Farrow & Ball · No. 2003 · Whites
Farrow & Ball
Pointing
Sherwin-Williams
Roman Column
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 · 37
Stock
Very closescore 1.83
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 41
Whitening
Very closescore 1.86
Option 3 · 1
China Clay
Closescore 2.25
Sold through independent stockists in the UK and mixed to order.
UK stockists
Closest · 904
White Blush
Near identicalscore 0.48
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · CC-100
Flurry
Near identicalscore 0.48
Option 3 · 2165-70
Butter Pecan
Near identicalscore 0.80
North American colour card.
Closest · SW 7562
Roman Column
Near identicalscore 0.21
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · SW 7103
Whitetail
Very closescore 1.29
Option 3 · SW 7105
Paperwhite
Very closescore 1.33
North American colour card. The Valspar range sold in UK stores is different.
Closest · 7003-7
December Starlight
Very closescore 1.50
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 7006-7
Pam's Lace
Very closescore 1.52
Option 3 · 7002-15
Chef White
Very closescore 1.63
North American colour card.
Closest · 15-06
White Chip
Near identicalscore 0.55
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · 1207-1
Candlelit Beige
Very closescore 1.30
Option 3 · 1203-1
Spun Cotton
Very closescore 1.32
North American colour card.
Closest · W-D-710
Creamy White
Very closescore 1.10
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · M230-1
Sweet Coconut Milk
Very closescore 1.15
Option 3 · BWC-23
Vanilla Frost
Very closescore 1.20
North American colour card.
Closest · DEW346
Swan White
Near identicalscore 0.42
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · DE6169
Milk Mustache
Near identicalscore 0.89
Option 3 · DEW339
Bone China
Near identicalscore 0.96
From the trade
Paint Pointing 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 Pointing, 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.