#EFEF9B is a soft, warm green. On the Color Lab it reads organic and grounded. It holds up as a large surface and is too pale to lead as a primary accent.
Not just a swatch — here's how #EFEF9B works with other colors. Named schemes with #EFEF9B in its natural role, and a note on why the supporting colors balance it.
This palette keeps Buttercream as the dominant warm neutral, balanced by muted terracotta and olive earth tones and grounded by a deep espresso anchor.
Buttercream leads this botanical set among foliage greens and a terracotta accent, softened by cream and grounded in bark brown.
Buttercream holds the warm center of this desert palette with sand and clay beside it, a muted-sage accent and a dark-brown anchor.
Buttercream opens this coastal palette with sea-glass and warm sand alongside it, grounded by driftwood grey and a deep-navy anchor.
Buttercream 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 Buttercream carrying the quiet middle.
How #EFEF9B 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 #EFEF9B at work across the surfaces designers actually ship.
:root {
--color-base: #EFEF9B;
--color-base-rgb: 239 239 155;
--color-base-oklch: oklch(93.3% 0.105 108.3);
--color-50: #FDFDF1;
--color-100: #FAFADB;
--color-200: #F3F3B9;
--color-300: #E6E689;
--color-400: #D5D55D;
--color-500: #BABA3B;
--color-600: #8E8E34;
--color-700: #64642A;
--color-800: #42421F;
--color-900: #282815;
--color-on-base: #141310;
}
// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
buttercream: {
50: '#FDFDF1',
100: '#FAFADB',
200: '#F3F3B9',
300: '#E6E689',
400: '#D5D55D',
500: '#BABA3B',
600: '#8E8E34',
700: '#64642A',
800: '#42421F',
900: '#282815',
},
}
$base: #EFEF9B; $base-ink: #141310; $base-50: #FDFDF1; $base-100: #FAFADB; $base-200: #F3F3B9; $base-300: #E6E689; $base-400: #D5D55D; $base-500: #BABA3B; $base-600: #8E8E34; $base-700: #64642A; $base-800: #42421F; $base-900: #282815; $base-hover: #E4E457; $base-subtle: #F7F7E4;
{
"color": {
"base": {
"value": "#EFEF9B",
"type": "color"
},
"onBase": {
"value": "#141310",
"type": "color"
},
"scale": {
"50": {
"value": "#FDFDF1",
"type": "color"
},
"100": {
"value": "#FAFADB",
"type": "color"
},
"200": {
"value": "#F3F3B9",
"type": "color"
},
"300": {
"value": "#E6E689",
"type": "color"
},
"400": {
"value": "#D5D55D",
"type": "color"
},
"500": {
"value": "#BABA3B",
"type": "color"
},
"600": {
"value": "#8E8E34",
"type": "color"
},
"700": {
"value": "#64642A",
"type": "color"
},
"800": {
"value": "#42421F",
"type": "color"
},
"900": {
"value": "#282815",
"type": "color"
}
}
}
}