How to Make Mahogany
Warm, deep red-brown - the classic colour of mahogany furniture and rich wood finishes.
Recipe: Red + Yellow + small Blue (4:3:1)
Combine red and yellow in a 4:3 ratio - the red dominant, yielding a warm vermilion or scarlet. Then add blue at about an eighth of the total volume. The blue cools the orange-red into a warm red-brown. The earth-pigment shortcut: use red iron oxide (PR101, sold as English Red, Indian Red, or Mars Red depending on brand) cut with yellow ochre and a touch of burnt sienna. For deeper, dark mahogany add a tiny drop of ultramarine; for African mahogany lean cooler (more blue, less yellow); for Cuban / Honduran lean warmer (more red, less blue).
What Is Mahogany?
Mahogany is one of the most recognisable wood-tone browns. It is warm, red-leaning, and saturated, sitting between chestnut and burnt sienna on the warm-brown axis. The name comes from the tropical hardwood (Swietenia mahagoni, the West Indian or Cuban mahogany; the related Honduran mahogany is Swietenia macrophylla), whose freshly cut heartwood is exactly this shade before oxidation deepens it. In paint, mahogany is the go-to shade for wood-effect furniture finishes, oil-painted hardwood interiors, and classic Old Master red-brown drapery. In acrylic and oil, the cleanest route to mahogany is red iron oxide pigment (Color Index PR101) cut with a touch of cadmium red and yellow ochre rather than mixing from primaries. In food colouring, mahogany appears in autumn-themed buttercream, gingerbread-house roof tiles, and Thanksgiving fondant. Wikipedia lists the canonical web mahogany at #C04000; some sources cite #4A0100 as deep mahogany - the lighter Wikipedia value is the more searched and the value the site uses.
Variations of Mahogany
Light Mahogany
#A04000
Red + Yellow (4:3) + Blue + White (10%)
African Mahogany
#8B3A1F
Red + Yellow + Blue (3:2:2), cooler
Honduran Mahogany
#A0301B
Red + Yellow + Blue (5:3:1), warmer
Making Mahogany in Different Media
Acrylic Paint
Full guide →Red iron oxide (PR101) plus yellow ochre at 3:1, with a drop of ultramarine to deepen toward true mahogany. Golden Heavy Body Red Iron Oxide and Winsor & Newton Galeria Burnt Sienna are the most useful single tubes for mahogany. Mix on a palette knife to avoid overmixing.
Oil Paint
Full guide →Burnt sienna plus alizarin crimson plus ultramarine, glazed in thin layers. Old Master mahogany drapery is built up with transparent glazes over a warm underpainting, not mixed flat. Adding linseed oil and a small amount of damar varnish increases the luminosity of the glazed layers.
Watercolour
Full guide →Daniel Smith Burnt Sienna mixed wet-in-wet with a touch of Quinacridone Burnt Orange and a drop of French Ultramarine. Watercolour mahogany glows when applied as concentrated washes over a yellow-ochre underwash that has fully dried.
Food Colouring
Full guide →5 drops red gel + 3 drops yellow gel + 1 drop blue gel per cup of frosting, plus a quarter teaspoon of Dutch-process cocoa for depth. AmeriColor Maroon plus Lemon Yellow is the closest single-tube combination for mahogany without the blue.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- 1Using cool red (alizarin crimson) as the dominant red - shifts the mix toward purple-brown rather than warm mahogany. Use cadmium red medium or red iron oxide.
- 2Adding too much blue - even a small overdose of ultramarine cools the mix to chestnut or burnt umber. Add blue one drop at a time and stop when the orange first reads as red-brown.
- 3Treating mahogany as one shade - Honduran, Cuban, and African mahoganies are visibly different. Decide which reference photo you are working from before mixing.
- 4Adding black to deepen - black greys mahogany faster than any other brown shade. Use ultramarine or burnt umber instead.
Mahogany Mixing FAQ
How do you mix mahogany color?
Combine red and yellow in a 4:3 ratio (red dominant) to get a warm vermilion, then add blue at about one-eighth of the total to cool the orange-red into a warm red-brown. The earth-pigment shortcut is red iron oxide (PR101) cut with yellow ochre and a touch of burnt sienna.
What two colors make mahogany?
Mahogany is a three-colour mix, not two: a dominant warm red plus yellow, with a small amount of blue to deepen it. Skipping the blue leaves a vermilion or scarlet rather than the red-brown of mahogany.
What is the hex code for mahogany?
Wikipedia lists the standard web mahogany at #C04000, the warm red-brown of fresh-cut mahogany heartwood. Some sources cite #4A0100 for a deeper, dark mahogany; this site uses the more commonly searched #C04000.
How do you make mahogany darker without muddying it?
Add a tiny drop of ultramarine or a little burnt umber. Avoid black: it greys mahogany faster than any other brown shade, so reach for ultramarine or burnt umber to deepen the tone instead.
How do you make mahogany frosting or food colouring?
Use 5 drops red gel, 3 drops yellow gel and 1 drop blue gel per cup of frosting, plus a quarter teaspoon of Dutch-process cocoa for depth. AmeriColor Maroon plus Lemon Yellow is the closest single-tube combination without the blue.
Try It in the Mixer
Caramel
RGB(213, 121, 112)
Paint mode uses an approximate RYB subtractive model. Results are a close approximation - actual pigment mixing varies by brand and opacity.
Pre-loaded with the Mahogany recipe. Adjust the sliders to fine-tune.
Related Shades
Colour recipes are approximations. Real pigment mixing varies by brand, opacity, and surface. Always test on a sample first.