YELLOWS

Citronella

#CBA901

RGB 203, 169, 1 · HSL 50°, 99%, 40% · CMYK 0, 17, 100, 20

Citronella is #CBA901 in HEX — rgb(203, 169, 1), hsl(50°, 99%, 40%), cmyk(0%, 17%, 100%, 20%).

Citronella pulls into the rich end of the yellows spectrum — HSL 50°, 99%, 40%. The saturated saturation makes it bold and immediate, and the hue reads warm. In interior projects it shines on kitchens, breakfast nooks, kids' rooms, accent walls — bringing sunlight indoors. Reads best alongside white trim, natural linen, light oak, brushed brass.

Color Codes

HEX#CBA901

RGB203, 169, 1

HSL50°, 99%, 40%

HSV50°, 100%, 80%

CMYK0, 17, 100, 20

Decimal13347073

CSS RGBrgb(203, 169, 1)

CSS HSLhsl(50, 99%, 40%)

Paint Matches — this color across 16 brands

Sherwin-Williams

Citronella SW6915

Exact match

Vista Paint

Mustard Field K-1201

ΔE 3.5 · #D2B11D

RAL

Broom Yellow 1032

ΔE 3.9 · #D6AE01

PPG

Grass Daisy 1215-6

ΔE 6.7 · #CEB02A

Dulux

Finger Banana S17G9

ΔE 7.5 · #E1BB2F

Behr

Yellow Gold 360D-6

ΔE 7.8 · #E2BA30

Dunn-Edwards

Brassy DEA122

ΔE 8.4 · #D5AB2C

Benjamin Moore

Sun 350

ΔE 10.3 · #E5BD3C

Hallman-Lindsay

Sun Drops 823

ΔE 11.9 · #EAAF11

Valspar

Buttered Toffee 3005-3A

ΔE 12.3 · #EFBB3B

Kobra

Yellow 07

ΔE 15 · #FAD140

Kilz

Extrovert LH250

ΔE 15.2 · #FECA43

Dutch Boy

Happy Day VS-9601

ΔE 15.7 · #FFCA2C

Colorhouse

Aspire .06 Aspire-06

ΔE 17.8 · #FFBA38

IKEA

IKEA191 191

ΔE 18.9 · #DBB651

Farrow & Ball

Babouche 223

ΔE 23 · #ECC363

Light Reflectance & Undertone

Light Reflectance Value (LRV)

41/100

Medium

0 · DarkLight · 100

Balanced reflectance — holds colour without washing out. Versatile for most rooms and the most forgiving range for true-to-chip results.

Undertone

TemperatureWarm MasstoneYellow UndertoneGreen

Reads as a warm yellow with a green undertone showing through, especially in daylight. Pair trim and adjacent colours to either calm or amplify that undertone.

Color Theory

Complementary

#CBA901

#0123CB

Analogous

#CB4401

#CBA901

#88CB01

Triadic

#CBA901

#01CBA9

#A901CB

Split-Complementary

#CBA901

#0188CB

#4401CB

Tetradic

#CBA901

#01CB44

#0123CB

#CB0188

Monochromatic

#332A00

#7F6A01

#CBA901

#FED81B

#FEE567

Rectangle

#CBA901

#23CB01

#0123CB

#A901CB

Compound

#CBA901

#88CB01

#0123CB

#4401CB

Variations

Lighter

#FED50B

#F0D756

#EFE2A4

Darker

#A38800

#705E00

#413600

Saturation

#847A48

#CBA901

#CBAA01

Interior Use

Best Rooms

kitchens, breakfast nooks, kids' rooms

Best Uses

accent walls, ceilings, cabinetry highlights

Pairs With

white trim, natural linen, light oak, brushed brass

Accessibility (WCAG)

vs White

2.28:1

Fail

vs Black

9.21:1

AAA

Deuteranopia

#CBA901

#C2AF01

Original → Simulated

Protanopia

#CBA901

#AFAF40

Original → Simulated

Tritanopia

#CBA901

#CF9DA7

Original → Simulated

Color Psychology

Bright · Optimistic

Citronella brings light into spaces that lack it — kitchens, breakfast nooks, kids' rooms wake up under it. The trick with yellow is restraint: lean toward the muted/buttery end if you want it on walls; reserve high-chroma versions for accents and trim.

