#CBD8CA is a pale, temperate off-white. 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 #CBD8CA works with other colors. Named schemes with #CBD8CA in its natural role, and a note on why the supporting colors balance it.
Pastel 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.
Pastel Gray opens this coastal palette with sea-glass and warm sand alongside it, grounded by driftwood grey and a deep-navy anchor.
Pastel Gray leads this botanical set among foliage greens and a terracotta accent, softened by cream and grounded in bark brown.
Pastel Gray keeps this Nordic scheme quiet — cool greys and a soft white around it, a muted-blue support and a charcoal anchor.
Pastel 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 Pastel Gray carrying the quiet middle.
How #CBD8CA 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 #CBD8CA at work across the surfaces designers actually ship.
:root {
--color-base: #CBD8CA;
--color-base-rgb: 203 216 202;
--color-base-oklch: oklch(86.8% 0.024 143.4);
--color-50: #F6F9F6;
--color-100: #E8EEE7;
--color-200: #D1DCD0;
--color-300: #AFC1AE;
--color-400: #8EA58D;
--color-500: #6F886D;
--color-600: #596A58;
--color-700: #424D41;
--color-800: #2D342D;
--color-900: #1D211D;
--color-on-base: #141310;
}
// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
pastel-gray: {
50: '#F6F9F6',
100: '#E8EEE7',
200: '#D1DCD0',
300: '#AFC1AE',
400: '#8EA58D',
500: '#6F886D',
600: '#596A58',
700: '#424D41',
800: '#2D342D',
900: '#1D211D',
},
}
$base: #CBD8CA; $base-ink: #141310; $base-50: #F6F9F6; $base-100: #E8EEE7; $base-200: #D1DCD0; $base-300: #AFC1AE; $base-400: #8EA58D; $base-500: #6F886D; $base-600: #596A58; $base-700: #424D41; $base-800: #2D342D; $base-900: #1D211D; $base-hover: #9CB49A; $base-subtle: #F0F3F0;
{
"color": {
"base": {
"value": "#CBD8CA",
"type": "color"
},
"onBase": {
"value": "#141310",
"type": "color"
},
"scale": {
"50": {
"value": "#F6F9F6",
"type": "color"
},
"100": {
"value": "#E8EEE7",
"type": "color"
},
"200": {
"value": "#D1DCD0",
"type": "color"
},
"300": {
"value": "#AFC1AE",
"type": "color"
},
"400": {
"value": "#8EA58D",
"type": "color"
},
"500": {
"value": "#6F886D",
"type": "color"
},
"600": {
"value": "#596A58",
"type": "color"
},
"700": {
"value": "#424D41",
"type": "color"
},
"800": {
"value": "#2D342D",
"type": "color"
},
"900": {
"value": "#1D211D",
"type": "color"
}
}
}
}