Benjamin Moore Citronée 281
Contentsshow +hide -
| Official page: | Citronée 281 |
| Code: | 281 |
| Name: | Citronée |
| Brand: | Benjamin Moore |
What color is Benjamin Moore Citronée?
Benjamin Moore Citronée 281 is a pale, creamy yellow with a soft ivory cast that keeps it from reading overly bright. Its light value gives walls a gentle sunlit look, especially in kitchens, breakfast rooms, and north-facing spaces that need a little visual warmth. In daylight, Citronée appears clean and lightly buttery; under warmer evening bulbs, its yellow character becomes more noticeable. Pair it with warm white trim, natural oak, woven fibers, and muted olive or clay accents for an easy, grounded palette. This shade is best suited to broad wall areas or a softly colored ceiling rather than high-contrast cabinetry.
Benjamin Moore Citronée reviews (23 photos)
View the photos of real spaces painted with this yellow that were not included in specific categories. Close-ups, painted furniture, storages and dressers, hallways, stairs and ceilings.
Plan Home visualization
Plan Home visualization
Plan Home visualization
Plan Home visualization
Plan Home visualization
Plan Home visualization
Plan Home visualization
Plan Home visualization
Plan Home visualization
Plan Home visualization
Plan Home visualization
Plan Home visualization
Plan Home visualization
Plan Home visualization
Plan Home visualization
Plan Home visualization
Plan Home visualization
Plan Home visualization
Plan Home visualization
Plan Home visualization
Plan Home visualization
Plan Home visualization
Plan Home visualization
Try before you buy
100% accurate
reusable paint samples
Peel, stick,
and repeat
Twice painted
with real paint
Next day
delivery
What are Benjamin Moore Citronée undertones?
Citronée is a near-white, muted pale yellow. The HEX sample leans yellow; this describes its measurable digital hue direction, not a hidden paint pigment. Warm bulbs can make it look creamier or more golden, while cool daylight may mute that warmth and pull it closer to beige or greige.
HEX value:
RGB code:
243, 237, 209
Is Benjamin Moore Citronée cool or warm?
warm
cool
At 49° on the HSL hue wheel, this Yellow sits firmly on the warm side.
281 Citronée HSL code: 49, 59%, 89%
Hue - degree on a color wheel from 0 to 360. 0 is red, 120 is green, and 240 is blue.
Saturation is expressed as a percentage. At 0%, it appears as a shade of grey, and at 100%, it is in full color.
Lightness is also a percentage value. 0% is black, and 100% is white.
How light temperature affects Citronée
Natural Lighting. During the day, natural light shifts from about 2000 K at sunrise/sunset to 5500–6500 K at noon.
In addition, natural-light temperature depends on its direction:
| Direction of sunlight | Visible temp. | Hue | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| North | Cool | Bluish | All day |
| East | Warm | Yellow | Before noon |
| West | Warm | Orange-red | After noon |
| South | Warm | Orange-yellow | All day |
Artificial Lighting. When choosing bulbs, pay attention to their color temperature in Kelvins.
Use the slider to see how this Yellow shade looks under different lighting:
4000K
Coordinating colors.
Colors that go with Benjamin Moore Citronée:
Monochromatic color scheme
This scheme consists of various shades, tints, and tones of a single color. While it offers a perfect combination of hues, without accent décor it may become monotonous.
Lighter shades
Darker shades
Complementary color scheme
This color scheme is a combination of two shades that are opposite each other on the color wheel. The high contrast between these colors creates a vibrant and dynamic visual effect. For the color Citronée with a orange hue, complementary colors are those with a blue hue close to 229, such as Benjamin Moore Kensington Blue and Stunning.
LRV of Citronée
Citronée has an LRV of 81.2% and refers to Off‑White colors that reflect a lot of light. Why LRV is important?
Light Reflectance Value measures the amount of visible and usable light that reflects from a painted surface.
Simply put, the higher the LRV of a paint color, the brighter the room you will get.
The scale goes from 0% (absolute black, absorbing all light) to 100% (pure white, reflecting all light).
Act like a pro: When choosing paint with an LRV of 81.2%, pay attention to your bulbs' brightness. Light brightness is measured in lumens. The lower the paint's LRV, the higher lumen level you need. Every square foot of room needs at least 40 lumens. That means for a 200 ft2 living room you'll need about 8000 lumens of light – e.g., eight 1000 lm bulbs.
Color codes
We have collected almost every possible color code you could ever need.
Not sure what the difference between HEX and RGB is? We break down color models in plain language. Understanding color models
| Format | Code |
|---|---|
| HEX | #F3EDD1 |
| RGB Decimal | 243, 237, 209 |
| RGB Percent | 95.29%, 92.94%, 81.96% |
| HSV | Hue: 49° Saturation: 13.99% Value: 95.29% |
| HSL | hsl(49, 59, 89) |
| CMYK | Cyan: 0.0 Magenta: 2.47 Yellow: 13.99 Key: 4.71 |
| YIQ | Y: 235.602 I: 12.573 Q: -7.444 |
| XYZ | X: 78.753 Y: 84.228 Z: 72.413 |
| CIE Lab | L:93.549 a:-2.575 b:14.303 |
| CIE Luv | L:93.549 u:5.069 v:21.619 |
| Decimal | 15986129 |
| Hunter Lab | 91.776, -7.435, 17.462 |
Color equivalents
372
Vanilla Cookie
Benjamin Moore
OC-116
Pale Celery
Benjamin Moore
934
Light as a Feather
Benjamin Moore
211
Fresh Air
Benjamin Moore
344
Halifax Cream
Benjamin Moore
SW 9667
Carambola
Sherwin Williams
CSP-935
Sweet Cream
Benjamin Moore
928
Featherbed
Benjamin Moore
2151-60
Linen Sand
Benjamin Moore
OC-106
Man on the Moon
Benjamin Moore
2149-60
White Marigold
Benjamin Moore
330
Palm Coast Pale
Benjamin Moore
288
North Star
Benjamin Moore
246
Westchester Tan
Benjamin Moore
933
Blossom Tint
Benjamin Moore
SW 7124
Crescent Moon
Sherwin Williams
919
Buttermilk
Benjamin Moore
P320-1
Flashpoint
Behr
282
Counting Stars
Benjamin Moore
SW 6707
Narcissus
Sherwin Williams