SymbolismSunlight, clarity, intellect

PersonalityCheerful, alert, sociable

sunlightclarityjoyalertnesskitchenmorning

How it looks under different light

#D8AB1C

Warm Bulb 2700K

Incandescent / soft white LED — pulls colour toward yellow/amber.

#CBA901

Daylight 5500K

Midday natural light or daylight-spec LED — closest to the paint chip.

#C5B040

Cool Bulb 6500K

Cool white LED / overcast daylight — pulls colour toward blue.

Pairs With

#EEEDE7

Trim

Matched off-white

Same hue at 92% lightness — trim reads coordinated, not stark.

#F8F8F7

Ceiling

Whisper tint

Near-white with a hint of the hero's undertone — ceiling feels intentional.

#11289C

Accent

Complementary punch

Hue +180°, slightly muted for paint vs. screen — use on a door, frame, or single piece.

#574738

Floor

Walnut neutral

Warm mid-brown grounds the scheme regardless of hero hue.

Paint Info

Brand · Product Line

Benjamin Moore / Regal Select Interior

Recommended Finishes

Eggshell (walls) · Pearl (trim) · Matte (ceiling)

Eggshell hides imperfections on main walls while keeping the color rich; pearl on trim adds subtle sheen and easier cleaning; flat matte on ceilings prevents glare.

Best Surfaces

Primary walls · Cabinetry · Doors · Mouldings

Coverage & Dry Time

Typical coverage 350-400 sq ft per gallon over a primed surface.

Touch-dry in ~1 hour. Recoat after 4 hours. Full cure 7-14 days.

Primer

Standard primer is adequate.

Application Tip

Use a 9" microfiber roller on walls and a 2.5" angled sash brush for trim cuts. Two coats minimum for even depth.

Paint Calculator

Wall area (m²)

Coats

Coverage (m² / L)

You'll need

4.0 litres

1.06 US gallons · room for one touch-up coat. Buy slightly more to ensure single-batch match.

Code Snippets

CSS — color

color: #CBA901;

CSS — background

background-color: #CBA901;

CSS Variable

--color-citronella: #CBA901;

Tailwind v3 — config

colors: { 'citronella': '#CBA901' }

Tailwind — arbitrary

bg-[#CBA901] text-[#CBA901]

SCSS

$citronella: #CBA901;

Similar Colors

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#E4BC3B · ΔE 10.0

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#CCBB0E · ΔE 10.3

Chartreuse

#C1B400 · ΔE 10.4

Yellow Hibiscus

#E2C839 · ΔE 11.8

Sunrays

#F0C933 · ΔE 11.9

Citron

#D7C52E · ΔE 12.1

Citrus Burst

#D2C13D · ΔE 13.3

Yolk

#ECC900 · ΔE 15.1

Built by DSGN.HOUSE Updated 2026

Our color tools run on our own catalogue of 26,000+ real paint colors across 16 brands — Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams, Behr, Dulux, RAL and more — with the color math (HSL and CIELAB matching) computed in-house, not scraped from summaries. Every color you pick maps to a real, buyable paint with its code, so what you see here you can actually take to the store. We review and update these tools and their data regularly.

Created by Denis Kataev, founder of DSGN.HOUSE — a software engineer and digital entrepreneur building professional color-design tools for everyone.

Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #CBA901?

#CBA901 is Citronella, a mid-tone yellow with a warm undertone.

Is #CBA901 warm or cool?

Citronella reads warm, which influences how it interacts with surrounding tones and natural light.

What rooms work best with Citronella?

Citronella works well in kitchens, breakfast nooks, kids' rooms. Designers typically use it for accent walls, ceilings, cabinetry highlights.

What colors pair well with Citronella?

Citronella pairs naturally with white trim, natural linen, light oak, brushed brass. Its complementary color is also a strong contrast option for accents.

Where can I download Citronella?

You can download Citronella on DSGN.HOUSE in 15 designer formats including CSS gradient, Figma, Procreate swatches, Tailwind config, Adobe ASE, SVG, and 4K wallpapers — all free.

What's the hex code for Citronella?

The hex code is #CBA901. In RGB it's 203, 169, 1, and in HSL it's 50°, 99%, 40%.

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