What Color Is Sandalwood? Wood, Paint and Hex Codes Explained

Sandalwood wood is a pale yellowish brown, and the color name “sandalwood” in paint is a muted golden tan. The two are related but not identical, and which one you need depends on whether you are looking at a piece of Santalum album heartwood or at a paint chip. This guide covers both: the real color of the wood and how it changes with age, the hex codes of two well-known sandalwood paint colors, and what to reach for if you want that look on another wood.

What Color Is Sandalwood Wood?

The sandalwood used for carving, incense and oil comes from the heartwood of Santalum album, often called East Indian or white sandalwood. The Sandalwood Information System run by India’s forestry research institute describes the sapwood as white and the heartwood as yellowish brown, with a strong and pleasant characteristic scent. Wood reference sheets add that freshly cut heartwood is a light yellowish brown that darkens on exposure and, with long aging, can turn a dark reddish brown.

So the honest one-line answer is a range, not a single shade. The outer sapwood is nearly white and has little value, while the heartwood in the center carries the color and the aroma.

Part of the tree	Typical color	What it is used for
Sapwood	White	Little commercial value; it lacks the heartwood color and aroma
Fresh heartwood	Light yellowish brown	Carving, incense chips, oil distillation
Aged or light-exposed heartwood	Darker brown, sometimes reddish brown	Finished carvings and furniture parts

A detail most color articles miss: the Sandalwood Information System notes that light-colored wood generally contains a higher percentage of oil than dark-colored wood, and that oil content in the species runs roughly 3 to 6 percent. That flips a common assumption. A deeper, richer brown does not mean a more fragrant piece, and buyers who judge quality by darkness alone can end up with the weaker wood.

Sandalwood as a Paint and Color Name

Search for “sandalwood color” and you will often land on paint. Manufacturers borrow the name for a muted, warm tan, and each brand mixes its own version. Two published examples show how much room there is inside one color name.

Paint color	Hex code	Notes
Benjamin Moore Sandalwood 273	#B19B67 (RGB 177, 155, 103)	LRV 33.34, medium light, warm yellow undertones
Valspar Sandalwood 6008-2B	#968C74	Listed on color databases as a grayer, more muted tan

LRV, or light reflectance value, runs from 0 (black) to 100 (white). A value around 33 means the Benjamin Moore color absorbs a fair amount of light, so it looks deeper on a wall than it does on a small chip. Hex values from color databases are on-screen approximations, so treat them as a starting point and always brush out a sample in the actual room before committing.

Notice that the Benjamin Moore shade reads more golden and saturated than pale sandalwood chips do, while the Valspar one leans gray. If a designer tells you “use sandalwood,” ask which brand and code they mean. It is a family of tans, not one color.

Why Sandalwood Wood Color Varies

• Heartwood versus sapwood. Only the heartwood has the yellow-brown color. Cutting too close to the bark gives you white wood.
• Tree age. The trunk begins developing its fragrance after roughly 10 years and is generally not ready to harvest until after about 20, so younger wood is paler and less aromatic.
• Light and air. Like many hardwoods, sandalwood darkens on exposure, which is why an old carving is usually deeper than a freshly cut face.
• Oil content. As noted above, lighter pieces tend to carry more oil, so color alone is an unreliable guide to quality.
• Species. Other Santalum species, including Australian sandalwood, are marketed under the same name and differ in oil composition, so do not assume two “sandalwood” pieces will match.

Sandalwood Wood Facts Woodworkers Care About

Color is only part of why people seek out the wood. Reference figures for Santalum album put the air-dry density at about 860 to 910 kg per cubic meter (53 to 57 pounds per cubic foot), which is heavy to very heavy. Published Janka side hardness is about 1,520 lbf for green wood and 1,680 lbf for dry wood, so it is dense but still workable. The grain is close and even, which is why it has long been a preferred wood for fine carving, idols and inlay work.

Property	Reported value (Santalum album)
Air-dry density	860 to 910 kg/m3 (53 to 57 lb/ft3)
Janka hardness, green	About 1,520 lbf
Janka hardness, dry	About 1,680 lbf
Heartwood oil content	About 3 to 6 percent
Harvest maturity	Fragrance starts around 10 years, harvest after about 20

Sandalwood is a threatened species

Santalum album is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Overharvesting and trade have driven population declines, and the tree is also a root hemiparasite that needs host plants to grow, which makes plantations slower to establish than for most timber species. India has banned export of the species, and its production reportedly fell from about 4,000 tonnes a year in the 1960s to around 350 tonnes by 2014. In practice that means genuine sandalwood is expensive, and very cheap “sandalwood” boards, blocks or oil are worth questioning. If you buy, ask for the species name and the source.

Getting the Sandalwood Look on Other Wood

Real sandalwood is a luxury material, and for furniture or trim most people just want its warm, pale golden-brown tone. A few practical tips:

• Start with a pale, even-grained wood such as maple or birch so the stain color is not fighting a strong natural tone.
• Pick a semi-transparent golden or wheat-toned stain rather than a dark brown, then build color in thin coats. Wiping off sooner gives a lighter result and waiting longer gives a deeper one.
• Always test on an offcut from the same board. The same stain looks different on pine, oak and maple.
• Compare your test piece next to the paint sample if you plan to match a wall color like Benjamin Moore Sandalwood 273.

Our Minwax wood stain color chart shows how popular stain shades look on real wood, which helps when choosing a tone.

Sandalwood Fragrance and Related Woods

The aroma is the other reason for the wood’s reputation. It comes from the oil in the heartwood, which is why chips and oil are traded separately from timber. If scent is what you are after, our guides to fragrant woods, which woods smell the best and the best sandalwood candles cover it in more detail.

Frequently Asked Questions About Sandalwood Color

What is the colour of sandalwood?

Sandalwood heartwood is a light yellowish brown that darkens with age and light exposure. The sapwood is white. As a paint color, sandalwood is a muted golden tan whose exact shade varies by brand.

What colors go with sandalwood?

Warm neutrals such as cream, ivory and soft gray sit comfortably next to sandalwood tans. Earthy accents like sage green and terracotta also work, and deep navy gives strong contrast. These are design suggestions, so check them against a sample in your own lighting.

Which colour will match with sandal colour?

Beige, tan and cream give a cohesive, low-contrast look with sandal tones. For more contrast, try a darker brown or a muted green.

What is the hex code for sandalwood?

There is no single code. Benjamin Moore Sandalwood 273 is listed as #B19B67 and Valspar Sandalwood 6008-2B as #968C74, so use the code for the specific brand you are matching.

The Bottom Line

Sandalwood wood is pale yellowish brown when fresh and darker with age, while sandalwood paint is a golden tan that changes by manufacturer. If you are buying real sandalwood, judge it by species, source and aroma rather than by darkness. If you only want the look, test a warm golden stain on scrap and compare it to your paint sample in daylight.