Farrow & Ball · No. 18 · Neutrals and stones
Farrow & Ball
French Gray
Behr
Desert Sandstorm
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 · 78
Tracery II
Closescore 2.41
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · 143
Rolling Fog
Similarscore 4.90
Option 3 · 295
Boringdon Green
Nearest availablescore 5.16
Sold through independent stockists in the UK and mixed to order.
UK stockists
Closest · 1502
Cheyenne Green
Very closescore 1.77
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · HC-111
Nantucket Gray
Very closescore 1.77
Option 3 · 1517
Mosaic Tile
Closescore 2.12
North American colour card.
Closest · SW 2860
Sage
Very closescore 1.13
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · SW 6164
Svelte Sage
Very closescore 1.70
Option 3 · SW 6178
Clary Sage
Closescore 2.71
North American colour card. The Valspar range sold in UK stores is different.
Closest · 6003-1C
Carriage House
Closescore 2.72
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · 6002-1B
Hunter's White
Closescore 3.18
Option 3 · 6005-3C
Oakmoss
Closescore 3.37
North American colour card.
Closest · 1029-4
Photo Gray
Very closescore 1.94
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 11-20
Scottish Moor
Closescore 2.26
Option 3 · 1027-3
Heavy Hammock
Closescore 2.30
North American colour card.
Closest · BXC-43
Desert Sandstorm
Near identicalscore 0.99
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · PPU9-20
Dill Seed
Very closescore 1.55
Option 3 · QE-34
Court Green
Very closescore 1.70
North American colour card.
Closest · DE6256
Turtle Trail
Very closescore 1.77
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · DE6249
Trinity Islands
Closescore 2.52
Option 3 · DE6242
Wells Gray
Closescore 2.61
From the trade
Paint French 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 French 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.