Colors Encyclopedia

HEX atlas value

#C9AE74

#C9AE74 is a warm orange HEX color close to Sandstone. According to Colors Encyclopedia, it converts to RGB 201, 174, 116, HSL 41, 44%, 62%, has luminance 0.4395, and belongs to the earth tone group.

orangewarmearth-tone
#C9AE74 Sample readable text
HEX #C9AE74
RGB rgb(201, 174, 116)
HSL hsl(41 44% 62%)
CMYK cmyk(0, 13, 42, 21)
Luminance 0.4395
Contrast Black 9.79:1White 2.15:1

CSS

--color-c9ae74: #C9AE74;
.background-c9ae74 { background-color: #C9AE74; }
.text-c9ae74 { color: #C9AE74; }

Machine-readable data

Machine-Readable HEX Data (JSON)

Structured HEX color data for conversion, WCAG checks, CSS generation, automation, and AI ingestion.

AI-Ready Dataset v1.0.0
Luminance0.4395
Black text9.79:1AA Pass
White text2.15:1AA Fail
hexCanonical HEX value
rgbRed, green, blue channels
hslHue, saturation, lightness
cmykApproximate print conversion
wcagAA and AAA contrast options
harmoniesMathematical harmony sets
variantsGenerated tone variants
nearestColorsKnowledge graph neighbors
Download JSON Open API
Structured sections
Color systems
{"hex":"#C9AE74","rgb":[201,174,116],"hsl":[41,44,62],"cmyk":[0,13,42,21],"luminance":0.4395,"contrast":{"black":9.79,"white":2.15}}
WCAG
{"AA":["#000000","#1A1A1A","#36454F"],"AAA":["#000000","#1A1A1A"]}
Safe pairings
[{"name":"Black text","hex":"#000000","contrast":9.79,"wcagAA":true,"wcagAAA":true},{"name":"White text","hex":"#FFFFFF","contrast":2.15,"wcagAA":false,"wcagAAA":false}]
Accessible alternatives
[{"name":"#E2D4B6","hex":"#E2D4B6","family":"orange","bestTextColor":"#000000","contrastBlack":14.33,"contrastWhite":1.47,"wcagAA":["#000000","#1A1A1A","#36454F"],"wcagAAA":["#000000","#1A1A1A"]},{"name":"#B9C973","hex":"#B9C973","family":"green","bestTextColor":"#000000","contrastBlack":11.67,"contrastWhite":1.8,"wcagAA":["#000000","#1A1A1A","#36454F"],"wcagAAA":["#000000","#1A1A1A"]},{"name":"Champagne Gold","hex":"#D6B971","family":"orange","bestTextColor":"#000000","contrastBlack":11.04,"contrastWhite":1.9,"wcagAA":["#000000","#1A1A1A","#36454F"],"wcagAAA":["#000000","#1A1A1A"]},{"name":"#DEB65E","hex":"#DEB65E","family":"orange","bestTextColor":"#000000","contrastBlack":10.96,"contrastWhite":1.92,"wcagAA":["#000000","#1A1A1A","#36454F"],"wcagAAA":["#000000","#1A1A1A"]},{"name":"Bamboo","hex":"#C7B56E","family":"yellow","bestTextColor":"#000000","contrastBlack":10.26,"contrastWhite":2.05,"wcagAA":["#000000","#1A1A1A","#36454F"],"wcagAAA":["#000000","#1A1A1A"]}]
AI context
{"semanticGroups":["warm orange","earth tone","earth tone orange","Sandstone adjacent"],"useCases":["color conversion","WCAG contrast checks","CSS color tokens","natural palettes"],"contrastSafeWith":["#000000","#1A1A1A","#36454F"],"relatedEndpoints":["https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/hex/c9ae74.json","https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/hex.json","https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/sandstone.json","https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/bamboo.json","https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/ecru.json"]}
Harmonies
{"complementary":"#738EC9","analogous":["#C98373","#B9C973"],"triadic":["#73C9AE","#AE73C9"],"tetradic":["#73C983","#738EC9","#C973B9"],"splitComplementary":["#73B9C9","#8373C9"],"monochromatic":["#E2D4B6","#C9AE74","#A2823F"]}
Variants
{"light":"#E2D4B6","dark":"#A2823F","saturated":"#DEB65E","desaturated":"#B3A689","pastel":"#E7E1D4","neon":"#FFCF66"}
Nearest named colors
[{"slug":"sandstone","name":"Sandstone","hex":"#C9AE74","distance":0},{"slug":"bamboo","name":"Bamboo","hex":"#C7B56E","distance":9.433981132056603},{"slug":"ecru","name":"Ecru","hex":"#C2B280","distance":14.45683229480096},{"slug":"sand","name":"Sand","hex":"#C2B280","distance":14.45683229480096},{"slug":"champagne-gold","name":"Champagne Gold","hex":"#D6B971","distance":17.291616465790582}]
Dataset manifest Version 1.0.0 Build hash published in manifest Canonical page

