Farrow & Ball · No. 288 · Blues
Farrow & Ball
Vardo
Behr
Tornado Season
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 · 310
Tea with Florence
Nearest availablescore 5.55
This brand has nothing closer. Treat it as a starting point only.
Option 2 · 94
Canton
Nearest availablescore 7.32
Option 3 · 260
Air Force Blue
Nearest availablescore 8.09
Sold through independent stockists in the UK and mixed to order.
UK stockists
Closest · 727
Calypso Blue
Closescore 2.98
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · 2049-30
Teal Ocean
Similarscore 4.06
Option 3 · 755
Salzburg Blue
Similarscore 4.39
North American colour card.
Closest · SW 6488
Grand Canal
Closescore 2.07
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · SW 6775
Briny
Similarscore 4.72
Option 3 · SW 6480
Lagoon
Nearest availablescore 5.05
North American colour card. The Valspar range sold in UK stores is different.
Closest · 5006-8C
Fish Story
Closescore 2.46
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · 5005-8C
Starry Sky
Closescore 2.68
Option 3 · 5004-10C
Bay Teal
Similarscore 4.67
North American colour card.
Closest · 1146-6
Lucky Shamrock
Closescore 2.41
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · 1147-6
Jade Jewel
Similarscore 3.83
Option 3 · 1150-6
Bermuda
Similarscore 4.78
North American colour card.
Closest · S450-6
Tornado Season
Very closescore 1.70
A small difference you may see with the two side by side.
Option 2 · 530F-6
Heron
Closescore 2.31
Option 3 · 530D-7
Grand Rapids
Closescore 2.87
North American colour card.
Closest · DE5768
Mysterious Blue
Closescore 3.11
Same family and depth. Expect a slight shift in warmth or strength.
Option 2 · DE5761
River Fountain
Similarscore 4.30
Option 3 · DE5740
Deep Lagoon
Similarscore 4.65
From the trade
Paint Vardo 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 Vardo, 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.