Farrow & Ball · No. 26 · Greys
Farrow & Ball
Down Pipe
Sherwin-Williams
Roycroft Pewter
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 · 227
Scree
Similarscore 4.49
A sensible alternative, but clearly its own colour beside the original.
Option 2 · 263
Livid
Nearest availablescore 9.84
Option 3 · 312
Harley Green
Nearest availablescore 9.91
Sold through independent stockists in the UK and mixed to order.
UK stockists
Closest · CSP-60
City Shadow
Very closescore 1.48
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · CW-690
Bracken Slate
Very closescore 1.66
Option 3 · 1589
Kitty Gray
Closescore 2.37
North American colour card.
Closest · SW 2848
Roycroft Pewter
Near identicalscore 0.70
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · SW 7068
Grizzle Gray
Very closescore 1.15
Option 3 · SW 7061
Night Owl
Closescore 2.33
North American colour card. The Valspar range sold in UK stores is different.
Closest · 5006-2C
Sable Evening
Very closescore 1.86
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 4008-2C
Muted Ebony
Closescore 2.98
Option 3 · 5005-2C
Quaking Bog
Closescore 3.09
North American colour card.
Closest · 1009-6
Armory
Closescore 3.21
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · 1036-7
Mostly Metal
Similarscore 3.73
Option 3 · 1001-6
Knight's Armor
Similarscore 3.80
North American colour card.
Closest · HDC-MD-28
Cordite
Very closescore 1.40
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 790B-5
Simple Silhouette
Closescore 3.20
Option 3 · PPU18-18
Mined Coal
Similarscore 3.85
North American colour card.
Closest · DE6363
Pointed Rock
Very closescore 1.54
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · DE6314
Dark Pewter
Closescore 2.23
Option 3 · DE6370
Charcoal Smudge
Closescore 2.94
From the trade
Paint Down Pipe 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 Down Pipe, 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.
Down Pipe 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.