Shades of white

Shades of white are colors that differ only slightly from pure white. Variations of white include what are commonly termed off-white colors, which may be considered part of a neutral color scheme.

In color theory, a shade is a pure color mixed with black (or having a lower lightness). Strictly speaking, a "shade of white" would be a neutral gray. This article is also about off-white colors that vary from pure white in hue, and in chroma (also called saturation, or intensity).

Colors often considered "shades of white" include cream, eggshell, ivory, Navajo white, and vanilla. Even the lighting of a room, however, can cause a pure white to be perceived as off-white.^[1]

Off-white colors were pervasively paired with beiges in the 1930s,^[2] and especially popular again from roughly 1955 to 1975.^[3] In terms of paint, off-white paints are now becoming more popular, with Benjamin Moore having 152 shades of off-whites, Behr having 167, and PPG has 315.^[4]

Whiteness measures the degree to which a surface is white in colorimetry.

Web colors

Below is a chart showing the computer web color shades of white. An achromatic white is a white color in which the red, green, and blues codes are exactly equal. The web colors white and white smoke are achromatic colors. A chromatic shade of white is a white color in which the red, green, and blue codes are not exactly equal, but are close to each other, which is what makes it a shade of white.

White

White
#FFFFFF

White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness. White is the lightest possible color.

Chalk white

Chalk white
#FBFFFF

Chalk white is a tint of white resembling the chalk color.

Ghost white

Ghost white
#F8F8FF

The web color ghost white is a tint of white loosely inspired by traditional representations of ghosts. There is no evidence that this color name was in use before the X11 color names were formulated in 1987.^{[citation needed]}

White smoke

White smoke
#F5F5F5

The web color white smoke is displayed on the left.

There is no evidence that this color name was in use before the X11 color names were formulated in 1987. The color is also known as Cultured Pearl, one of crayon colors issued by Crayola in its 16-pack of Pearl Brite Crayons.^[7]

White solid

White solid
#F4F5FA

The web color white solid is displayed on the left.

There is no evidence that this color name was in use before the X11 color names were formulated in 1987. Sometimes also known as Ghost White, the color has marked blue hues, although is otherwise very close to being completely white in the RGB color system.^[8]

Baby powder

Baby powder
#FEFEFA

Talcum or baby powder

The Crayola crayon color baby powder was introduced in 1994 as part of its specialty Magic Scent crayon collection. It is a very light yellow.

Snow

Snow
#FFFAFA

The web color snow is displayed at left.

The first recorded use of snow as a color name in English was in 1000.^[9]

The color snow was included as one of the X11 colors when they were formulated in 1987.

Ivory

Ivory
#FFFFF0

Ivory is an off-white color that resembles ivory, the material out of which the teeth and tusks of animals (such as the elephant and the walrus) are made. It has a very slight tint of yellow.

The first recorded use of ivory as a color name in English was in 1385.^[10]

The color ivory was included as one of the X11 colors when they were formulated in 1987.

Floral white

Floral white
#FFFAF0

The web color floral white is displayed at left.

There is no evidence that this color name was in use before the X11 color names were formulated in 1987.

Seashell

Seashell
#FFF5EE

Seashell is an off-white color that resembles some of the very pale pinkish tones that are common in many seashells.

The first recorded use of seashell as a color name in English was in 1926.^[11]

In 1987, seashell was included as one of the X11 colors.

Bone white

Bone white
#F9F6EE

Bone white is a yellowish-gray shade of white which represents the color of natural, unbleached bones.

Cornsilk

Cornsilk
#FFF8DC

Cornsilk is a color that is a representation of the color of cornsilk.

The first recorded use of cornsilk as a color name in English was in 1927.^[13]

In 1987, cornsilk was included as one of the X11 colors.

Old lace

Old lace
#FDF5E6

Old lace is a web color that is a very pale yellowish orange that resembles the color of an old lace tablecloth.

It is one of the original X11 colors.

Old lace is used as a color of a certain kind of Caucasian skin type in art.

Cream

Cream
#FFFDD0

Cream is a color that is a representation of the color of the cream produced from the milk of cattle.

The first recorded use of cream as a color name in English was in 1590.^[14]

In 1987, cream was included as one of the X11 colors.

Beige

Beige
#F5F5DC

The color beige is displayed at left.

