Farrow & Ball · No. 235 · Greys
Farrow & Ball
Borrowed Light
Behr
River Veil
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 · 106
Gauze
Nearest availablescore 5.25
This brand has nothing closer. Treat it as a starting point only.
Option 2 · 248
Delicate Blue
Nearest availablescore 5.54
Option 3 · 105
Slaked Lime
Nearest availablescore 5.83
Sold through independent stockists in the UK and mixed to order.
UK stockists
Closest · 2124-50
Bunny Gray
Near identicalscore 0.80
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · 1625
Blue Lace
Very closescore 1.19
Option 3 · 875
Blue Veil
Very closescore 1.25
North American colour card.
Closest · SW 6253
Olympus White
Very closescore 1.12
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · SW 6224
Mountain Air
Very closescore 1.52
Option 3 · SW 6238
Icicle
Very closescore 1.57
North American colour card. The Valspar range sold in UK stores is different.
Closest · 7004-4
Tsunami Sky
Very closescore 1.08
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 7004-22
Seashore Fog
Very closescore 1.15
Option 3 · 4007-1A
Pelican
Very closescore 1.20
North American colour card.
Closest · 1037-1
Sea Frost
Near identicalscore 0.48
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · 1012-3
Tinsel
Very closescore 1.14
Option 3 · 1038-3
Winter's Breath
Very closescore 1.35
North American colour card.
Closest · MQ3-50
River Veil
Near identicalscore 0.46
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · PPU12-13
Urban Mist
Near identicalscore 0.89
Option 3 · N520-1
White Metal
Very closescore 1.79
North American colour card.
Closest · DE6316
Cold Water
Very closescore 1.07
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · DE6310
Rainy Season
Very closescore 1.46
Option 3 · DE6324
Veiled Spotlight
Very closescore 1.73
From the trade
Paint Borrowed Light 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 Borrowed Light, 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.
Borrowed Light 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.