Farrow & Ball · No. 290 · Neutrals and stones
Farrow & Ball
Salon Drab
Sherwin-Williams
Smokehouse
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 10.07
This brand has nothing closer. Treat it as a starting point only.
Option 2 · 40
Silt
Nearest availablescore 10.57
Option 3 · 315
Nether Red
Nearest availablescore 12.76
Sold through independent stockists in the UK and mixed to order.
UK stockists
Closest · 1000
Northwood Brown
Very closescore 1.12
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 1554
Dash of Pepper
Closescore 2.41
Option 3 · CSP-1050
Hope Chest
Closescore 2.89
North American colour card.
Closest · SW 7040
Smokehouse
Near identicalscore 0.60
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · SW 7033
Brainstorm Bronze
Very closescore 1.80
Option 3 · SW 6152
Superior Bronze
Closescore 2.10
North American colour card. The Valspar range sold in UK stores is different.
Closest · 3008-9A
Stampede
Near identicalscore 0.63
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · 2007-9A
Shutter Brown
Very closescore 1.73
Option 3 · 3009-10
Treetrunk
Very closescore 1.99
North American colour card.
Closest · 1021-6
Curlew
Very closescore 1.62
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 15-18
Introspective
Closescore 2.00
Option 3 · 1022-6
Granite
Closescore 3.07
North American colour card.
Closest · HDC-SM14-4
Tan Bark Trail
Very closescore 1.95
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · N230-6
Whiskey Barrel
Closescore 2.71
Option 3 · N180-6
Derby
Closescore 3.32
North American colour card.
Closest · DEC755
Cocoa
Very closescore 1.36
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · DE6217
Ancient Earth
Closescore 2.11
Option 3 · DE6224
Treasure Chest
Similarscore 3.55
From the trade
Paint Salon Drab 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 Salon Drab, 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.