Mac OS 8 (1997) introduced the Platinum appearance along with the Desktop Pictures control panel, which for the first time let a full photograph — not just a tiled pattern — fill the desktop. There was still no picker for a plain background color, so solid backgrounds shipped as pictures: a set of iconic solid-color wallpapers, including the default soft lavender-blue. These are their colors — quiet, desaturated greens, browns, and roses that sat comfortably behind Platinum's calm gray chrome.
Preview#9e9e9e
Macintosh HD
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All colors13 · click to preview
French Blue (Light)
#b3b3da
French Blue (Dark)
#8787b3
Ivy
#87b387
Lime
#548700
Nutmeg
#b38754
Olive (Light)
#b3b387
Olive (Dark)
#878754
Plum
#b387b3
Rose
#dab3b3
Teal
#87b3b3
Gray (Dithered)
#9e9e9e
Gray (Light Partial)
#a5a5a5
Gray (Dark Partial)
#969696
Gray (Dithered)
A solid gray desktop pattern, dithered from a lighter (#a5a5a5) and a darker (#969696) gray in an even 1:1 checkerboard. The two grays are close enough that the conventional pixel average and a linear-light gamma-corrected average both round to this same value.