Farrow & Ball · No. 242 · Greys
Farrow & Ball
Pavilion Gray
Sherwin-Williams
Alpaca
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
Similarscore 3.69
A sensible alternative, but clearly its own colour beside the original.
Option 2 · 143
Rolling Fog
Nearest availablescore 5.45
Option 3 · 142
Mushroom
Nearest availablescore 6.38
Sold through independent stockists in the UK and mixed to order.
UK stockists
Closest · 1550
Cumulus Cloud
Very closescore 1.40
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 1541
London Fog
Very closescore 1.73
Option 3 · AF-680
Wish
Very closescore 1.79
North American colour card.
Closest · SW 7022
Alpaca
Very closescore 1.12
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · SW 7641
Colonnade Gray
Very closescore 1.58
Option 3 · SW 7672
Knitting Needles
Very closescore 1.69
North American colour card. The Valspar range sold in UK stores is different.
Closest · 5006-1B
Notre Dame
Closescore 2.80
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · 4003-1B
Filtered Shade
Closescore 2.88
Option 3 · 4002-1A
Modest Silver
Closescore 2.99
North American colour card.
Closest · 1006-3
Early Evening
Very closescore 1.56
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 1007-2
Swirling Smoke
Closescore 2.07
Option 3 · 1022-2
Intuitive
Closescore 2.19
North American colour card.
Closest · N180-3
Race Track
Very closescore 1.30
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 770A-3
French Castle
Very closescore 1.47
Option 3 · HDC-WR14-2
Winter Haze
Very closescore 1.60
North American colour card.
Closest · DEC795
Gray Pearl
Very closescore 1.45
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · DEC790
Ice Gray
Closescore 2.22
Option 3 · DEC786
Miner's Dust
Closescore 2.85
From the trade
Paint Pavilion 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 Pavilion 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.
Pavilion Gray 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.