The Burnt Sienna Color Code: HEX, RGB, CMYK

Few colors carry as much warmth and history as burnt sienna.

Burnt sienna is a warm, tertiary earth tone that blends red, orange, and brown. The color originates from iron oxide pigment found in the clay-rich soils near Siena, Italy, and sits between red and orange on the color wheel, with RGB values around (233, 116, 81).

It shows up everywhere, from oil paintings and interior walls to fashion runways and brand identities.

This article covers the color codes, shade variations, complementary pairings, psychological effects, and practical uses of burnt sienna across design, fashion, and art.

Burnt Sienna Color Codes

Burnt sienna sits in the warm red-orange range of the color theory spectrum, occupying a distinct place between red and orange on the color wheel. Its iron oxide base gives it that characteristic reddish-brown depth you won’t find in brighter, synthetic hues.

Below are the standard color codes used across digital and print formats.

• HEX: #E97451
• RGB: 233, 116, 81 (via the RGB color model)
• CMYK: 0% cyan, 50% magenta, 65% yellow, 9% black (used in CMYK print)
• HSL: 14 degrees, 78% saturation, 62% lightness
• Pantone: Closest match is Pantone 17-1544 TCX

If you need to convert between formats, an RGB to HEX converter or a RGB to CMYK converter can handle that quickly. For print work specifically, always verify your CMYK output against a physical swatch since screens render warm tones differently than paper does.

The hue angle of 14 degrees places burnt sienna firmly in warm-tone territory. Its saturation level of 78% means it reads as vivid but not neon, which is why it stays readable without ever feeling aggressive.

Burnt Sienna Color Palettes

Burnt sienna works well in multiple color schemes, from tight monochromatic groupings to high-contrast complementary pairings. The table below covers the main harmony types based on standard color wheel relationships.

These pairings serve as a starting point. A color palette generator can help you build out custom combinations once you have a base direction in mind. Burnt sienna plays nicely in warm color palettes and also pairs well in earth color palettes alongside ochre, raw umber, and terracotta tones.

Burnt Sienna Shades

Burnt sienna covers several variations including pale terracotta, standard sienna, deep rust brown, dark sienna, muted clay, and near-umber tones.

Each variation differs in lightness and saturation, with lighter tints leaning toward peach and salmon, and darker shades pushing into rich red-brown territory, creating distinct visual effects depending on application.

What Are the Primary Attributes of Burnt Sienna?

Burnt sienna has five primary attributes: warm red-orange hue (derived from iron oxide pigment), medium-high saturation (77-78%), mid-range lightness (62%), earthy undertones (from its mineral origin), and strong psychological warmth (associated with comfort and stability).

How Is Burnt Sienna Used in Interior Design?

Burnt sienna works as both an accent and a statement color in interior design, creating warm, grounded spaces that feel lived-in without being heavy.

Designers use it on accent walls, upholstered furniture, and textile layers like rugs and cushions. It suits terracotta-influenced rooms, rustic kitchens, and bohemian living spaces well. Paired with cream or beige, it reads as relaxed and sophisticated at the same time.

The color also works in autumn-inspired palettes, particularly when combined with deep olive or mustard tones. Its Light Reflectance Value (LRV) sits around 30, which makes it a mid-tone choice. Not too dark to feel oppressive, not too light to lose impact.

What Psychology and Emotions Does Burnt Sienna Evoke?

Burnt sienna evokes security, warmth, comfort, and grounded stability through its link to natural clay, earth, and wood.

Color psychology research indicates it reduces anxiety, encourages a sense of belonging, and creates environments that support relaxation and focus. The red component adds a subtle layer of energy and passion without being overwhelming.

How Is Burnt Sienna Applied in Fashion and Clothing?

Burnt sienna serves as a versatile seasonal staple in fashion, offering earthy richness through knitwear, coats, leather accessories, and tailored pieces.

Fashion designers use it for its ability to complement a wide range of skin tones, its strong association with autumn collections, and its capacity to bridge casual and formal looks across seasons and occasions. It pairs cleanly with navy blue, ivory, and deep olive, making outfit building fairly straightforward.

