Mortar Color
Mortar is a gray color with hex code #504351. This page covers its meaning, all color values, harmonies, colors that go with mortar, shades, tints, similar colors, CSS examples, FAQs, and WCAG contrast ratios.
Mortar Color Values
What Does Mortar Mean?
Mortar belongs to the gray family of colors. Gray settles arguments between colors. Practical, quiet, and hard to date-stamp, it lets brighter hues carry the personality while providing structure. Warm grays cozy a room up; cool grays keep it businesslike. Being on the dark side, Mortar adds weight and depth. It suits text, shadows, and grounding elements more than wide-open backgrounds.
In the ISCC-NBS color naming system, Mortar is classified as a purple (nearest centroid: dark grayish purple, #50404D).
Color Harmonies
Complementary
Analogous
Triadic
Colors That Go With Mortar
Mortar and #445143 are complements, parked opposite each other on the wheel. Together they hit maximum contrast, so a rough 70/30 split keeps the pairing from shouting.
Analogous neighbors — #494351 and #51434B, which sit beside mortar on the wheel. Pairings like this feel calm and settled, which suits backgrounds and gradients.
For an energetic three-color palette, pair mortar with triadic partners #515043 and #435150. All three sit evenly spaced around the wheel, so the scheme stays lively without clashing.
Build and test these combinations in our Color Wheel Tool or check text readability with the Contrast Checker.
Tints and Shades
Tints (lighter)
Shades (darker)
Similar Colors
- Gravel —
#4A444B(Delta E 5) - Matterhorn —
#4E3B41(Delta E 7) - Ship Grey —
#3E3A44(Delta E 7) - Emperor —
#514649(Delta E 7) - Don Juan —
#5D4C51(Delta E 7)
CSS Examples
.text { color: #504351; }
.background { background-color: #504351; }
.border { border: 2px solid #504351; }
.shadow { box-shadow: 0 4px 6px #50435140; }WCAG Contrast
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the hex code for mortar?
Mortar has the hex code #504351. In RGB notation it is rgb(80, 67, 81), in HSL it is hsl(296, 9%, 29%), and its OKLCH value is 0.401, 0.029, 323.8.
What does the color mortar mean?
Gray-family colors like mortar carry distinct psychological associations. Mortar belongs to the gray family of colors. Gray settles arguments between colors. Practical, quiet, and hard to date-stamp, it lets brighter hues carry the personality while providing structure. Warm grays cozy a room up; cool grays keep it businesslike. Being on the dark side, Mortar adds weight and depth. It suits text, shadows, and grounding elements more than wide-open backgrounds.
What colors go with mortar?
Mortar has three easy routes: its complement #445143 for punch, its neighbors #494351 and #51434B for something calmer, or triadic partners #515043 and #435150 when you want energy.
Is mortar a standard web color?
No — Mortar is not a CSS keyword. Use its hex value #504351 or any RGB/HSL equivalent in your stylesheets.
How do I make mortar lighter or darker?
To lighten mortar, add white to create tints; to darken it, add black to create shades. The tints and shades table above shows five computed steps of each, from #E3DEE3 (lightest tint) to #0E0C0E (darkest shade).
About Mortar
Mortar is classified as a Purple in the ISCC-NBS color naming system, within the Gray hue family. It has The color is recognized by Resene.
Use our Color Converter to convert #504351 to any other color format, or explore the Color Wheel to find harmonious color combinations.