Colors That Go With Mustard
#C9A227 · a deep golden yellow
Mustard (#C9A227) — a deep golden yellow — is a warm, saturated mid-toned colour. It pairs best with complementary accent #4261c8, analogous (warmer) #8cba36, and grounding neutrals, drawn from 650 historically-grounded combinations across 13 settings below.
Most combinations in this archive come from one 1933 book. Get Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary on Amazon → Affiliate link; your price is unchanged. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Colour reference
- Hex
- #C9A227
- RGB
- 201, 162, 39
- CMYK
- 0, 19, 81, 21
- Temperature
- warm
- Lightness
- mid-toned (47%)
- Contrast on white text
- 7.2:1 (AAA)
Mustard by setting
Mustard for walls
On walls, use slate & blue. 50 matching combinations.
Mustard for a wedding
For a wedding, pair it with terracotta & clay. 50 matching combinations.
Mustard for a bedroom
In a bedroom, layer it with terracotta & clay. 50 matching combinations.
Mustard for a living room
In a living room, ground it with muted red. 50 matching combinations.
Mustard for a kitchen
In a kitchen, contrast it with muted red. 50 matching combinations.
Mustard for clothes
To wear with it, reach for muted red. 50 matching combinations.
Mustard for an outfit
Build the outfit around muted red. 50 matching combinations.
Mustard for cabinets
With cabinets, match it to muted red. 50 matching combinations.
Mustard for a bathroom
In a bathroom, pair it with slate & blue. 50 matching combinations.
Mustard for a nursery
In a nursery, soften it with terracotta & clay. 50 matching combinations.
Mustard for a front door
On a front door, contrast it with terracotta & clay. 50 matching combinations.
Mustard for an accent wall
On an accent wall, pair it with muted red. 50 matching combinations.
Mustard for curtains
For curtains, choose muted red. 50 matching combinations.
Combinations with mustard, from the 1933 Dictionary
Lapis & Chalk
Lapis lazuli blue against oyster-shell white — the color of Buddhist scripture.
Khaki & Calamine Blue +1
Plate 159 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Khaki, Calamine Blue, Grayish Lavender - A.
Citron Yellow & Pale King's Blue +1
Plate 196 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Citron Yellow, Pale King's Blue, Blue Violet.
Hydrangea Red & Sulphine Yellow +1
Plate 142 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Hydrangea Red, Sulphine Yellow, Salvia Blue.
Sulphine Yellow & Pale Raw Umber +1
Plate 160 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Sulphine Yellow, Pale Raw Umber, Dark Medici Blue.
Kite Brown & Gold
The warm brown of a kite's wing lit by afternoon gold.
FAQ
What colors go with mustard?
Mustard (#C9A227) — a deep golden yellow — is a warm, saturated mid-toned colour. It pairs best with complementary accent #4261c8, analogous (warmer) #8cba36, and grounding neutrals, drawn from 650 historically-grounded combinations across 13 settings below.
Is mustard warm or cool?
Mustard is a warm colour — 68% saturation, 47% lightness. Balance it with #ba4e36 or another cool/neutral partner.
What is the hex code for mustard?
Mustard is #C9A227 — RGB(201, 162, 39), CMYK(0, 19, 81, 21).
Other colors
Studio
Work with this colour
You have the hex code, the RGB/CMYK values and the computed partners for Mustard. These are the materials a colour study like this actually gets made with.
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Pentel
Fude Touch brush sign pen
A felt brush tip for the labelling and linework around a swatch study — the annotation half of a colour notebook.
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When a palette leaves the screen, this is the shared vocabulary between you and the press. Coated and uncoated because the same ink is not the same colour on both.
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From the archive
Support the archive The full catalog, on your disk, as a thank-you.
- All 378 palettes (348 Wada + 30 editorial) in five formats
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- Full JSON — colors, names, eras, moods, dominant hues
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Library
Go deeper on colour
The colour-theory books behind pairings like Mustard — history, reference and the science of what works together.
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Torn between the two Wada dictionaries? Vol 1 vs Vol 2, compared plate by plate →
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