chimney smoke is the only part of a house that behaves like weather, and on a still winter morning every street is marked with a vertical line, and this palette is brick pale with flue mid. It feels domestic and slow, the color of a terraced roofline in January.

Color Harmony: Custom Scheme

The Chimney Smoke palette is built using a custom relationship between its hues. This ensures that even with high-contrast accents, the overall scheme feels balanced and intentional.

Hue Wheel

A custom palette is often preferred by professional designers because it balances visual interest with cohesion.

History & Design Context

The 1956 Clean Air Act in Britain created smoke control areas partly because domestic coal smoke made city winters measurably darker than the surrounding countryside.

Best Design Use Cases

Use the brick pale for large surfaces, chimney gray for links and buttons, flue mid for fine details, and rooftop dark for text.

Industries This Palette Suits

Interiors, furniture, ceramics, hardware and homeware product design.

Colors That Pair Well With Chimney Smoke

Need a fifth color? These three companions are computed from the palette's own hue positions on the color wheel, so they extend the scheme without breaking its harmony.

blue

directly opposite #A3A19C on the wheel — the strongest accent for CTAs and highlights when you need maximum energy

yellow-green

30° beside #A3A19C — a calm secondary that extends the palette without adding tension

tinted neutral

a ink-black carrying the palette's own hue — perfect for surfaces and dividers

Using Chimney Smoke Without Breaking Accessibility

  • Avoid #A3A19C for small UI elements on #E9E7E2 — at 2.1:1 it misses the 3:1 WCAG threshold; darken it with a shade from the ramp below.
  • Set body text in #191919 — 14.2:1 against #E9E7E2 passes WCAG AA (AAA) for long-form reading.
  • Let #5F5E5B carry sidebars, cards and footers — at a mid lightness it separates zones without stealing focus from #A3A19C.

How to Implement the Chimney Smoke Color Scheme

To use this Chimney Smoke color palette in your web project, you can copy the following CSS variables or Tailwind CSS configuration. These roles ensure your UI maintains accessibility and visual hierarchy.

Option 1: CSS Variables

:root { 
  /* {name} Palette - ihatecolors.com */{'
'}  --color-bg: {colors[0]};{'
'}  --color-primary: {colors[1]};{'
'}  --color-secondary: {colors[2]};{'
'}  --color-text: {colors[3]};{'
'} {'}'}

Web Design Tip

Use #E9E7E2 for the main background and #A3A19C for primary buttons. This creates a high-contrast focal point.

Accessibility Note

The contrast ratio between #191919 and #E9E7E2 is 14.23:1 (AAA). Ensure your body text remains legible.

Chimney Smoke Palette — Frequently Asked Questions

What are the hex codes in the Chimney Smoke color palette?

The Chimney Smoke palette contains #E9E7E2, #A3A19C, #5F5E5B, #191919. Click any swatch on this page to copy its value, or export all four at once as CSS variables, Tailwind config, SCSS or a Figma-ready list.

Is the Chimney Smoke color palette accessible (WCAG)?

Yes for its strongest pairings: #191919 on #E9E7E2 reaches 14.2:1 (AAA). For body text always keep a 4.5:1 ratio and for large UI elements 3:1 — the full contrast matrix above shows the exact score for every color-on-color combination in this palette.

What colors go well with the Chimney Smoke palette?

Beyond its own four colors, #9D9FA4, #A6AA97, #151514 extend it naturally: the complementary hue for high-energy accents, an analogous neighbor for calm transitions, and a tinted neutral for surfaces. All three are computed from this palette's hues on the color wheel.

What mood does the Chimney Smoke palette create?

Chimney Smoke reads as vintage, mono, moody. Neutral gray drives the personality, grounded by muted orange — a combination that works best when the very light base gets most of the canvas.

Can I use the Chimney Smoke color palette commercially?

Yes. Individual color values can't be copyrighted, so the Chimney Smoke palette is free for personal, client and commercial work — websites, branding, apps, print and social content, with no attribution required.

How do I add the Chimney Smoke palette to Tailwind or CSS?

Use the export panel on this page: CSS variables, a Tailwind config block, SCSS variables, or a Figma copy list are generated from Chimney Smoke's exact values, including the tint and shade ramps shown above.

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