What Colors Complement and Contrast With Burnt Sienna?

Burnt sienna complements teal, navy blue, sage green, cream, and mustard yellow, while contrasting effectively with steel blue, mint green, and deep purple.

These combinations create grounded, natural-feeling palettes that use burnt sienna’s warm undertone as an anchor point.

Complementary Colors

Burnt Sienna + Teal (#008080)

• Color Theory Basis: Near-complementary pairing; teal’s blue-green sits opposite burnt sienna’s warm red-orange on the complementary color scheme axis
• Visual Effect: High contrast with a natural, grounded feel rather than a harsh clash
• Best Applications: UI design, packaging, brand identity
• Ratio Recommendations: 70% burnt sienna, 30% teal as accent
• Example Uses: E-commerce CTAs, product labels, ceramic design

Burnt Sienna + Cream (#F5F0E8)

• Color Theory Basis: Warm neutral pairing within the same tonal family
• Visual Effect: Soft, elegant, approachable
• Best Applications: Interior design, editorial layouts, wedding stationery
• Ratio Recommendations: 30% burnt sienna, 70% cream
• Example Uses: Bedroom walls, print collateral, textile design

Burnt Sienna + Sage Green (#98A869)

• Color Theory Basis: Analogous-adjacent earth tones that share natural origins
• Visual Effect: Calm, organic, Mediterranean in feel
• Best Applications: Packaging design, interior styling, brand identities in wellness
• Ratio Recommendations: 50-50 or 60% sage, 40% burnt sienna
• Example Uses: Skincare packaging, restaurant branding, linen textiles

Burnt Sienna + Mustard Yellow (#FFDB58)

• Color Theory Basis: Warm analogous pairing, both sitting in the orange-yellow range
• Visual Effect: Retro, cheerful, energetic
• Best Applications: Autumn fashion collections, poster design, food branding
• Ratio Recommendations: 60% burnt sienna, 40% mustard as secondary
• Example Uses: Festival posters, seasonal menus, streetwear graphics

Contrasting Colors

Burnt Sienna + Steel Blue (#4682B4)

• Contrast Type: Near-complementary
• Visual Impact: Clean, balanced tension between warm and cool
• Best Applications: Corporate branding with warmth, UI dashboards
• Balance Strategies: Use burnt sienna for CTAs, steel blue for backgrounds

Burnt Sienna + Deep Navy (#001F3F)

• Contrast Type: Complementary with high value contrast
• Visual Impact: Bold, sophisticated, strong
• Best Applications: Luxury packaging, editorial spreads, high-end branding
• Balance Strategies: Keep navy dominant (70%), use burnt sienna as accent only

Burnt Sienna + Mint Green (#98FF98)

• Contrast Type: Split-complementary
• Visual Impact: Fresh, slightly unexpected, playful
• Best Applications: Youth-oriented brands, spring/summer campaigns
• Balance Strategies: Introduce neutral white to prevent the combination from feeling chaotic

Color Scheme Types

• Monochromatic: Pale terracotta tints through to dark rust, all sharing the same 14-degree hue angle. See monochrome colors for how this works in practice.
• Analogous: Burnt sienna with deep red and warm ochre. These analogous colors share adjacent positions on the color wheel and read as harmonious without being flat.
• Triadic: Burnt sienna, mint green, and blue-violet. A balanced triadic color scheme that adds variety while staying controlled.
• Split-Complementary: Burnt sienna with cerulean blue and aquamarine. The split-complementary color scheme softens the tension of a pure complementary pairing.
• Tetradic: Burnt sienna, teal, light blue, and lavender. The tetradic color scheme gives you four balanced points on the color wheel, though it needs careful management to avoid visual overload.

Practical Pairing Guidelines

• 60-30-10 Rule: Use a neutral (cream or warm gray) at 60%, burnt sienna at 30%, and a cool accent like teal or steel blue at 10%
• Accent Color Strategy: Burnt sienna works best as the 30% mid-tone in most palettes, not the dominant base. It grounds without overwhelming.
• Neutral Bridging: Taupe, sand, and warm gray bridge burnt sienna to cooler accent tones cleanly

How Does Burnt Sienna Differ From Similar Warm Colors?

