Inspiration in the color golden brown.

Learn the history and meaning of the color golden brown, a brown-yellow like the color of crude gold.

Design with golden brown

Golden Brown

#996515

Color wheel

Explore more colors.

How to use the color golden brown.

Golden Brown

#996515,#FFFFFF

color-how-to-bento

Create Now

Information about golden brown color.

The golden brown HEX code picker is #996515. This is a medium-brown behind a veil of gold yellow.

Golden brown can be achieved in a RGB space with 153 red, 101 green, and 21 blue. The color golden brown can be achieved in a CMYK color space with 0% cyan, 34% magenta, 86% yellow, and 40% black.

Golden brown and its metallic neighbors.

The color golden brown has an earthy, matte finish, even with its “golden” name. It does have metallic neighbors, though, with similar color profiles. On one side of golden brown sits copper, a brown-orange with a touch more magenta and a little less yellow and black, making it lighter and redder. On the other side of golden brown sits bronze, with less yellow and only half the black, making it redder and lighter.

The psychology of the color golden brown.

Golden brown color shares its primary psychology with brown. This evokes feelings of growth, understanding, stability, and connection with nature. With its yellow-gold hue, the color golden brown also conjures a sense of warmth and optimism.

Combine golden brown with other colors.

Golden brown showcases its warmth in palettes with teal, dark blue, and eggplant. Balancing the color golden brown with cool blues conjures a feeling of balance and harmony. Golden brown can also be combined with oranges and reds for a striking autumnal look. Combined with greens and other browns, the color golden brown looks earthy and evokes stability.

Nature’s inspirations in the color golden brown.

The precise hue of color golden brown appears frequently in nature. For example, some silt glistens golden brown. Cope’s Giant Salamander sports the hue, too. The fur of the common muskrat can also come in the color golden brown, as well as the skin of the rough earth snake.

style

secondary

What is the meaning of the color golden brown?

The color golden brown shifts from yellow-brown to something slightly darker, close to the color russet. The term was popularized in the age of gas ovens and popular printed recipes, many of which call for that perfect, “golden brown color” when baking or frying.

Golden brown is a medium brown with enough yellow shimmer that it’s reminiscent of crude gold.

color-bistro

#996515,#FFFFFF

The history of golden brown color.

Golden brown sits between two colors who were named much earlier.

Every color existed long before it had a name, and it’s taken thousands of years to introduce the countless names we have today. Golden brown color sits between two other colors that got their names much sooner. On one side is bronze, one of the metals that defined an era of human history. On the other side is russet, a word meaning “reddish brown” that was introduced to English in the 15th century.

The term “golden brown” had a precursor: baking.

To understand the history of golden brown color—that desirable hue described in baking and frying recipes—look to the history of baking. The oldest known ovens were found in Croatia, dating back around 6,500 years. The concept took a while to catch on, with primitive ovens showing up in Ancient Egypt around 4,700 years ago and in Ancient Rome around 2,200 years ago.

When conventional baking ovens—and the color golden brown—caught on.

The color golden brown gained popularity in the baking recipes that boomed after conventional ovens were introduced into homes. James Sharp, a British inventor, patented a gas stove in 1826. By the 1920s, gas ovens were found in nearly every kitchen. Recipes were printed fast and furiously with new demand, and without photos, these recipes relied on descriptions. “Golden brown” color was popularized as the finished color for many baked and fried dishes.

The color golden brown across different cultures.

Golden brown color in the world of cosmetics.

The color golden brown is a natural, near-shimmery tone seen in many cosmetic products. For example, golden brown is a popular color description for medium-brown hair dyes. It’s also a desirable shade of summer tan for some. When used in eyeshadow, most medium-brown is given a subtle gold shimmer, which bounces light off in a statement of golden brown.

Golden brown color in pop culture.

It might not be the color you expected to inspire a song, but the English punk rock band The Stranglers wrote and recorded a song called “Golden Brown” in 1982. The song lyrics sparked controversy, too, because they appeared to assign the color golden brown to a glorified description of the drug heroin. After years of denial, band member Hugh Cornwell said in his book The Stranglers Song By Song that “Golden Brown” was indeed about heroin, but it was also about a girl.

Golden brown color in fashion and interior design.

The color golden brown is an earthy, medium brown that fits perfectly into today’s biophilic palettes in fashion and interior design. Golden brown also shimmers behind a veil of yellow that gives it a youthful look. Combined with royal blue, teal, and other natural blues or greens, it falls right into place. The color golden brown is common in finished leathers, too, whose texture lends golden brown color a look of refinement and understated luxury.