Farrow & Ball · CC1 · Greys
Farrow & Ball
Tar
Dunn-Edwards
Cavernous
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
Closescore 3.14
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · 115
Juniper Ash
Nearest availablescore 8.56
Option 3 · 312
Harley Green
Nearest availablescore 10.40
Sold through independent stockists in the UK and mixed to order.
UK stockists
Closest · 2134-30
Iron Mountain
Very closescore 1.71
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 2121-10
Gray
Very closescore 1.76
Option 3 · CW-685
Ambler Slate
Closescore 2.32
North American colour card.
Closest · SW 7674
Peppercorn
Very closescore 1.76
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · SW 9154
Perle Noir
Similarscore 3.55
Option 3 · SW 7048
Urbane Bronze
Similarscore 3.91
North American colour card. The Valspar range sold in UK stores is different.
Closest · 4004-2C
Ebony Field
Closescore 2.11
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · 6009-1
Safari Brown
Closescore 2.16
Option 3 · 4005-2C
Muskeg Grey
Closescore 2.17
North American colour card.
Closest · 1010-7
Zombie
Closescore 2.75
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · 1001-6
Knight's Armor
Similarscore 3.53
Option 3 · 1037-7
Witchcraft
Similarscore 4.18
North American colour card.
Closest · QE-62
Maximum Gray
Very closescore 1.26
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · BXC-71
Wood Acres
Very closescore 1.33
Option 3 · PPU18-01
Cracked Pepper
Very closescore 1.45
North American colour card.
Closest · DE6364
Cavernous
Near identicalscore 0.74
Most people could not tell these apart on the wall.
Option 2 · DE6378
Jet
Very closescore 1.66
Option 3 · DE6371
Black Jack
Closescore 2.13
From the trade
Paint Tar 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 Tar, 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.
Tar 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.