Farrow & Ball · No. 86 · Blues
Farrow & Ball
Stone Blue
Sherwin-Williams
Tranquil Aqua
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 · 108
James
Similarscore 4.62
A sensible alternative, but clearly its own colour beside the original.
Option 2 ·
Grey Stone
Similarscore 4.90
Option 3 · 104
Blue Verditer
Nearest availablescore 5.76
Sold through independent stockists in the UK and mixed to order.
UK stockists
Closest · 2135-40
Province Blue
Closescore 2.44
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · 1649
Polaris Blue
Closescore 2.66
Option 3 · 719
Hemlock
Closescore 2.90
North American colour card.
Closest · SW 7611
Tranquil Aqua
Closescore 2.15
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · SW 9135
Whirlpool
Closescore 2.34
Option 3 · SW 7603
Poolhouse
Closescore 3.19
North American colour card. The Valspar range sold in UK stores is different.
Closest · 5001-6A
Flood Tide
Closescore 2.32
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · 4007-6A
Nostalgia
Similarscore 4.66
Option 3 · 4008-4A
Pulitzer Blue
Similarscore 4.91
North American colour card.
Closest · 1154-5
Serene Stream
Closescore 2.79
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · 1149-5
Baritone
Closescore 3.49
Option 3 · 1148-5
Cathedral Glass
Similarscore 3.60
North American colour card.
Closest · MQ5-27
Rainy Season
Closescore 2.65
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · N500-5
Magnetic Gray
Closescore 2.89
Option 3 · 760F-5
Milestone
Similarscore 3.98
North American colour card.
Closest · DE5794
Lake Winnipeg
Similarscore 3.77
A sensible alternative, but clearly its own colour beside the original.
Option 2 · DE5795
Spirit Mountain
Similarscore 4.44
Option 3 · DE5802
China Clay
Similarscore 4.94
From the trade
Paint Stone 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 Stone 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.
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.