Light Brown Drab
Pyrite Yellow
Glaucous Green

No. 239

3-color combination

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Colors

Combination No. 239 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.

ExploreLearn more

Combination No. 239 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

No pair of colors in this combination reaches a contrast of 3:1, so it is best used without text.

Analysis

Character

Light & muted

Lightness 76 (range 69–83)
Colorfulness 0.063

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

Harmony

Color wheel with the combination’s hues; distance from the center shows colorfulnessLight Brown DrabPyrite YellowGlaucous Green

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
  • Pyrite YellowWarm
  • Glaucous GreenNeutral

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

Distinctness

ΔE 25

Closest pair ΔE 24.6 · average ΔE 28.3

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

Contrast

AaBest text pair: Glaucous Green on Light Brown Drab (1.7:1)

ContrastWCAGAPCA Lc
AaAaLight Brown Drab · Pyrite Yellow1.3:1Low11 / 13
AaAaLight Brown Drab · Glaucous Green1.7:1Low21 / 24
AaAaPyrite Yellow · Glaucous Green1.2:1Low8 / 10

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. 239 */
:root {
  --light-brown-drab: #b59392; /* Light Brown Drab */
  --pyrite-yellow: #cab356; /* Pyrite Yellow */
  --glaucous-green: #b4cdc2; /* Glaucous Green */
}

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