Colors that go with Mustard for curtains
Mustard · #C9A227
Mustard (#C9A227) — a deep golden yellow — pairs best with muted red, terracotta & clay, teal, and slate & blue. For curtains, choose muted red, drawn from 8 historically-grounded combinations below.
Curtains frame a room and filter its light, so the partners that work read cleanly against both the wall behind them and the daylight through them.
About mustard
Mustard is a deep golden yellow — a saturated, warm colour that reads as mid-toned. As a warm tone it looks most resolved next to cool and neutral partners that temper its warmth, and it needs both lighter and deeper shades nearby for the value contrast the eye reads as finished. That balance is what makes it feel refined in curtains.
- HEX
- #C9A227
- RGB
- 201, 162, 39
- HSL
- 46°, 68%, 47%
- CMYK
- 0, 19, 81, 21
Accessibility: put light text on mustard for below AA (decorative use) legibility (contrast 2.3:1 against off-white).
Why mustard pairs with muted red, terracotta & clay, teal, and slate & blue
Across the 8 historical combinations below, mustard sits most often beside muted red, terracotta & clay, teal, and slate & blue. That tracks with colour theory: a warm, mid-toned tone like this one wants cool and neutral partners that temper its warmth so the scheme feels intentional rather than flat, and both lighter and deeper partners supply the light-to-dark range the eye needs. Curtains frame a room and filter its light, so the partners that work read cleanly against both the wall behind them and the daylight through them.
- muted red
- terracotta & clay
- teal
- slate & blue
Using mustard in curtains
For curtains, choose muted red and terracotta & clay. Because mustard is mid-toned, it can cover larger surfaces, with slate & blue added for depth.
8 combinations with mustard, from the 1933 Dictionary
Hydrangea Red & Sulphine Yellow +1
Plate 142 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Hydrangea Red, Sulphine Yellow, Salvia Blue.
#c19f2c #a94151 #97acc8
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.
#c19f2c #71502f #547076
Eugenia Red | B & Raw Sienna +2
Plate 252 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Eugenia Red | B, Raw Sienna, Sulphine Yellow, Green Blue.
#c19f2c #da525d #bb7125 #099197
Lapis & Chalk
Lapis lazuli blue against oyster-shell white — the color of Buddhist scripture.
#D4AF37 #1E4B8A #F4EEE0
Kite Brown & Gold
The warm brown of a kite's wing lit by afternoon gold.
#D4AF37 #8A5A3B #2B2B2B
Sulpher Yellow & Golden Yellow +1
Plate 132 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Sulpher Yellow, Golden Yellow, Citrine.
#b09f36 #f5ecc2 #f3a257
Vandyke Red & Citrine +1
Plate 133 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Vandyke Red, Citrine, Sea Green.
#b09f36 #82241f #00b49b
Eugenia Red | B & Ivory Buff +2
Plate 262 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Eugenia Red | B, Ivory Buff, Citrine, Cossack Green.
#b09f36 #da525d #ebd3a2 #437742
Mustard in other settings
Other colors
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