#BDBFA9 is a muted, temperate green. On the Color Lab it reads restrained and easy to live with. It holds up as a large surface and is too pale to lead as a primary accent.
Not just a swatch — here's how #BDBFA9 works with other colors. Named schemes with #BDBFA9 in its natural role, and a note on why the supporting colors balance it.
Ash Gray sets a calm, sun-bleached base here, wrapped in bone and paper off-whites and a soft greige, with a single ink accent for wabi-sabi restraint.
Ash Gray opens this coastal palette with sea-glass and warm sand alongside it, grounded by driftwood grey and a deep-navy anchor.
Ash Gray leads this botanical set among foliage greens and a terracotta accent, softened by cream and grounded in bark brown.
Ash Gray keeps this Nordic scheme quiet — cool greys and a soft white around it, a muted-blue support and a charcoal anchor.
Ash Gray is the single accent in this high-contrast editorial system — set on near-white paper against near-black ink, with a warm grey and a desaturated tint of Ash Gray carrying the quiet middle.
How #BDBFA9 actually behaves in design work — read from its OKLCH lightness, chroma and hue, not just its raw numbers. Ten signals to help you decide where this color earns its place.
Not a swatch to memorise — a color to build with. Here is #BDBFA9 at work across the surfaces designers actually ship.
:root {
--color-base: #BDBFA9;
--color-base-rgb: 189 191 169;
--color-base-oklch: oklch(79.7% 0.030 111.3);
--color-50: #F8F9F6;
--color-100: #EDEEE7;
--color-200: #DBDCD0;
--color-300: #C0C1AE;
--color-400: #A3A58D;
--color-500: #85886D;
--color-600: #696A58;
--color-700: #4C4D41;
--color-800: #33342D;
--color-900: #20211D;
--color-on-base: #141310;
}
// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
ash-gray: {
50: '#F8F9F6',
100: '#EDEEE7',
200: '#DBDCD0',
300: '#C0C1AE',
400: '#A3A58D',
500: '#85886D',
600: '#696A58',
700: '#4C4D41',
800: '#33342D',
900: '#20211D',
},
}
$base: #BDBFA9; $base-ink: #141310; $base-50: #F8F9F6; $base-100: #EDEEE7; $base-200: #DBDCD0; $base-300: #C0C1AE; $base-400: #A3A58D; $base-500: #85886D; $base-600: #696A58; $base-700: #4C4D41; $base-800: #33342D; $base-900: #20211D; $base-hover: #9FA180; $base-subtle: #EBEBE6;
{
"color": {
"base": {
"value": "#BDBFA9",
"type": "color"
},
"onBase": {
"value": "#141310",
"type": "color"
},
"scale": {
"50": {
"value": "#F8F9F6",
"type": "color"
},
"100": {
"value": "#EDEEE7",
"type": "color"
},
"200": {
"value": "#DBDCD0",
"type": "color"
},
"300": {
"value": "#C0C1AE",
"type": "color"
},
"400": {
"value": "#A3A58D",
"type": "color"
},
"500": {
"value": "#85886D",
"type": "color"
},
"600": {
"value": "#696A58",
"type": "color"
},
"700": {
"value": "#4C4D41",
"type": "color"
},
"800": {
"value": "#33342D",
"type": "color"
},
"900": {
"value": "#20211D",
"type": "color"
}
}
}
}