Farrow & Ball · No. 4 · Neutrals and stones
Farrow & Ball
Old White
Dunn-Edwards
Riverbed
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 · 142
Mushroom
Closescore 2.13
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · 143
Rolling Fog
Closescore 2.42
Option 3 · 319
Travertine
Similarscore 3.84
Sold through independent stockists in the UK and mixed to order.
UK stockists
Closest · HC-80
Bleeker Beige
Very closescore 1.05
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · HC-83
Grant Beige
Very closescore 1.42
Option 3 · CW-145
Brick House Tan
Very closescore 1.82
North American colour card.
Closest · SW 7542
Naturel
Very closescore 1.32
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · SW 7529
Sand Beach
Very closescore 1.44
Option 3 · SW 7738
Cargo Pants
Very closescore 1.47
North American colour card. The Valspar range sold in UK stores is different.
Closest · 6006-1B
Oatbran
Very closescore 1.88
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 3007-10B
Country Charm
Closescore 2.10
Option 3 · 3003-10B
Hopsack
Closescore 2.28
North American colour card.
Closest · 14-17
Armadillo
Very closescore 1.90
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 1101-3
Stylish
Closescore 2.15
Option 3 · 14-26
Hideaway
Closescore 2.19
North American colour card.
Closest · 700C-3
Pecan Sandie
Very closescore 1.05
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · HDC-NT-18
Yuma Sand
Very closescore 1.17
Option 3 · UL160-16
Parachute Silk
Very closescore 1.73
North American colour card.
Closest · DEC767
Riverbed
Near identicalscore 0.71
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · DE6192
Nomadic Taupe
Very closescore 1.04
Option 3 · DE6206
Desert Suede
Very closescore 1.88
From the trade
Paint Old White 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 Old White, 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.