Farrow & Ball · No. 223 · Yellows
Farrow & Ball
Babouche
Benjamin Moore
Firefly
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 · 53
Light Gold
Similarscore 4.22
A sensible alternative, but clearly its own colour beside the original.
Option 2 · 135
Sunlight
Similarscore 4.89
Option 3 · 337
Giallo
Nearest availablescore 5.30
Sold through independent stockists in the UK and mixed to order.
UK stockists
Closest · 299
Firefly
Near identicalscore 0.39
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · CSP-955
Hannah Banana
Very closescore 1.81
Option 3 · 293
Showtime
Closescore 2.23
North American colour card.
Closest · SW 6696
Quilt Gold
Near identicalscore 0.56
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · SW 6689
Overjoy
Near identicalscore 0.83
Option 3 · SW 9020
Rayo de Sol
Closescore 2.48
North American colour card. The Valspar range sold in UK stores is different.
Closest · 3006-3B
Sweet Lemon
Very closescore 1.82
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 3005-3B
Sunday Brunch
Closescore 2.18
Option 3 · 3006-3A
Mustard Glaze
Closescore 2.35
North American colour card.
Closest · 17-18
Sol De Yucatan
Very closescore 1.45
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 1210-5
Bright Idea
Closescore 2.09
Option 3 · 12-03
Sun Salutation
Closescore 2.09
North American colour card.
Closest · 350D-4
Wild Bamboo
Very closescore 1.31
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 340D-4
Honey Bear
Closescore 2.02
Option 3 · M290-4
Garbanzo Paste
Closescore 2.72
North American colour card.
Closest · DE5382
Golden Appeal
Very closescore 1.57
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · DE5353
Golden Crest
Very closescore 1.97
Option 3 · DE5431
Candelabra
Closescore 2.71
From the trade
Paint Babouche 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 Babouche, 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.
From the other side of the colour wheel, at a similar depth, for a door, a bookcase or a cushion. Use in small amounts.
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.