Mercury `#EBEBEB`

Mercury (#EBEBEB) is a near-white neutral with an OKLCH hue of 90°, lightness 0.94 and chroma 0. In practice it behaves as a background color — quiet over large surfaces.

Color values

HEX	`#EBEBEB`
RGB	`rgb(235, 235, 235)`
HSL	`hsl(0, 0%, 92%)`
HSV	`hsv(0, 0%, 92%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 8%)`
CIE Lab	`lab(93 0 0)`
OKLCH	`oklch(0.940 0.000 90)`

How Mercury behaves under real light

Under warm 2700K interior light Mercury shifts subtly: takes on a orange cast, gains intensity; in north-facing or shaded light it is virtually unchanged. Overall drift across common illuminants is small (max ΔE ≈ 2.2), so it is a lighting-stable choice.

Warm interior (2700K incandescent / warm LED): → #f4e5dc — ΔE 2.2, shifts subtly: takes on a orange cast, gains intensity
Neutral LED (4000K task and retail lighting): → #f3ece6 — ΔE 1.3, shifts only faintly, with no single dominant change
Daylight (6500K standard daylight (reference)): → #ebebeb — ΔE 0.0, is virtually unchanged
Blue-sky shade (cool daylight (~10000K proxy)): → #ebecee — ΔE 0.4, is virtually unchanged

Test Mercury in the color lighting simulator — sweep it through daylight, warm 2700K light, 4000K LED, and shade alongside the rest of your palette.

Contrast & accessibility

Against white it measures 1.19:1 and against black 17.62:1, so black text is the stronger pairing. That pairing passes WCAG AA for body text. Avoid white text on this color entirely.

Colors that go with Mercury

Tonal

One color explored: close hues with real lightness and chroma structure, so the palette is the anchor through value rather than a set of colors.

#ebebeb · #c9c9c9 · #a2a2a2 · #7c7c7c · #595959 · #383838

Analogous

The anchor's neighbours on the wheel — everything shares an undertone, so the chord carries color without anything having to be muted to get along.

#ebebeb · #f4d1a3 · #e7ba99 · #d6a491 · #c2908b · #ac7e84

Shifted

The mid-gap pairing — sage and mustard, terracotta and olive. A foil rotated 40–65° toward warm or cool: too far to be kin, too near to argue, carried by temperature and a deliberate value offset.

#ebebeb · #9eb19b · #9b8b5f · #557a51 · #5f5129 · #2c3d29

Contrast

One deliberately opposed voice — a single restrained counterpoint across the wheel, or temperature against temperature where the anchor is too muted to carry a loud opposite.

#ebebeb · #cdc7b7 · #afa488 · #8c836a · #495784 · #2e281a

Quiet Support

The anchor as the only color in the room. True neutrals or complement-warmed near-neutrals let it stay dominant.

#ebebeb · #cbced5 · #939086 · #55565b · #27231a · #010102

Bright Accent

This color as a ground rather than a subject — its own restraint held across a narrow value band, carrying one saturated voice from the opposite temperature.

#ebebeb · #c9c9c9 · #9c9c9c · #222222 · #030303 · #e7c04d

Complementary

The opposite hue on the perceptual wheel, tempered to field strength — warm/cool tension without vibration.

#ebebeb · #c8cddd · #818fb5 · #465481 · #182142 · #0b0500

Split-complementary

The complement's two neighbours instead of the complement itself — strong contrast with a lower clash risk.

#ebebeb · #c8cddd · #6e95b1 · #5d4d7a · #00263d · #020006

Triadic

Three hues spaced evenly around the wheel; the anchor leads and the other two are held at supporting strength.

#ebebeb · #bed2d6 · #639aa4 · #6e476b · #341732 · #000305

Tetradic

Two complementary pairs offset by 90° — the richest chord, kept usable by a strict lightness hierarchy.

#ebebeb · #bfd3ce · #669c91 · #465481 · #3b1422 · #000008

Tints, shades & muted variants

Tints

#eeeeee · #f2f2f2 · #f5f5f5 · #f8f8f8 · #fcfcfc

Shades

#c4c4c4 · #9d9d9d · #767676 · #4e4e4e · #272727

Using Mercury

Its high lightness and low chroma make it a natural background or large-surface color.