diff --git a/i3bar/src/xcb.c b/i3bar/src/xcb.c
index 93b7b0a1..d1fcac7c 100644
--- a/i3bar/src/xcb.c
+++ b/i3bar/src/xcb.c
@@ -270,8 +270,8 @@ void init_colors(const struct xcb_color_strings_t *new_colors) {
     } while  (0)
     PARSE_COLOR(bar_fg, "#FFFFFF");
     PARSE_COLOR(bar_bg, "#000000");
-    PARSE_COLOR(active_ws_fg, "#888888");
-    PARSE_COLOR(active_ws_bg, "#222222");
+    PARSE_COLOR(active_ws_fg, "#FFFFFF");
+    PARSE_COLOR(active_ws_bg, "#333333");
     PARSE_COLOR(inactive_ws_fg, "#888888");
     PARSE_COLOR(inactive_ws_bg, "#222222");
     PARSE_COLOR(urgent_ws_fg, "#FFFFFF");