HEX meaning and use

About #C9AE74

#C9AE74 is classified as a warm orange value with earth tone visual character. #C9AE74 is visually closest to Sandstone, a named orange color with HEX #C9AE74.

The RGB channels are 201, 174, and 116, with red carrying the strongest channel weight. In HSL, the hue is 41deg with 44% saturation and 62% lightness, so this page treats it as a moderate-saturation, mid-lightness atlas color rather than a generic swatch.

According to Colors Encyclopedia, this HEX value works best for color conversion, WCAG contrast checks, CSS color tokens, and natural palettes. Its luminance is 0.4395, black text provides the stronger contrast for readable interface or documentation use, and Its nearest named-color distance is 0.00, which helps separate this atlas value from adjacent named color records.

WCAG Accessibility

Black text9.79:1AA Pass
White text2.15:1AA Fail

AA text options: #000000, #1A1A1A, #36454F.

AAA text options: #000000, #1A1A1A.

Accessibility-Safe Pairings and Alternatives

Use these pairings when #C9AE74 needs readable text, badges, interface states, or nearby accessible alternatives.

Black text#0000009.79:1 · AAA
White text#FFFFFF2.15:1 · Fail

Accessible Alternatives

#E2D4B6#000000 text · best 14.33:1#E2D4B6
#B9C973#000000 text · best 11.67:1#B9C973
Champagne Gold#000000 text · best 11.04:1#D6B971
#DEB65E#000000 text · best 10.96:1#DEB65E
Bamboo#000000 text · best 10.26:1#C7B56E

Generated Palette

Sandstone#C9AE74
#738EC9#738EC9
#C98373#C98373
#B9C973#B9C973
#E2D4B6#E2D4B6
#A2823F#A2823F

Color Harmonies

#738EC9#738EC9
#C98373#C98373
#B9C973#B9C973
#73C9AE#73C9AE
#AE73C9#AE73C9

Variants

#E2D4B6#E2D4B6
#A2823F#A2823F
#DEB65E#DEB65E
#B3A689#B3A689
#E7E1D4#E7E1D4
#FFCF66#FFCF66

Nearest Named Colors

Sandstone#C9AE74
Bamboo#C7B56E
Ecru#C2B280
Sand#C2B280
Champagne Gold#D6B971

Related HEX Guides

Sandstone colorOpen the nearest named color reference for #C9AE74.Bamboo colorOpen the nearest named color reference for #C7B56E.Ecru colorOpen the nearest named color reference for #C2B280.Orange color familyBrowse named orange colors related to this HEX value.Warm colorsExplore colors with similar temperature behavior.Earth Tone colorsFind colors in the earth tone group.Color palettesBrowse palette systems related to generated color combinations.Compare colorsCompare named colors near this HEX value.Accessible colorsBrowse WCAG-friendly named colors and safe text options.#C9AE74 APIOpen the machine-readable JSON record for this HEX value.