Farrow & Ball · No. 274 · Greys
Farrow & Ball
Ammonite
Sherwin-Williams
City Loft
Lower score means closer. Under 2 is hard to tell apart on the wall; over 5 is a different colour that sits in the same family.
British paint maker, widely stocked across the UK.
UK stockists
Closest · 229
Wood Ash
Similarscore 3.98
A sensible alternative, but clearly its own colour beside the original.
Option 2 · 26
Julie's Dream
Similarscore 4.24
Option 3 · 130
Joanna
Similarscore 4.38
Sold through independent stockists in the UK and mixed to order.
UK stockists
Closest · 1549
Balboa Mist
Near identicalscore 0.96
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · 858
Athena
Very closescore 1.20
Option 3 · OC-20
Pale Oak
Very closescore 1.20
North American colour card.
Closest · SW 7631
City Loft
Near identicalscore 0.46
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · SW 7628
Windfresh White
Near identicalscore 0.51
Option 3 · SW 9166
Drift of Mist
Near identicalscore 0.57
North American colour card. The Valspar range sold in UK stores is different.
Closest · 2006-10C
Vanilla Steam
Very closescore 1.39
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 6006-1A
Warm Putty
Very closescore 1.60
Option 3 · 7002-2
Oyster Pearl
Very closescore 1.61
North American colour card.
Closest · 1025-2
Silent Smoke
Near identicalscore 0.58
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · 1006-2
Shark
Very closescore 1.43
Option 3 · 1076-2
Ash
Very closescore 1.50
North American colour card.
Closest · MQ3-18
Ginger Sugar
Near identicalscore 0.85
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · 790C-2
Silver Drop
Very closescore 1.05
Option 3 · HDC-MD-21
Dove
Very closescore 1.17
North American colour card.
Closest · DEC774
Shady
Very closescore 1.05
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · DE6227
Muslin
Closescore 2.30
Option 3 · DEC786
Miner's Dust
Closescore 2.36
From the trade
Paint Ammonite and your chosen match on two boards in the same finish. A flat and an eggshell in one colour never look identical.
Check them on the darkest wall in the morning and again under your own lamps at night. That is where small differences show.
Give the merchant the brand, colour name and code shown here. It avoids the guesswork of a scanned match.
In your light
Pick the way your window faces and the time of day. The same paint can look like three different colours.
North light is steady but cool and grey. It pulls blues and greys colder and makes greens look heavier. Warm based colours hold up best.
An approximation of how light colour and strength shift a paint. Use it to narrow a shortlist, then paint a sample board and look at it at these same times.
Building a scheme
Worked out from undertone and depth, the way a decorator would put a scheme together. Paint samples side by side before you commit.
A pale colour from the same undertone as Ammonite, so the ceiling does not look stark white against it.
One step lighter or darker on skirtings, doors and window boards. A tonal scheme is the easiest way to make a room feel finished.
A dark colour that sits under it. Use on a fireplace wall, an inside door, a kitchen island or a hall below the dado.
Ammonite is close to neutral, so almost any colour will sit beside it. These have enough character to show.
Colour values are on screen approximations taken from published community colour libraries (Farrow & Ball; Farrow & Ball (cross check); Little Greene; Benjamin Moore; Sherwin-Williams, Valspar, PPG, Behr, Dunn-Edwards), compiled 2026-10-09. Scores use CIEDE2000. Screens, light and sheen all change how paint looks, so always check a physical sample. Aethos is not connected to any of the paint makers named here and all colour names belong to their owners.