Farrow & Ball · No. 243 · Neutrals and stones
Farrow & Ball
Charleston Gray
Sherwin-Williams
Chatura Gray
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 · 117
Lead Colour
Similarscore 4.99
A sensible alternative, but clearly its own colour beside the original.
Option 2 · 233
Serpentine
Nearest availablescore 5.13
Option 3 · 114
Mid Lead Colour
Nearest availablescore 7.41
Sold through independent stockists in the UK and mixed to order.
UK stockists
Closest · CSP-80
Gothic Arch
Closescore 2.68
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · CSP-380
Studio Clay
Closescore 2.72
Option 3 · 1544
Waynesboro Taupe
Closescore 2.75
North American colour card.
Closest · SW 9169
Chatura Gray
Near identicalscore 0.92
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · SW 7503
Sticks & Stones
Very closescore 1.74
Option 3 · SW 7504
Keystone Gray
Closescore 2.03
North American colour card. The Valspar range sold in UK stores is different.
Closest · 6005-2A
Coastal Villa
Closescore 2.84
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · 1001-9C
Channel Seal Gray
Closescore 3.22
Option 3 · 6006-2A
Stone Manor
Closescore 3.47
North American colour card.
Closest · 1022-4
Rock Slide
Very closescore 1.04
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 14-02
Nut Shell
Very closescore 1.60
Option 3 · 1022-5
Eiffel Tower
Very closescore 1.96
North American colour card.
Closest · HDC-NT-04A
Clay
Very closescore 1.86
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 770B-5
Country Club
Very closescore 1.94
Option 3 · PPU5-07
Studio Taupe
Very closescore 1.94
North American colour card.
Closest · DEC750
Bison Beige
Closescore 3.16
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · DE6060
Twilight Taupe
Similarscore 3.81
Option 3 · DE6229
Calico Rock
Similarscore 4.98
From the trade
Paint Charleston Gray 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 Charleston Gray, 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.