CSS color names · Whites

White Smoke color: hex #f5f5f5, RGB and HSL

White Smoke is the CSS keyword whitesmoke, hex #f5f5f5, rgb(245, 245, 245), hsl(0, 0%, 96%). It is a very light neutral gray with no hue in the whites family. Below: the colors that go with it, its tints and shades, how it reads as text, and a complete interface palette built from it.

CSS name
whitesmoke
Hex
#f5f5f5
RGB
rgb(245, 245, 245)
HSL
hsl(0, 0%, 96%)
On white
1.09:1 — fails AA; use as a fill, not text
On black
19.26:1 — passes AA for body text
.example {
  color: whitesmoke;          /* keyword */
  color: #f5f5f5;          /* hex */
  color: rgb(245, 245, 245); /* rgb */
  color: hsl(0, 0%, 96%); /* hsl */
}

What colors go with white smoke

White Smoke has no hue, so the wheel has nothing to rotate — every match below is the same neutral. That is the point of a neutral: it pairs with any saturated color, which is why grays and near-whites are the background, surface, text and border roles of an interface rather than its brand color. Pick one hue for actions and let white smoke carry everything else.

Complementary

The opposite hue, 180° away — the strongest contrast, best kept to one accent per screen.

Split-complementary

The two neighbors of the complement, at 150° and 210° — most of the contrast with less tension, and two accents instead of one.

Triadic

Two hues at 120° and 240° — three evenly spaced signals, the scheme charts and category colors want.

Analogous

The neighbors at −30° and +30° — calm and cohesive, with emphasis coming from weight and size rather than hue.

Tints and shades of white smoke

Tints add lightness toward white; shades remove it toward black. The hue and saturation stay fixed, so every step still reads as white smoke — these are the hover, pressed, disabled and surface variants a single brand color needs.

Tints (lighter)

#f7f7f7
#f8f8f8
#fafafa
#fcfcfc
#fdfdfd

Shades (darker)

#cccccc
#a3a3a3
#7b7b7b
#525252
#292929

A UI color palette built from white smoke

The eight semantic roles an interface actually uses, derived from white smoke as the primary with the split-complementary rule: secondary and accent rotate around the wheel, and the five neutrals take the hue at lightness steps tuned for light and dark mode. This is the same derivation the palette generator runs — open it there to change the rule, drag the anchors, or export the set as CSS variables.

Light mode
primary
#f5f5f5
secondary
#f5f5f5
accent
#f5f5f5
background
#fcfcfc
surface
#f5f5f5
text
#1a1a1a
muted
#737373
border
#e6e6e6
Dark mode
primary
#f5f5f5
secondary
#f5f5f5
accent
#f5f5f5
background
#141414
surface
#1f1f1f
text
#f5f5f5
muted
#a6a6a6
border
#383838

Using white smoke in an interface

The near-whites are page backgrounds. A canvas at ivory or alice blue instead of pure white is the difference between a page that feels designed and one that feels blank — and it is exactly what a tinted `background` role does in a semantic palette. Whichever role white smoke takes, define it once as a token rather than repeating the keyword: the semantic palette guide covers the eight roles, and the guides to complementary, triadic and the other color schemes explain how to weight the matches above.

What is the hex code for White Smoke?
White Smoke is #f5f5f5. In CSS the keyword whitesmoke, the hex #f5f5f5, rgb(245, 245, 245) and hsl(0, 0%, 96%) all paint the same color.
What colors go with White Smoke?
White Smoke has no hue, so it goes with everything: neutrals like this one are the background, text and border colors that let a single brand hue stand out. Pair it with one saturated color for actions and keep the rest of the interface in the same gray family.
What is the opposite of White Smoke on the color wheel?
White Smoke is achromatic — it sits at the center of the wheel rather than on it, so it has no opposite. Any saturated hue contrasts with it equally.
Can I use White Smoke for text?
White Smoke as text on white has a contrast ratio of 1.09:1, which fails WCAG AA for body text (4.5:1) and for large text (3:1). On black it is 19.26:1, which passes for body text. Use it as text on dark surfaces, or as a fill with dark text on top.

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