Farrow & Ball · No. 285 · Neutrals and stones
Farrow & Ball
Cromarty
Benjamin Moore
Dusty Miller
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 · 113
French Grey
Closescore 2.34
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · 100
Pearl Colour
Similarscore 4.02
Option 3 · 269
Green Stone Light
Similarscore 4.44
Sold through independent stockists in the UK and mixed to order.
UK stockists
Closest · CSP-755
Dusty Miller
Near identicalscore 0.48
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · 1500
Sweet Spring
Very closescore 1.41
Option 3 · 1556
Vapor Trails
Very closescore 1.50
North American colour card.
Closest · SW 6176
Liveable Green
Very closescore 1.39
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · SW 6169
Sedate Gray
Very closescore 1.48
Option 3 · SW 6183
Conservative Gray
Very closescore 1.82
North American colour card. The Valspar range sold in UK stores is different.
Closest · 5008-1B
Bay Sands
Near identicalscore 0.72
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · 6005-3B
Brown Buzz
Very closescore 1.92
Option 3 · 5004-1B
Mint Glaze
Very closescore 1.93
North American colour card.
Closest · 1032-1
Metallic Mist
Near identicalscore 0.49
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · 14-11
Static
Very closescore 1.47
Option 3 · 1031-1
Mix Or Match
Very closescore 1.86
North American colour card.
Closest · N210-2
Cappuccino Froth
Very closescore 1.00
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · BNC-02
Understated
Very closescore 1.44
Option 3 · QE-33
Natural Spring
Very closescore 1.66
North American colour card.
Closest · DE6241
Lunar Landing
Very closescore 1.04
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · DE6255
Wishing Well
Very closescore 1.47
Option 3 · DE6269
Particular Mint
Very closescore 1.62
From the trade
Paint Cromarty 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 Cromarty, 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.