#dfdee3
a pale, muted blue · neutral · closest name: Gainsboro
At a glance
Every number on this page in one read: what #dfdee3 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.
Reads neutral. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.
Every format
| HEX | #dfdee3 |
| RGB | rgb(223, 222, 227) |
| HSL | hsl(252, 8%, 88%) |
| CMYK | cmyk(2%, 2%, 0%, 11%) |
| LAB | lab(88.7 1.2 -2.3) |
| LCH | lch(88.7 2.6 298.1) |
| OKLCH | oklch(0.903 0.007 295.4) |
| Decimal | 14671587 |
| Display P3 | color(display-p3 0.875 0.871 0.890) |
Copy-ready code
/* CSS */
color: #dfdee3;
background-color: #dfdee3;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dfdee3] bg-[#dfdee3]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dfdee3;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.875, green: 0.871, blue: 0.890)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#dfdee3")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDFDEE3)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(227, 222, 223)Best text color
Only one of black and white can be right. This is the one, with the number that proves it.
Accessibility — WCAG contrast
Color scale — 50 to 950
A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #dfdee3 is pinned to step 200; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.
:root {
--brand-50: #F7F7F8;
--brand-100: #EFEFF1;
--brand-200: #dfdee3;
--brand-300: #C4C2CC;
--brand-400: #A7A4B2;
--brand-500: #898698;
--brand-600: #747084;
--brand-700: #615E6E;
--brand-800: #4E4B58;
--brand-900: #3A3942;
--brand-950: #252329;
--brand: #dfdee3;
--brand-ink: #000000;
}Colors that work with #dfdee3
Not a palette — a role sheet. Each swatch answers one question you will hit while building the component.
Surface, border, heading and body all derive from this one hue, so the screen stays coherent without a second palette.
Lightness flips, hue holds. The accent stays the anchor in both themes.
How to use #dfdee3
Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.
- ✓Text and icons on dark surfaces
- ✓Borders, dividers and quiet backgrounds
- ✓Long-form reading surfaces
- ✓Card and section backgrounds
- ✓Brand accents, badges and data highlights
- ⚠Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
- ⚠White text placed on it
- ⚠Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate
Similar colors
One move away from this hex in each direction. Every swatch is its own page.
Color relationships
The wheel positions with their names attached, so you can grab the one you actually need.
| Complementary | #E2E3DE | Directly opposite — maximum tension | |
| Analogous left | #DEDFE3 | Neighbour, quieter | |
| Analogous right | #E1DEE3 | Neighbour, quieter | |
| Split-complement 1 | #E3E1DE | Contrast without the clash | |
| Split-complement 2 | #DFE3DE | Contrast without the clash | |
| Triadic 1 | #E3DFDE | Even thirds — balanced and loud | |
| Triadic 2 | #DEE3DF | Even thirds — balanced and loud | |
| Tetradic | #E3DEDF | Fourth corner of the square scheme |
RGB percentages
CMYK percentages
Color previews
#dfdee3 text on a black background
contrast 15.70:1
#dfdee3 text on a white background
contrast 1.34:1
CSS3 live lab
The quick brown fox
color: #dfdee3;
background-color: #dfdee3;
Glowing headline
text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #dfdee3;
Soft neon halo
text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(223, 222, 227, 0.45);
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(223, 222, 227, 0.45);
border: 3px solid #dfdee3; background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dfdee3, #E2DEE3);
Monochromatic scale
Palettes built from #dfdee3
Shades — darker
Tints — lighter
Color harmonies
Nearest named colors
Ranked with CIEDE2000 across all 139 CSS keywords. Under ΔE 2 the eye stops telling them apart; over ΔE 10 they are plainly different colors.
Closest color with a full write-up: Gainsboro (#dcdcdc) — ΔE2000 2.8 away, with its history, psychology and brand usage.
#dfdee3 in the real world
Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.
Very light tints can drop out on uncoated stock; check it at 100% size before signing off.
#dfdee3, answered
What color is #dfdee3?
#dfdee3 is a pale muted blue, closest to Gainsboro (ΔE2000 2.8). It sits at 252° on the hue wheel with 8% saturation and 88% lightness, which reads as neutral.
What is the RGB value of #dfdee3?
rgb(223, 222, 227) — 223 red, 222 green and 227 blue out of 255, or 87.5% / 87.1% / 89% by channel.
Is #dfdee3 a light or a dark color?
It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.7348 and perceived brightness is 87%, so black text on it reaches 15.70:1.
Should I use black or white text on #dfdee3?
Black. It scores 15.70:1 against #dfdee3, versus 1.34:1 for white — AAA at any size.
What is the complementary color of #dfdee3?
#E2E3DE sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #E3E1DE and #DFE3DE, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.
What colors go well with #dfdee3?
For interface work: #F7F7F8 as the surface, #D4D3DA for borders, #6D697C for secondary text, #72725A as an accent and #3D3B45 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DEDFE3 and #E1DEE3 stays calm, while #E2E3DE is the loudest partner.
What is #dfdee3 in CMYK for printing?
cmyk(2%, 2%, 0%, 11%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.
Is #dfdee3 warm or cool?
Neutral — it scores 56 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #E9E5E2; nudged cooler, #D6DBE0.