Burnt sienna differs from terracotta (more orange, less brown), raw sienna (lighter, yellower), rust (darker, more muted), and burnt orange (brighter, more saturated) through its specific balance of red, orange, and brown that creates a rich, mid-depth warmth.

How Do You Create Burnt Sienna in Different Mediums?

Create burnt sienna by mixing red and yellow to form orange, then adding a small amount of blue (ultramarine works well) in paint, or setting RGB values to approximately 233, 116, 81 in digital applications to get accurate color reproduction.

Acrylic Paint

Mix cadmium red medium with cadmium yellow, roughly 2:1 ratio, to get a solid orange base. Add a small touch of ultramarine blue, just a brush tip’s worth at a time, until the orange shifts toward that characteristic reddish-brown warmth.

Common mistake: adding too much blue too quickly. The color turns muddy fast. Adjust toward red if you overshoot. Work on a clean palette surface so earlier mixes don’t contaminate the tone.

Oil Paint

Use a red earth pigment (PR101 or PBr7) as your base. Mixing with cadmium yellow and a trace of Prussian blue produces a usable version, though pre-made burnt sienna tube paint in oils tends to be more reliable for consistent results.

Oil paints shift slightly as they dry. Burnt sienna in oils tends to darken marginally, so mix a touch lighter than your target tone. Linseed oil as a medium maintains the warm undertone well.

Watercolor

PBr7 is the preferred pigment for watercolor burnt sienna. It granulates beautifully on cold-pressed paper and produces clean, warm washes.

Dilution ratio: 1 part pigment to 3-4 parts water for mid-tone washes. Layer it transparently for depth. It mixes well with ultramarine for quick warm grays, which makes it useful in landscape work beyond just direct burnt sienna applications.

Gouache

Burnt sienna in gouache behaves similarly to acrylic but dries with a matte, slightly chalky finish. Mix with white to get lighter sienna tints. The color reads more opaque than watercolor, so layering requires dry underlayers to prevent lifting.

Ratio for standard tone: 3 parts red-orange base, 1 part dark brown, adjusted with a touch of white for brightness if needed.

Print / CMYK values:

• Cyan: 0%
• Magenta: 50%
• Yellow: 65%
• Black: 9%
• Printing considerations: Coated paper preserves warmth better than uncoated stock; always proof against a physical swatch for accurate earth tone reproduction
• Pantone match: Pantone 17-1544 TCX (closest standard reference)

For fast conversions between color models when working digitally, a HEX to RGB converter or HSL to RGB converter handles the math without guessing.

What Are the Best Practices for Using Burnt Sienna in Design?

Best practices include pairing with cool neutrals for balance, checking text contrast ratios against WCAG accessibility standards, limiting its use to 30% of a composition, and anchoring it with white space to preserve its warmth.

Designers should avoid placing burnt sienna directly against neon tones, test legibility at small sizes (the mid-range lightness can cause readability issues on colored backgrounds), and ensure sufficient contrast when using it for UI elements like buttons or navigation. The color contrast checker is worth running before finalizing any burnt sienna text or interactive element.

In web design, burnt sienna works cleanly as a CTA color against light neutral backgrounds. It reads as warm and trustworthy without competing with blue-dominant brand systems. White space around burnt sienna elements helps the color breathe and prevents the palette from feeling too heavy.

For print, always verify CMYK output on the intended paper stock. Uncoated papers absorb ink differently and can pull the tone toward a muddier orange-brown than intended. The visual hierarchy of a layout benefits from using burnt sienna sparingly. It draws the eye when used as an accent, but loses that quality if it covers too much of the composition.

What Role Does Burnt Sienna Play in Branding and Marketing?

Burnt sienna plays a grounding role in branding and marketing, communicating warmth, reliability, and authenticity to consumers.