The first recorded use of beige as a color name in English was in 1887.^[15]

The term originates from beige cloth, a cotton fabric left undyed in its natural color.

Items that are of beige color in real world applications are typically closer to brown than they are to white.

Parchment

Parchment
#F1E9D2

Displayed at left is the color parchment.

In 2001, this was made into one of the colors on the Xona.com color list.

Antique white

Antique white
#FAEBD7

Antique white is a web color.

The color name antique white began to be used in 1987 when the X11 colors were first formulated.

Champagne

Champagne
#F7E7CE

The color champagne is displayed at left.

The color's name is derived from the typical color of the beverage champagne.

The first recorded use of champagne as a color name in English was in 1915.^[16]

Eggshell

Eggshell
#F0EAD6

The color eggshell is displayed at left.

The color eggshell is a representation of the average color of chicken eggs.

Dutch white

Dutch white
#EFDFBB

Displayed at left is the color Dutch white.

Dutch white is one of the colors on the Resene Color List, a color list popular in Australia and New Zealand. The color Dutch white was formulated in 2000.

Bone

Bone
#E3DAC9

The color bone is displayed at left. This color is a representation of the color of bones.

The first recorded use of bone as a color name in English was in the first decade of the 19th century (exact year uncertain).^[17]

Vanilla

Vanilla
#F3E5AB

The color vanilla is a rich tint of off-white as well as a medium pale tint of yellow.

The first recorded use of vanilla as a color name in English was in 1925.^[18]

Flax

Flax
#EEDC82

The color flax is displayed at left.

The first recorded use of flax as a color name in English was in 1915.^[20]

Navajo white

Navajo white
#FFDEAD

Navajo white is a whitish orange color, and derives its name from the Navajo Nation ethnic flag, a flag that uses this color.

In 1987, Navajo white was included as one of the X11 colors.

Alabaster

Alabaster
#EDEAE0

Displayed at left is the color alabaster. It represents the whitish color of the mineral alabaster.

Alabaster has been used as a color in English since at least 1594 (in Shakespeare's The Rape of Lucrece), but the origin of the RGB coordinates is not known.

Linen

Linen
#FAF0E6

An X11 color, representing the whitish color of the linen cloth.

References

^ Sickler, Dean (2010). The Keys to Color: A Decorator's Handbook. The Keys to Color. p. 11. ISBN 9781439270486. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
^ Ryan, Elaine (2007). Color Your Life: How to Design Your Home with Colors from Your Heart. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 12–15. ISBN 9780312368197. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
^ Mahnke, Frank H. (1996). Color, Environment, and Human Response. New York: John Wiley & Sons. p. 80. ISBN 9780471286677. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
^ Korn, Melissa (2021-08-12). "Simply White, Snowfall White, School House White: Proliferation of White Paint Shades Stupefies Renovators". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2021-08-13. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
^ "Couleur de craie _ définition et codes couleur - pourpre.com". Pourpre. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
^ a b c d e f CSS Color Module Level 3 (W3C):
^ Crowther, Jenny. "16 Count Crayola Pearl Brite Crayons: What's Inside the Box". Jenny's Crayon Collection. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
^ "#f4f5fa Hex Color - White Solid - Color Hex Map". Color Hex Map. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 204
^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 197; Color Sample of Ivory: Page 43 Plate 10 Color Sample B12
^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 204; Color Sample of Seashell: Page 43 Plate 10 Color Sample A4
^ "Bone White Color, Codes and Facts". HTML Color Codes. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 193; Color Sample of Cornsilk: Page 43 Plate 10 Color Sample G3
^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 193; Color Sample of Cream: Page 41 Plate 9 Color Sample D4
^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 190; Color Sample of Beige: Page 45 Plate 11 Color Sample C2
^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 192; Color Sample of Champagne: Page 45 Plate 11 Color Sample B3 Note: The color called Champagne in the color box above (color #F7E7CE) matches the color shown as Champagne in Maerz and Paul.
^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 190
^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 206; Color Sample of Vanilla: Page 43 Plate 10 Color Sample C3
^ The color displayed in the color box above matches the color called flax in the 1930 book by Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill; the color flax is displayed on page 47, Plate 12, Color Sample B2.
^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 195; Color Sample of Flax: Page 47 Plate 12 Color Sample B2
^ CSS Color Module Level 3: