Warm paper

The colours of a well-kept notebook: cream pages, soft brown ink and one terracotta mark, so long reading feels unhurried and personal.

warm
calm
friendly

The colours

6 colours, each with a role, then the palette at work on a small page.

Cream pagebackground#f6f0e4
Fresh sheetsurface#fffaf1
Walnut inktext#2b2620
Pencil brownmuted#665a4b
Terracottaaccent#a3402a
Folded edgeborder#ddd1bd

Text on background: 13.21:1 — passes AA

Spring open days

A garden worth the walk

Paths, ponds and a glasshouse full of ferns, open every weekend from April to June.

Plan a visit

New

The late tulip border

Two hundred bulbs, planted by volunteers last autumn.

A made-up page in this palette. Every text colour reaches at least 4.5:1 on its background; the heading, at 28px, may use a 3:1 pair.

Copy the idea

Take the palette with you as a brief for a person, as instructions for an AI assistant, or as design tokens: the colours, their roles and the pairs that are safe for text.

# Warm paper — palette recipe

## The idea

- The colours of a well-kept notebook: cream pages, soft brown ink and one terracotta mark, so long reading feels unhurried and personal.
- Mood: warm, calm, friendly

## Use it for

- Long-form writing and journals
- Recipe and craft sites
- Small independent shops

## Avoid it when

- The product must feel cold, technical or clinical
- Most of the page is dense data tables

## Colours

- Cream page (background): #f6f0e4
- Fresh sheet (surface): #fffaf1
- Walnut ink (text): #2b2620
- Pencil brown (muted): #665a4b
- Terracotta (accent): #a3402a
- Folded edge (border): #ddd1bd

## Accessible pairs

- Fresh sheet on Walnut ink — 14.4:1 (AA)
- Walnut ink on Fresh sheet — 14.4:1 (AA)
- Cream page on Walnut ink — 13.2:1 (AA)
- Walnut ink on Cream page — 13.2:1 (AA)
- Folded edge on Walnut ink — 9.9:1 (AA)
- Walnut ink on Folded edge — 9.9:1 (AA)
- Fresh sheet on Pencil brown — 6.5:1 (AA)
- Pencil brown on Fresh sheet — 6.5:1 (AA)
- Fresh sheet on Terracotta — 6.1:1 (AA)
- Terracotta on Fresh sheet — 6.1:1 (AA)
- Cream page on Pencil brown — 5.9:1 (AA)
- Pencil brown on Cream page — 5.9:1 (AA)
- Cream page on Terracotta — 5.6:1 (AA)
- Terracotta on Cream page — 5.6:1 (AA)
- Folded edge on Pencil brown — 4.5:1 (AA large)
- Pencil brown on Folded edge — 4.5:1 (AA large)
- Folded edge on Terracotta — 4.2:1 (AA large)
- Terracotta on Folded edge — 4.2:1 (AA large)

## Principles

- Let cream page cover about 70% of the screen and fresh sheet about 15%, for cards and quotes
- Set all reading text in walnut ink; keep pencil brown for dates, captions and secondary details
- Spend terracotta on no more than 5% of the page: one main button, links and a single highlight per view
- Use folded edge only for thin rules and card outlines, never for text
- Keep pure white and pure black out; they break the paper feel

Design with the "Warm paper" palette.

The idea: The colours of a well-kept notebook: cream pages, soft brown ink and one terracotta mark, so long reading feels unhurried and personal.
The mood: warm, calm, friendly.

It suits:
- Long-form writing and journals
- Recipe and craft sites
- Small independent shops
It is a poor fit when:
- The product must feel cold, technical or clinical
- Most of the page is dense data tables

Use these colours, each in its role:
- Cream page (background): #f6f0e4
- Fresh sheet (surface): #fffaf1
- Walnut ink (text): #2b2620
- Pencil brown (muted): #665a4b
- Terracotta (accent): #a3402a
- Folded edge (border): #ddd1bd

Set text only in these colour pairs (text on background); use the ones marked (AA large) only for text at least 24px, or 18.66px bold:
- Fresh sheet on Walnut ink — 14.4:1 (AA)
- Walnut ink on Fresh sheet — 14.4:1 (AA)
- Cream page on Walnut ink — 13.2:1 (AA)
- Walnut ink on Cream page — 13.2:1 (AA)
- Folded edge on Walnut ink — 9.9:1 (AA)
- Walnut ink on Folded edge — 9.9:1 (AA)
- Fresh sheet on Pencil brown — 6.5:1 (AA)
- Pencil brown on Fresh sheet — 6.5:1 (AA)
- Fresh sheet on Terracotta — 6.1:1 (AA)
- Terracotta on Fresh sheet — 6.1:1 (AA)
- Cream page on Pencil brown — 5.9:1 (AA)
- Pencil brown on Cream page — 5.9:1 (AA)
- Cream page on Terracotta — 5.6:1 (AA)
- Terracotta on Cream page — 5.6:1 (AA)
- Folded edge on Pencil brown — 4.5:1 (AA large)
- Pencil brown on Folded edge — 4.5:1 (AA large)
- Folded edge on Terracotta — 4.2:1 (AA large)
- Terracotta on Folded edge — 4.2:1 (AA large)

Follow these principles:
- Let cream page cover about 70% of the screen and fresh sheet about 15%, for cards and quotes
- Set all reading text in walnut ink; keep pencil brown for dates, captions and secondary details
- Spend terracotta on no more than 5% of the page: one main button, links and a single highlight per view
- Use folded edge only for thin rules and card outlines, never for text
- Keep pure white and pure black out; they break the paper feel

Apply the idea and the rules above; do not copy any existing website.

:root {
  --color-background: #f6f0e4;
  --color-surface: #fffaf1;
  --color-text: #2b2620;
  --color-muted: #665a4b;
  --color-accent: #a3402a;
  --color-border: #ddd1bd;
}

Download brief (.md)

Accessible pairs

Every pair of colours that is readable as text, strongest first. AA pairs (4.5:1 or more) work at any size; AA large pairs (3:1 or more) only for text of 24px, or 18.66px bold.

Text on background	Contrast	Level
Fresh sheet on Walnut ink	14.4:1	AA
Walnut ink on Fresh sheet	14.4:1	AA
Cream page on Walnut ink	13.2:1	AA
Walnut ink on Cream page	13.2:1	AA
Folded edge on Walnut ink	9.9:1	AA
Walnut ink on Folded edge	9.9:1	AA
Fresh sheet on Pencil brown	6.5:1	AA
Pencil brown on Fresh sheet	6.5:1	AA
Fresh sheet on Terracotta	6.1:1	AA
Terracotta on Fresh sheet	6.1:1	AA
Cream page on Pencil brown	5.9:1	AA
Pencil brown on Cream page	5.9:1	AA
Cream page on Terracotta	5.6:1	AA
Terracotta on Cream page	5.6:1	AA
Folded edge on Pencil brown	4.5:1	AA large
Pencil brown on Folded edge	4.5:1	AA large
Folded edge on Terracotta	4.2:1	AA large
Terracotta on Folded edge	4.2:1	AA large

Where it fits

Use it for

Long-form writing and journals
Recipe and craft sites
Small independent shops

Avoid it when

The product must feel cold, technical or clinical
Most of the page is dense data tables

Principles

How much of each colour to use, and where.

Let cream page cover about 70% of the screen and fresh sheet about 15%, for cards and quotes
Set all reading text in walnut ink; keep pencil brown for dates, captions and secondary details
Spend terracotta on no more than 5% of the page: one main button, links and a single highlight per view
Use folded edge only for thin rules and card outlines, never for text
Keep pure white and pure black out; they break the paper feel