Farrow & Ball · No. 256 · Greys
Farrow & Ball
Pitch Black
Benjamin Moore
Black Beauty
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 · 228
Lamp Black
Similarscore 4.12
A sensible alternative, but clearly its own colour beside the original.
Option 2 · 277
Córdoba
Nearest availablescore 7.12
Option 3 · 252
Dock Blue
Nearest availablescore 8.07
Sold through independent stockists in the UK and mixed to order.
UK stockists
Closest · 2128-10
Black Beauty
Near identicalscore 0.65
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · 2133-10
Onyx
Very closescore 1.85
Option 3 · 2133-20
Black Jack
Closescore 2.03
North American colour card.
Closest · SW 6991
Black Magic
Closescore 2.95
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · SW 6994
Greenblack
Closescore 3.10
Option 3 · SW 6990
Caviar
Closescore 3.23
North American colour card. The Valspar range sold in UK stores is different.
Closest · 4011-2
Dark Kettle Black
Similarscore 3.58
A sensible alternative, but clearly its own colour beside the original.
Option 2 · 4011-1
New Black
Similarscore 4.19
Option 3 · 4009-2
Noir
Similarscore 4.22
North American colour card.
Closest · 1001-7
Black Magic
Closescore 2.39
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · 1011-7
Onyx
Similarscore 3.94
Option 3 · 1002-7
Phantom Mist
Similarscore 4.88
North American colour card.
Closest · MQ5-5
Limousine Leather
Very closescore 1.85
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · BLACK
Black
Closescore 2.03
Option 3 · QE-64
Madison Avenue
Closescore 2.20
North American colour card.
Closest · DEA187
Black
Near identicalscore 0.86
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · DE6350
Dark Engine
Closescore 3.02
Option 3 · DE6357
Black Tie
Similarscore 4.50
From the trade
Paint Pitch Black 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 Pitch Black, 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.
Pitch Black 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.