Teal

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.

Colour stories

Why eye colour appears different beside clothing

The same simultaneous-contrast effect that makes a grey square look different against different-coloured backgrounds also applies to eye colour: a nearby clothing colour can make eyes look more or less vivid, or shift their apparent warmth, without the eyes themselves changing at all.

In practice: If eye colour looks unusually vivid or muted in a particular outfit, the clothing colour beside the face is a common, ordinary explanation — not a change in the eyes themselves.

See tealImage credit

Uses & contexts

Often confused with

Using teal 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 works across a range of sizes. At chroma 30 it is assertive enough to register on a small object and restrained enough not to dominate a wall.

• Walls and large surfaces

  strong

  Chroma 30 sits inside the range walls and large surfaces carry without taking over the room.

• Secondary surfaces

  strong

  Chroma 30 sits inside the range secondary surfaces carry without taking over the room.

• Furniture

  strong

  Chroma 30 sits inside the range furniture carry without taking over the room.

• Rugs, curtains and bedding

  strong

  Chroma 30 sits inside the range rugs, curtains and bedding carry without taking over the room.

• Trim and joinery

  strong

  Chroma 30 sits inside the range trim and joinery carry without taking over the room.

• Accents and small objects

  strong

  Chroma 30 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 lightmoderate

Under warm bulbs

Warm bulbs emit little short-wavelength energy, so there is less for a cyan to reflect. There is enough chroma here to survive it, though it will read warmer and slightly duller.

Under cool bulbs

Cool light flatters this — it will hold its identity and may read slightly more saturated than in warm light.

In daylight

A mid-tone reads most consistently across the day, which is why so much upholstery sits in this band.

In a dim room

Enough lightness and chroma to stay recognisable in a dim room, though it will lose some saturation.

Compared with the sample card

Expect a modest step darker than the chart, which is normal and is why sampling a large area matters.

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

With wood

• Oak

  needs care

  Opposed in undertone to Oak without much else to explain the difference, which is the combination the eye most often reads as an error. 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.

• Walnut

  works well

  Opposite in undertone to Walnut, and separated enough in hue that the difference reads as deliberate contrast rather than as a clash. 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.

• Pine

  works well

  Opposite in undertone to Pine, and separated enough in depth that the difference reads as deliberate contrast rather than as a clash. 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.

• Plywood

  needs care

  Opposed in undertone to Plywood without much else to explain the difference, which is the combination the eye most often reads as an error. 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.

• Light wood (ash, birch, beech)

  works well

  Opposite in undertone to Light wood (ash, birch, beech), and separated enough in depth that the difference reads as deliberate contrast rather than as a clash. 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.

• Dark wood

  works well

  Opposite in undertone to Dark wood, and separated enough in hue that the difference reads as deliberate contrast rather than as a clash. 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.

• Reddish wood (mahogany, cherry, teak)

  works well

  Opposite in undertone to Reddish wood (mahogany, cherry, teak), and separated enough in hue that the difference reads as deliberate contrast rather than as a clash. 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.

With metal fittings

• Brass

  works well

  Shares Brass's cool bias, so the two agree about the temperature of the room. They sit close in depth, so expect a quiet, tonal relationship rather than a contrast. Metal carries more attention than its area suggests, so repetition matters more than the exact finish.

• Gold-tone

  works well

  Shares Gold-tone's cool bias, so the two agree about the temperature of the room. They sit close in depth, so expect a quiet, tonal relationship rather than a contrast. Metal carries more attention than its area suggests, so repetition matters more than the exact finish.

• Chrome

  works well

  Shares Chrome's cool bias, so the two agree about the temperature of the room. There is also 32 points of lightness between them, which keeps the two readable as separate elements. Metal carries more attention than its area suggests, so repetition matters more than the exact finish.

• Stainless steel

  works well

  Shares Stainless steel's cool bias, so the two agree about the temperature of the room. There is also 28 points of lightness between them, which keeps the two readable as separate elements. Metal carries more attention than its area suggests, so repetition matters more than the exact finish.

• Black metal

  works well

  Shares Black metal's cool bias, so the two agree about the temperature of the room. There is also 41 points of lightness between them, which keeps the two readable as separate elements. Metal carries more attention than its area suggests, so repetition matters more than the exact finish.

• Copper

  works well

  Shares Copper's cool bias, so the two agree about the temperature of the room. They sit close in depth, so expect a quiet, tonal relationship rather than a contrast. Metal carries more attention than its area suggests, so repetition matters more than the exact finish.

Where it can go wrong

• No characteristic failure mode stands out from this colour's measurements — it sits in a comfortable range for lightness and chroma alike. The usual caution still applies: judge it from a large sample, in place, in the light the room actually gets.

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.

In nature