Shades of white are colors that differ only slightly from pure white. Variations of white include what are commonly termed off-white colors, which may be considered part of a neutral color scheme.
In color theory, a shade is a pure color mixed with black (or having a lower lightness). Strictly speaking, a "shade of white" would be a neutral gray. This article is also about off-white colors that vary from pure white in hue, and in chroma (also called saturation, or intensity).
Colors often considered "shades of white" include cream, eggshell, ivory, Navajo white, and vanilla. Even the lighting of a room, however, can cause a pure white to be perceived as off-white.[1]
Off-white colors were pervasively paired with beiges in the 1930s,[2] and especially popular again from roughly 1955 to 1975.[3] In terms of paint, off-white paints are now becoming more popular, with Benjamin Moore having 152 shades of off-whites, Behr having 167, and PPG has 315.[4]
Below is a chart showing the computer web color shades of white. An achromatic white is a white color in which the red, green, and blues codes are exactly equal. The web colors white and white smoke are achromatic colors. A chromatic shade of white is a white color in which the red, green, and blue codes are not exactly equal, but are close to each other, which is what makes it a shade of white.
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness. White is the lightest possible color.
The web colorghost white is a tint of white loosely inspired by traditional representations of ghosts. There is no evidence that this color name was in use before the X11 color names were formulated in 1987.[citation needed]
The web color white smoke is displayed on the left.
There is no evidence that this color name was in use before the X11 color names were formulated in 1987. The color is also known as Cultured Pearl, one of crayon colors issued by Crayola in its 16-pack of Pearl Brite Crayons.[7]
The web color white solid is displayed on the left.
There is no evidence that this color name was in use before the X11 color names were formulated in 1987. Sometimes also known as Ghost White, the color has marked blue hues, although is otherwise very close to being completely white in the RGB color system.[8]
Ivory is an off-white color that resembles ivory, the material out of which the teeth and tusks of animals (such as the elephant and the walrus) are made. It has a very slight tint of yellow.
The first recorded use of ivory as a color name in English was in 1385.[10]
Dutch white is one of the colors on the Resene Color List, a color list popular in Australia and New Zealand. The color Dutch white was formulated in 2000.
Alabaster has been used as a color in English since at least 1594 (in Shakespeare's The Rape of Lucrece), but the origin of the RGB coordinates is not known.
Linen
Linen #FAF0E6
An X11 color, representing the whitish color of the linen cloth.
^Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 193; Color Sample of Cornsilk: Page 43 Plate 10 Color Sample G3
^Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 193; Color Sample of Cream: Page 41 Plate 9 Color Sample D4
^Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 190; Color Sample of Beige: Page 45 Plate 11 Color Sample C2
^Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 192; Color Sample of Champagne: Page 45 Plate 11 Color Sample B3 Note: The color called Champagne in the color box above (color #F7E7CE) matches the color shown as Champagne in Maerz and Paul.
^Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 190
^Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 206; Color Sample of Vanilla: Page 43 Plate 10 Color Sample C3
^The color displayed in the color box above matches the color called flax in the 1930 book by Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill; the color flax is displayed on page 47, Plate 12, Color Sample B2.
^Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 195; Color Sample of Flax: Page 47 Plate 12 Color Sample B2