White Smoke `#F5F5F5`

White Smoke (#F5F5F5) is a near-white neutral with an OKLCH hue of 90°, lightness 0.97 and chroma 0. In practice it behaves as a background color — quiet over large surfaces.

Color values

HEX	`#F5F5F5`
RGB	`rgb(245, 245, 245)`
HSL	`hsl(0, 0%, 96%)`
HSV	`hsv(0, 0%, 96%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 4%)`
CIE Lab	`lab(96.5 0 0)`
OKLCH	`oklch(0.970 0.000 90)`

How White Smoke behaves under real light

Under warm 2700K interior light White Smoke 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 ≈ 2.3), so it is a lighting-stable choice.

Warm interior (2700K incandescent / warm LED): → #ffefe5 — ΔE 2.3, shifts subtly: takes on a orange cast, gains intensity
Neutral LED (4000K task and retail lighting): → #fdf6f0 — ΔE 1.3, shifts only faintly, with no single dominant change
Daylight (6500K standard daylight (reference)): → #f5f5f5 — ΔE 0.0, is virtually unchanged
Blue-sky shade (cool daylight (~10000K proxy)): → #f5f6f8 — ΔE 0.4, is virtually unchanged

Test White Smoke 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 1.09:1 and against black 19.26:1, 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 White Smoke

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.

#f5f5f5 · #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.

#f5f5f5 · #ffdbad · #f1c3a2 · #e0ad9a · #cc9994 · #b6878d

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.

#f5f5f5 · #a7bba5 · #a59468 · #5e8359 · #685932 · #334531

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.

#f5f5f5 · #d7d1c1 · #b8ad91 · #958c73 · #495784 · #353021

Quiet Support

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

#f5f5f5 · #d5d7df · #9a978d · #595b60 · #29251b · #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.

#f5f5f5 · #c9c9c9 · #9c9c9c · #222222 · #030303 · #e7c04d

Complementary

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

#f5f5f5 · #d1d7e7 · #8896bd · #4a5885 · #192344 · #0b0500

Split-complementary

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

#f5f5f5 · #d1d7e7 · #759cb8 · #61517f · #002840 · #020006

Triadic

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

#f5f5f5 · #c7dce0 · #6aa1ab · #734b6f · #361834 · #000305

Tetradic

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

#f5f5f5 · #c9ddd8 · #6da398 · #4a5885 · #3d1624 · #000008

Tints, shades & muted variants

Tints

#f7f7f7 · #f8f8f8 · #fafafa · #fcfcfc · #fdfdfd

Shades

#cccccc · #a3a3a3 · #7b7b7b · #525252 · #292929

Using White Smoke

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