Maroon

See this colour in the real world

Colours in photographs vary with lighting, material, camera processing and screen calibration — the named colours below are visual approximations, not exact measurements.

Uses & contexts

Nearest named colours, and how they differ

• Carmine is the closest, at ΔE00 6.0 from maroon: 5 points lighter, 2 points more saturated and 7° round towards red. That is clearly different, though many people would use one name for both.

• Burgundy is next, at ΔE00 9.0 from maroon: 8 points less saturated and 15° round towards red. That is clearly different, though many people would use one name for both.

• Brick Red is next, at ΔE00 10.1 from maroon: 13 points lighter. That is clearly different, though many people would use one name for both.

• Brown is next, at ΔE00 10.4 from maroon: 12 points lighter, 3 points less saturated and 7° round towards red. That is clearly different, though many people would use one name for both.

Distances are CIEDE2000 between catalogue reference values; lightness and saturation are CIELAB L* and C*. How to read a ΔE figure · Measure any two colours

Often confused with

Using maroon in a real space

Worked out from this colour’s own measurements — its lightness, saturation and undertone — rather than written for it. That is why the guidance differs from one colour to the next even when the two look similar.

What role it can play

This is a small-scale colour. At chroma 61 it holds attention easily, which is a strength on a cushion or a door and a liability across four walls.

• Walls and large surfaces

  difficult

  At chroma 61 this is far above the level walls and large surfaces usually carry comfortably. It can be done deliberately, but it will be the room rather than part of it.

• Secondary surfaces

  workable

  Chroma 61 is above the usual comfort level for secondary surfaces, so expect it to take charge. That is a legitimate choice in a room that wants a subject. On panelling, a chimney breast or an alcove this is semi-permanent — repaintable, but not casually.

• Furniture

  workable

  Chroma 61 is above the usual comfort level for furniture, so expect it to take charge. That is a legitimate choice in a room that wants a subject. In a sofa or a cabinet this is one purchase you will live with, so it is worth seeing the piece in the actual room first.

• Rugs, curtains and bedding

  workable

  Chroma 61 is above the usual comfort level for rugs, curtains and bedding, so expect it to take charge. That is a legitimate choice in a room that wants a subject. In rugs, curtains and bedding it is the cheapest commitment in the room to reverse, which makes it the right place to test a strong colour.

• Trim and joinery

  strong

  Chroma 61 sits inside the range trim and joinery carry without taking over the room.

• Accents and small objects

  strong

  Chroma 61 is exactly what an accent is for. The saturation that makes this difficult across a wall is the reason it works on a cushion, a door or a single chair.

How it behaves under different lightresilient

Under warm bulbs

Warm light reinforces this colour's own bias, so it will read warmer and more saturated in the evening than it does at noon. At this chroma that can tip from rich into strident.

Under cool bulbs

Cool sources drain warm colours: expect this to lose some of its warmth and read greyer.

In daylight

Deep colours hold their identity in daylight better than pale ones, because there is more of the range left to work in. This will look most like itself in good indirect light.

In a dim room

At low light levels the eye's colour discrimination genuinely falls and deep colours converge toward each other. This will read as "dark" rather than as its own colour in a dim room unless it is lit.

Compared with the sample card

Already deep, so there is little further to fall — but on a large matte surface it will absorb enough light to look flatter than the sample.

What colour temperature actually means · Why two bulbs at the same rating can differ

With wood

• Light wood (ash, birch, beech)

  works well

  Shares the warm bias of Light wood (ash, birch, beech), so they agree about the temperature of the room, and 60 points of lightness keep it readable as separate from this colour.

• Oak · Pine · Plywood

  needs care

  Shares the warm bias of Oak, Pine and Plywood, but at chroma 61 against materials that carry colour of their own, the two compete rather than combine. It works when this colour is confined to a small area and fails when both are large.

• Walnut · Dark wood · Reddish wood (mahogany, cherry, teak)

  needs care

  Sits close to Walnut, Dark wood and Reddish wood (mahogany, cherry, teak) without matching them (ΔE00 16–17) — near enough that the eye reads an attempted match and far enough that it fails. Either move decisively away or repeat the tone exactly.

The amount of timber matters as much as the tone: one piece is an accent, a floor plus joinery is the room’s dominant colour. More on working with wood tones

With metal fittings

• Chrome · Stainless steel

  works well

  Shares the warm bias of Chrome and Stainless steel, so they agree about the temperature of the room, and 50–55 points of lightness keep them readable as separate from this colour.

• Black metal

  works well

  Shares the warm bias of Black metal and sits within 18 points of it in lightness, so expect a quiet, tonal relationship rather than a contrast.

• Brass · Gold-tone · Copper

  needs care

  Shares the warm bias of Brass, Gold-tone and Copper, but at chroma 61 against materials that carry colour of their own, the two compete rather than combine. It works when this colour is confined to a small area and fails when both are large.

Metal carries more attention than its area suggests, so repetition matters more than the exact finish. More on metals and mixing them

Where it can go wrong

• May dominate a small or dim room. At L*26 and chroma 61 it absorbs light and holds attention at the same time, which is a lot to ask of a space that has little of either.

Lighter, darker & directional variants

Calculated directional adjustments. Some directions converge on the same result from this starting colour — shown as one merged card with an explanation, not repeated duplicates. Generated shades link to a curated profile only when one is close enough.