#E8D8B0
#C8544E
#7AA89A
#2E2E30
Background
Primary Accent
Secondary
Body Text

Retro Kitchen Color Palette

#E8D8B0 · #C8544E · #7AA89A · #2E2E30

AAA
WCAG Grade
9.6:1
Contrast Ratio
734
Saves
3,044
AI Copies
AI Prompt

Use #E8D8B0 as the background. Use #C8544E as the primary accent. Use #7AA89A as secondary. Use #2E2E30 as body text/supporting color. Palette mood: Retro Kitchen — vintage, warm, candy, pastel.

Hex Codes, RGB & CMYK Color Values

Technical breakdown for the Retro Kitchen 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: 69.4%
232, 216, 176 0%, 7%, 24%, 9% 43°, 55%, 80%
Primary Accent
Luminance: 19.2%
200, 84, 78 0%, 58%, 61%, 22% 3°, 53%, 55%
Secondary
Luminance: 34.5%
122, 168, 154 27%, 0%, 8%, 34% 162°, 21%, 57%
Body Text
Luminance: 2.7%
46, 46, 48 4%, 4%, 0%, 81% 240°, 2%, 18%

Retro Kitchen 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 Retro Kitchen palette — click any swatch to copy its hex.

#E8D8B0 gently saturated orange
#C8544E gently saturated red
#7AA89A muted teal
#2E2E30 neutral gray

Retro Kitchen 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
#2E2E30 on #E8D8B0
Aa Sample Text
9.60:1 AAA Body text, headings, UI
#E8D8B0 on #2E2E30
Aa Sample Text
9.60:1 AAA Body text, headings, UI
#2E2E30 on #7AA89A
Aa Sample Text
5.09:1 AA Body text, UI
#7AA89A on #2E2E30
Aa Sample Text
5.09:1 AA Body text, UI
#2E2E30 on #C8544E
Aa Sample Text
3.12:1 Fail Large headings, UI components
#C8544E on #2E2E30
Aa Sample Text
3.12:1 Fail Large headings, UI components
#C8544E on #E8D8B0
Aa Sample Text
3.08:1 Fail Large headings, UI components
#E8D8B0 on #C8544E
Aa Sample Text
3.08:1 Fail Large headings, UI components
#7AA89A on #E8D8B0
Aa Sample Text
1.88:1 Fail Decorative use only
#E8D8B0 on #7AA89A
Aa Sample Text
1.88:1 Fail Decorative use only
#7AA89A on #C8544E
Aa Sample Text
1.63:1 Fail Decorative use only
#C8544E on #7AA89A
Aa Sample Text
1.63:1 Fail Decorative use only

Retro Kitchen Color Psychology & Meaning

A retro kitchen combines cream cabinets, coloured appliances and tiled counters, a palette that reappears every few decades, and this palette is kitchen cream with tile mint. It feels homely and cheerful, the color of a room with a kettle that whistles.

Color Harmony: Triadic Scheme

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

Hue Wheel

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

History & Design Context

Coloured kitchen appliances were widely sold in the 1950s and returned in the 2010s, and the recurring palettes of cream, red, mint and black are a direct revival of mid-century enamelling.

Best Design Use Cases

Use the kitchen cream for hero surfaces, appliance red for interactive elements, tile mint for accents, and stove black for text.

Industries This Palette Suits

Film photography, vinyl, podcasting, heritage tourism.

Colors That Pair Well With Retro Kitchen

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.

teal

directly opposite #C8544E on the wheel — the strongest accent for CTAs and highlights when you need maximum energy

orange

30° beside #C8544E — 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 Retro Kitchen Without Breaking Accessibility

  • Use #C8544E for buttons and links — it scores 3.1:1 against the #E8D8B0 background (above the 3:1 UI-components threshold).
  • Set body text in #2E2E30 — 9.6:1 against #E8D8B0 passes WCAG AA (AAA) for long-form reading.
  • Don't use #7AA89A behind body text — this light tone works better for surfaces, badges and dividers than for reading areas.

How to Implement the Retro Kitchen Color Scheme

To use this Retro Kitchen 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 #E8D8B0 for the main background and #C8544E for primary buttons. This creates a high-contrast focal point.

Accessibility Note

The contrast ratio between #2E2E30 and #E8D8B0 is 9.60:1 (AAA). Ensure your body text remains legible.

Retro Kitchen Palette — Frequently Asked Questions

What are the hex codes in the Retro Kitchen color palette?

The Retro Kitchen palette contains #E8D8B0, #C8544E, #7AA89A, #2E2E30. 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 Retro Kitchen color palette accessible (WCAG)?

Yes for its strongest pairings: #2E2E30 on #E8D8B0 reaches 9.6:1 (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 Retro Kitchen palette?

Beyond its own four colors, #4FC3C9, #BE915B, #171612 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 Retro Kitchen palette create?

Retro Kitchen reads as vintage, warm, candy. Gently saturated red drives the personality, grounded by gently saturated orange — a combination that works best when the very light base gets most of the canvas.

Can I use the Retro Kitchen color palette commercially?

Yes. Individual color values can't be copyrighted, so the Retro Kitchen 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 Retro Kitchen 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 Retro Kitchen's exact values, including the tint and shade ramps shown above.

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