Weathered Terracotta Estuary
Weathered Terracotta Estuary: a muted tetradic palette of #9BD0C8, #ACB3CB, #BC798E, #857856, #316174. Relaxed, mature and easy to live with; best contrast 3.96:1.
A balanced palette of 5 colors drawing on teal, beige, red, with a moderate lightness range. Its lightest and darkest colors reach a contrast of 3.96:1, better for large type and decoration. Open any color for its conversions, shades, harmonies and contrast.
Colors
- ≈ Wintermint#9BD0C8
A light, muted teal (Wintermint) that brings a coastal freshness. Dark text reads well on it.
- ≈ Over the Moon#ACB3CB
A light, muted blue (Over the Moon) that brings open, airy calm. Dark text reads well on it.
- ≈ Old Rose#BC798E
A medium, moderately saturated red (Old Rose) that brings a bold, confident accent. Dark text reads well on it.
- ≈ Boa#857856
A medium, muted yellow (Boa) that brings a bright, hopeful note. Best for large type, icons and decoration.
- ≈ Atlantis#316174
A medium, muted blue (Atlantis) that brings open, airy calm. White text sits comfortably on it.
Tags
Psychology
Meaning
Applications
Similar palettes
Accessibility
- On white6.79:1Good 3/5
- On black12.25:1Excellent 5/5
- Color blind friendly94% similarExcellent 5/5
Contrast is the best any color in the palette reaches on a plain white or black background. Color blind friendly shows how much of the difference between the colors is kept under the common kinds of color blindness.
| Color | Role | HEX | Lightness |
|---|---|---|---|
| ≈ Silver | Background | #9BD0C8 | 82% |
| ≈ Silver | Surface | #ACB3CB | 77% |
| ≈ Terracotta | Primary | #BC798E | 65% |
| ≈ Olive | Accent | #857856 | 58% |
| ≈ Slate | Text | #316174 | 47% |
No palette color is readable as text on the background, so use #021E29 for text.
:root {
--color-background: #9bd0c8;
--color-surface: #acb3cb;
--color-primary: #bc798e;
--color-accent: #857856;
--color-text: #021e29;
}
@theme {
--color-background: #9bd0c8;
--color-surface: #acb3cb;
--color-primary: #bc798e;
--color-accent: #857856;
--color-ink: #021e29;
}
About this palette
Weathered Terracotta Estuary is palette number 14,998,410 of Tintly's fifteen million generated palettes. It is a muted palette built on a tetradic scheme, and it is anchored by Terracotta (#BC798E), the most saturated of its five colors.
The palette reads as relaxed, mature and easy to live with. Its colors run from Silver (#9BD0C8) at the light end to Slate (#316174) at the dark end, covering 47% to 82% perceptual lightness, so it has real range rather than five similar tones.
The five colors
1. ≈ Silver #9BD0C8: suggested role background. It is a teal color with 82% lightness and a chroma of 0.056.
2. ≈ Silver #ACB3CB: suggested role surface. It is a blue color with 77% lightness and a chroma of 0.035.
3. ≈ Terracotta #BC798E: suggested role primary. It is a rose color with 65% lightness and a chroma of 0.088.
4. ≈ Olive #857856: suggested role accent. It is a yellow color with 58% lightness and a chroma of 0.051.
5. ≈ Slate #316174: suggested role text. It is a cyan color with 47% lightness and a chroma of 0.06.
Harmony and structure
Four hues are spaced around the wheel in two complementary pairs. It is the richest scheme, and the hardest to balance.
In this palette the hues fall in the teal, blue, rose, yellow and cyan families, spread across 270 degrees of the OKLCH hue circle. Muted palettes keep chroma between 0.035 and 0.09, and lightness between 48% and 84%, which is why the set feels consistent.
Temperature and mood
Overall the palette is temperature-balanced: 2 of its 5 chromatic colors lean warm and 2 lean cool. Its average chroma of 0.058 makes the saturation soft.
That combination suits editorial websites, lifestyle and home brands and portfolios, and it is a good fit when you want a design to feel relaxed, mature and easy to live with.
Accessibility and contrast
The strongest pairing is Silver (#9BD0C8) with Slate (#316174) at a contrast ratio of 3.96:1, which is WCAG AA large. Across all 10 possible pairs, 0 reach the 4.5:1 AA level for normal text and 2 more reach 3:1 for large text.
No other palette color reaches 4.5:1 on the background (#9BD0C8), so this page suggests #021E29 for text, a darkened Slate that reaches 10.03:1. Check any pair you use in the contrast checker.
All five colors stay distinguishable under protanopia, deuteranopia and tritanopia simulations, which is a good sign, although it is no substitute for testing with real users.
How to use it
Suggested roles: #9BD0C8 as the background, #ACB3CB for cards and surfaces, #BC798E as the primary brand color, #857856 as the accent, and #021E29 for text (a computed darker shade of Slate, because no palette color is readable on that background). A reliable starting split is 60% background and surface, 30% primary and 10% accent.
Let one hue take most of the space and use the others sparingly. Control the mood with lightness and saturation rather than hue.
Typical uses for a muted palette include editorial websites, lifestyle and home brands, portfolios and calm dashboards. Open it in the generator to lock the colors you love and reroll the rest, or in the visualizer to see it on real layouts.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Weathered Terracotta Estuary accessible?
Its best pair reaches 3.96:1 (#9BD0C8 on #316174). 0 of 10 pairs reach WCAG AA for normal text. Always check the exact text and background you use.
Which color should be the main brand color?
Terracotta (#BC798E) is the most saturated color that is neither the lightest nor the darkest, which makes it the natural primary.
What is this palette good for?
It suits editorial websites, lifestyle and home brands, portfolios and calm dashboards, where a relaxed, mature and easy to live with feel works well.