Farrow & Ball · No. 31 · Greys
Farrow & Ball
Railings
Dunn-Edwards
Salem Black
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 · 227
Scree
Nearest availablescore 7.27
This brand has nothing closer. Treat it as a starting point only.
Option 2 · 252
Dock Blue
Nearest availablescore 7.46
Option 3 · 115
Juniper Ash
Nearest availablescore 8.85
Sold through independent stockists in the UK and mixed to order.
UK stockists
Closest · 2126-20
Raccoon Fur
Near identicalscore 0.83
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · 2132-30
Black Horizon
Very closescore 1.19
Option 3 · 1603
Graphite
Very closescore 1.41
North American colour card.
Closest · SW 7076
Cyberspace
Very closescore 1.19
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · SW 7069
Iron Ore
Similarscore 3.69
Option 3 · SW 9154
Perle Noir
Similarscore 3.88
North American colour card. The Valspar range sold in UK stores is different.
Closest · 4009-2
Noir
Very closescore 1.68
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 5011-2
Very Black
Closescore 2.01
Option 3 · 5011-1
Nocturnal Green
Closescore 2.16
North American colour card.
Closest · 1037-7
Witchcraft
Very closescore 1.63
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 1012-7
Black Forest
Closescore 2.61
Option 3 · 1011-7
Onyx
Closescore 3.15
North American colour card.
Closest · HDC-WR14-4
Winter Coat
Very closescore 1.09
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · HDC-CL-24
Black Ribbon
Closescore 2.01
Option 3 · BXC-23
Catskill Brown
Closescore 2.02
North American colour card.
Closest · DE6343
Salem Black
Near identicalscore 0.74
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · DEA188
Black Bay
Near identicalscore 0.94
Option 3 · DE6336
Stargazing
Very closescore 1.26
From the trade
Paint Railings 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 Railings, 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.
Railings 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.