Light Brown Drab
Etruscan Red
Pale Lemon Yellow

No. 185

3-color combination

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Colors

Combination No. 185 in use

The palette applied to simple layouts. Colors are assigned to roles automatically; try other arrangements.

Color study

A dictionary of color

Background, surface, text and accent, taken from one of Wada’s combinations.

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Combination No. 185 as a living room

Painted following the 60-30-10 rule: about 60% wall color, 30% for the sofa, 10% for cushions, throw and vase. A fourth color goes to the rug and curtains; otherwise they stay undyed. Floor and ceiling stay neutral; the print shows the whole palette.

Readable text pairs

Harmony in contrastPale Lemon Yellow · 3.9:1

Harmony in contrastEtruscan Red · 3.9:1

Analysis

Character

Light & moderate

Lightness 74 (range 59–95)
Colorfulness 0.091

Average OKLCH lightness (0–100) and chroma (colorfulness).

Harmony

Color wheel with the combination’s hues; distance from the center shows colorfulnessLight Brown DrabEtruscan RedPale Lemon Yellow

Free

No classic color-wheel relationship.

A heuristic based on the painter’s color wheel. Wada’s combinations often ignore textbook rules, which is part of their appeal.

Temperature

Warm

  • Light Brown DrabWarm
  • Etruscan RedWarm
  • Pale Lemon YellowWarm

Reds, oranges and yellows count as warm; greens, blues and violets as cool.

Distinctness

ΔE 21

Closest pair ΔE 20.8 · average ΔE 33.5

CIEDE2000 color difference. Below about 10 colors look related; above 30 they are clearly distinct.

Contrast

AaBest text pair: Pale Lemon Yellow on Etruscan Red (3.9:1)

ContrastWCAGAPCA Lc
AaAaLight Brown Drab · Etruscan Red1.6:1Low16 / 15
AaAaLight Brown Drab · Pale Lemon Yellow2.4:1Low44 / 48
AaAaEtruscan Red · Pale Lemon Yellow3.9:1AA large61 / 65

WCAG 2 contrast ratio for text, and APCA lightness contrast (Lc) for each text/background direction.

Similar combinations

The closest palettes in perceptual color space (OKLab).

Export

Copy the palette as code or download it as an image.

/* Sanzo Wada, combination No. 185 */
:root {
  --light-brown-drab: #b59392; /* Light Brown Drab */
  --etruscan-red: #c55347; /* Etruscan Red */
  --pale-lemon-yellow: #ffefae; /* Pale Lemon Yellow */
}

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