Straw Hat
What Straw Hat Actually Looks Like
Straw Hat reads as a medium-warm yellow with sandy, golden undertones. It sits in that comfortable middle ground between a pale butter yellow and a deeper harvest gold, giving walls a soft, toasty glow without feeling aggressive or overly saturated. In a well-lit room it carries clear warmth; in lower or cooler light it settles into a more muted, natural straw tone.
Straw Hat Undertones
The color pulls from golden and beige notes, giving it that dried-grass, sun-faded quality its name suggests. It leans warm without veering into orange territory, and the beige component keeps it grounded so it does not feel like a primary yellow.
Where Straw Hat Works Best
Straw Hat suits rooms where you want warmth without drama. Living rooms, dining rooms, and kitchens with good natural light are natural fits. It also works in casual spaces like sunrooms or mudrooms where a relaxed, earthy feel is the goal. North-facing rooms are trickier, since cooler ambient light can pull the beige component forward and make the color feel flat.
Where to put Straw Hat
In a south- or west-facing living room, Straw Hat picks up the moving light through the day and feels genuinely warm and inviting without overpowering the space. Keep larger furnishings in warm neutrals or natural wood tones to let the wall color do the work.
Dining rooms benefit from this color's ability to flatter warm candlelight and incandescent bulbs, which deepen the golden quality at evening. Pair with natural linen textiles and wood furniture for a cohesive, relaxed table setting.
In a kitchen with white or warm-toned cabinetry, Straw Hat on the walls ties the space together with a cottage or farmhouse sensibility. Avoid pairing with bright white cabinetry under cool LED lighting, which can create a mismatch that makes the wall color look dingy.
Used in a bedroom, this color creates a cozy, wrapped-in warmth that works well for casual or rustic interiors. It is less suited to a crisp, contemporary bedroom where cooler or more neutral walls tend to read as more restful.
What to Pair With Straw Hat
No specific coordinating colors are listed in our database for Straw Hat CC-290 at this time. As a general pairing approach, it responds well to warm off-whites on trim, earthy terracotta or brick tones as accents, and deeper warm browns or soft olive greens for contrast.
Colors that clash with Straw Hat
Straw Hat's warm golden base fights with cool gray or blue-gray tones in adjacent spaces, creating a jarring temperature contrast at thresholds.
Pairing Straw Hat with a stark, cool bright white on trim and moldings creates a hard, unflattering contrast that makes the wall color look yellow in an unintended way.
High-kelvin, blue-leaning LED bulbs strip away the warmth that makes Straw Hat appealing and push it toward a flat, muddy yellow.
Common questions
Straw Hat's Benjamin Moore code is CC-290, its hex value is #D9C9A1, and its precise LRV is 57.12, placing it in the medium-light range. That LRV means it reflects a comfortable amount of light without feeling washed out.
Yes, Straw Hat CC-290 is available in both Benjamin Moore's interior and exterior lines, so you can use it consistently across a project or carry it from an interior room to an exterior surface like a porch ceiling or exterior siding.
It can work, but use caution. North-facing rooms receive cooler, indirect light that tends to mute warm colors and bring the beige component forward, which can make Straw Hat feel flatter and less golden than it appears in a sun-drenched space. Sample a large swatch and observe it at multiple times of day before committing.
Eggshell is the practical default for most walls since it offers a slight sheen that adds depth to the warm tone while remaining easy to clean. Flat or matte finishes work well in lower-traffic rooms if you prefer a softer, more diffuse look. Avoid high-gloss on large wall surfaces, which can make the yellow quality feel more intense than intended.