Colors That Go With Plum
#8E4585 · a deep purple-red
Plum (#8E4585) — a deep purple-red — is a warm, gently muted deep and grounding colour. It pairs best with complementary accent #4d9f57, analogous (warmer) #8e455b, and grounding neutrals, drawn from 364 historically-grounded combinations across 13 settings below.
Colour reference
- Hex
- #8E4585
- RGB
- 142, 69, 133
- CMYK
- 0, 51, 6, 44
- Temperature
- warm
- Lightness
- deep and grounding (41%)
- Contrast on black text
- 6:1 (AA)
Plum by setting
Plum for walls
On walls, use warm greige & grey. 28 matching combinations.
Plum for a wedding
For a wedding, pair it with terracotta & clay. 28 matching combinations.
Plum for a bedroom
In a bedroom, layer it with terracotta & clay. 28 matching combinations.
Plum for a living room
In a living room, ground it with terracotta & clay. 28 matching combinations.
Plum for a kitchen
In a kitchen, contrast it with terracotta & clay. 28 matching combinations.
Plum for clothes
To wear with it, reach for muted red. 28 matching combinations.
Plum for an outfit
Build the outfit around muted red. 28 matching combinations.
Plum for cabinets
With cabinets, match it to terracotta & clay. 28 matching combinations.
Plum for a bathroom
In a bathroom, pair it with warm greige & grey. 28 matching combinations.
Plum for a nursery
In a nursery, soften it with terracotta & clay. 28 matching combinations.
Plum for a front door
On a front door, contrast it with muted red. 28 matching combinations.
Plum for an accent wall
On an accent wall, pair it with muted red. 28 matching combinations.
Plum for curtains
For curtains, choose terracotta & clay. 28 matching combinations.
Combinations with plum, from the 1933 Dictionary
Royal Purple & Silver
Imperial purple set against lunar silver — Heian courtly luxury at its quietest.
Rosolanc Purple & Turquoise Green +2
Plate 346 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Rosolanc Purple, Turquoise Green, Light Green Yellow, Andover Green.
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.
Rosolanc Purple & Cinnamon Rufous +1
Plate 204 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Rosolanc Purple, Cinnamon Rufous, Light Glaucous Blue.
Coral Red & Lemon Yellow +1
Plate 123 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Coral Red, Lemon Yellow, Taupe Brown.
Lemon Yellow & Vandar Poel's Blue +1
Plate 168 from Sanzo Wada's 1933 Dictionary of Color Combinations — Lemon Yellow, Vandar Poel's Blue, Veronia Purple.
FAQ
What colors go with plum?
Plum (#8E4585) — a deep purple-red — is a warm, gently muted deep and grounding colour. It pairs best with complementary accent #4d9f57, analogous (warmer) #8e455b, and grounding neutrals, drawn from 364 historically-grounded combinations across 13 settings below.
Is plum warm or cool?
Plum is a warm colour — 35% saturation, 41% lightness. Balance it with #6c458e or another cool/neutral partner.
What is the hex code for plum?
Plum is #8E4585 — RGB(142, 69, 133), CMYK(0, 51, 6, 44).
Other colors
Studio
Work with this colour
You have the hex code, the RGB/CMYK values and the computed partners for Plum. These are the materials a colour study like this actually gets made with.
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Kuretake
Gansai Tambi 36
The larger pan set. More range means mixing toward a specific plate rather than approximating it from six colours.
Listed on Amazon as Kuretake GANSAI TAMBI Watercolor Paint Set 36 Colors
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140 lb cold press is the weight that takes a wet wash without buckling — the paper most colour studies end up on.
Listed on Amazon as Strathmore 300 Series Tape Bound Watercolor Pad, 140 lb. Cold Press, 11 X 15 inches, White, 12 Sheets (360-111)
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Library
Go deeper on colour
The colour-theory books behind pairings like Plum — 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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