Farrow & Ball · No. 283 · Neutrals and stones
Farrow & Ball
Drop Cloth
Sherwin-Williams
Naturel
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 · 143
Rolling Fog
Near identicalscore 0.97
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · 142
Mushroom
Closescore 2.64
Option 3 · 113
French Grey
Similarscore 4.13
Sold through independent stockists in the UK and mixed to order.
UK stockists
Closest · CW-145
Brick House Tan
Near identicalscore 0.91
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · 984
Stone Hearth
Very closescore 1.55
Option 3 · 996
Ashen Tan
Very closescore 1.72
North American colour card.
Closest · SW 7542
Naturel
Near identicalscore 0.52
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · SW 7547
Sandbar
Near identicalscore 0.84
Option 3 · SW 9173
Shiitake
Very closescore 1.22
North American colour card. The Valspar range sold in UK stores is different.
Closest · 6008-1C
Soft Stones
Near identicalscore 0.97
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · 3008-10A
Freshly Baked
Very closescore 1.32
Option 3 · 6006-1B
Oatbran
Very closescore 1.71
North American colour card.
Closest · 15-25
Stonington
Very closescore 1.22
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 1097-4
Dusty Trail
Closescore 2.05
Option 3 · 14-26
Hideaway
Closescore 2.23
North American colour card.
Closest · HDC-AC-10
Bungalow Beige
Very closescore 1.05
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · UL170-8
Washed Khaki
Very closescore 1.24
Option 3 · MQ6-59
Still Moment
Very closescore 1.45
North American colour card.
Closest · DEC752
Birchwood
Very closescore 1.71
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · DEC767
Riverbed
Closescore 2.32
Option 3 · DE6192
Nomadic Taupe
Closescore 2.68
From the trade
Paint Drop Cloth 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 Drop Cloth, 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.