Stardust `#DDD3AE`

Stardust (#DDD3AE) is a very light, muted yellow with an OKLCH hue of 95°, lightness 0.87 and chroma 0.05. It sits on the warm side of the color wheel. In practice it behaves as a background color — quiet over large surfaces.

Color values

HEX	`#DDD3AE`
RGB	`rgb(221, 211, 174)`
HSL	`hsl(47, 41%, 77%)`
HSV	`hsv(47, 21%, 87%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(0%, 5%, 21%, 13%)`
CIE Lab	`lab(84.5 -2.5 19.6)`
OKLCH	`oklch(0.865 0.050 95)`

How Stardust behaves under real light

Under warm 2700K interior light Stardust shifts subtly: leans toward orange; in north-facing or shaded light it is virtually unchanged. Overall drift across common illuminants is small (max ΔE ≈ 1.9), so it is a lighting-stable choice.

Warm interior (2700K incandescent / warm LED): → #e5cda2 — ΔE 1.9, shifts subtly: leans toward orange
Neutral LED (4000K task and retail lighting): → #e4d4aa — ΔE 1.1, shifts subtly: leans toward orange
Daylight (6500K standard daylight (reference)): → #ddd3ae — ΔE 0.0, is virtually unchanged
Blue-sky shade (cool daylight (~10000K proxy)): → #ddd4b1 — ΔE 0.4, is virtually unchanged

Test Stardust 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 1.5:1 and against black 14:1, 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 Stardust

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.

#fbf2d0 · #ddd3ae · #aba282 · #857d60 · #605940 · #3e3822

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.

#ddd3ae · #d9bb8b · #cca480 · #bc8e78 · #aa7a71 · #95686b

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.

#ddd3ae · #a4baa5 · #a09467 · #58825c · #645931 · #304532

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.

#ddd3ae · #b4b0a0 · #968e72 · #505987 · #38321b · #1b1709

Quiet Support

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

#ddd3ae · #b4b6bd · #827f75 · #4b4c51 · #221f15 · #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.

#ddd3ae · #a6a18f · #4f4933 · #332d15 · #110b00 · #e1c24d

Complementary

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

#e6f6d2 · #ddd3ae · #afc59e · #336a99 · #384263 · #061013

Split-complementary

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

#ddd3ae · #b1b5c5 · #6183a1 · #56416d · #00213a · #020006

Triadic

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

#ddd3ae · #a7babf · #538995 · #653c5d · #30112b · #000407

Tetradic

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

#ddd3ae · #a7bbb8 · #548b84 · #404975 · #360f1b · #010109

Tints, shades & muted variants

Tints

#E1D9B8 · #E6DEC2 · #EAE4CC · #EFEAD6 · #F3EFE1

Shades

#B5AC8B · #8E8669 · #6A6349 · #47412B · #272210

Muted

#DBD3B6 · #D9D3BE · #D6D3C6

Using Stardust

Its high lightness and low chroma make it a natural background or large-surface color. In palettes it pairs most predictably with its tonal ramp and analogous neighbors; reserve the complementary hue for small, deliberate contrast.