Marketing research indicates burnt sienna builds trust with audiences, making it effective for brands in food, wellness, sustainability, and craft industries seeking an approachable, natural brand perception. It works particularly well in packaging design, where its earthy tone signals quality without resorting to the aggressive energy of brighter reds or oranges.

Brands using burnt sienna in their visual identity tend to position themselves as established and honest rather than flashy or trend-chasing. That’s actually a strategic advantage in crowded markets where consumer trust is hard to earn.

In logo applications, burnt sienna pairs well with serif typefaces (signals heritage and authority) and works in both flat and textured design styles. Check logo design principles for guidance on how to use it in a mark without letting the warmth of the color undermine legibility at small sizes.

FAQ on Burnt Sienna Color

What Is Burnt Sienna?

Burnt sienna is a warm, earthy reddish-brown color derived from iron oxide pigment. Its name comes from the Italian city of Siena, where raw sienna clay was heated to produce a deeper, richer tone. It sits between red and orange on the color wheel.

What Is the Hex Code for Burnt Sienna?

The standard burnt sienna hex code is #E97451. This value is widely used across digital design tools, CSS, and web applications to reproduce the color accurately on screen.

What Are the RGB Values for Burnt Sienna?

Burnt sienna has RGB values of 233 (red), 116 (green), and 81 (blue). The high red value confirms its position as a warm tone, with green and blue playing supporting roles that pull it toward an earthy reddish-brown rather than a pure orange.

What Colors Go With Burnt Sienna?

Teal, navy blue, cream, sage green, and mustard yellow all pair well with burnt sienna. For contrast, steel blue and deep navy work cleanly. Neutral tones like tan, cream, and warm gray bridge it naturally into broader palettes.

What Is the Difference Between Burnt Sienna and Terracotta?

Terracotta leans more orange and sits at a higher lightness value than burnt sienna. Burnt sienna carries more red-brown depth and feels richer overall. In practice, terracotta reads as warmer and more clay-like, while burnt sienna feels more grounded and complex.

What Does Burnt Sienna Symbolize?

Burnt sienna symbolizes stability, comfort, warmth, and a connection to the natural world. Its earth tone roots link it to security and reliability in color psychology. The red component adds a layer of energy and quiet passion beneath the grounded brown base.

Is Burnt Sienna a Warm or Cool Color?

Burnt sienna is a warm color. Its hue angle sits at approximately 14 degrees, placing it firmly in the red-orange range. It contains no cool undertones, which is why it pairs so effectively with blues and greens that provide contrast and visual balance.

How Do You Mix Burnt Sienna in Paint?

Mix red and yellow to create orange, then add a small amount of ultramarine blue to shift it toward a reddish-brown. Work slowly. Too much blue turns the mixture muddy fast. In watercolor, the PBr7 pigment produces the most accurate single-pigment burnt sienna result.

What Is Burnt Sienna Used for in Design?

Burnt sienna appears in interior design, packaging design, branding, fashion, and digital UI. It communicates warmth and reliability, making it popular for wellness brands, food packaging, and autumn color palettes. It also works well as a CTA color on light neutral backgrounds.

What Is the CMYK Value for Burnt Sienna?

The CMYK breakdown for burnt sienna is 0% cyan, 50% magenta, 65% yellow, and 9% black. These values are used in print production. Always proof against a physical swatch on your target paper stock, as uncoated papers can shift the tone toward a muddier orange-brown.

Conclusion

Burnt sienna color holds a unique position across art, design, fashion, and branding, connecting historical mineral pigment to modern digital applications.

Its warm reddish-brown hue works across color schemes, from monochromatic earth tone palettes to high-contrast pairings with teal and navy.

Understanding its CMYK breakdown, HSL values, and complementary relationships gives you real control over how it performs in any medium.

Whether you’re mixing it with ultramarine in watercolor, applying it to an accent wall, or building a color palette for a sustainability-focused brand, the principles covered here apply directly.

Raw sienna, terracotta, and rust are close relatives, but none carry quite the same depth and versatility that burnt sienna brings to the table.

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Bogdan Sandu

Bogdan Sandu is a seasoned designer who has been designing websites since 2008.

Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.

His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.

He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.

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