Farrow & Ball · No. 281 · Blues
Farrow & Ball
Stiffkey Blue
Valspar
Hampton Surf
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 · 115
Juniper Ash
Similarscore 3.59
A sensible alternative, but clearly its own colour beside the original.
Option 2 · 208
Hicks' Blue
Similarscore 3.95
Option 3 · 251
Woad
Nearest availablescore 6.58
Sold through independent stockists in the UK and mixed to order.
UK stockists
Closest · HC-156
Van Deusen Blue
Very closescore 1.92
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 2128-30
Evening Dove
Very closescore 1.96
Option 3 · HC-155
Newburyport Blue
Closescore 2.32
North American colour card.
Closest · SW 2740
Mineral Gray
Closescore 3.45
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · SW 7602
Indigo Batik
Similarscore 4.38
Option 3 · SW 6251
Outerspace
Similarscore 4.51
North American colour card. The Valspar range sold in UK stores is different.
Closest · 4010-5
Hampton Surf
Near identicalscore 0.88
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · 4004-4C
Midnight Shadow
Very closescore 1.48
Option 3 · 4006-4C
Moon Shade
Very closescore 1.52
North American colour card.
Closest · 1040-7
Goblin
Closescore 2.63
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · 1163-6
Blue Fjord
Similarscore 3.50
Option 3 · 10-09
Soothing Sapphire
Similarscore 3.82
North American colour card.
Closest · QE-55
Harbour (marquee)
Very closescore 1.47
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 760F-6
Distant Thunder
Closescore 2.61
Option 3 · PPU14-19
English Channel
Closescore 2.71
North American colour card.
Closest · DE5824
Outer Space
Closescore 3.04
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · DE6335
Novelty Navy
Similarscore 3.87
Option 3 · DE5804
Nightfall
Similarscore 4.01
From the trade
Paint Stiffkey Blue 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 Stiffkey Blue, 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.
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.