Paint colors for your home, inside and out
18th-century Italian painting · art-to-room palette
This palette is built from the browns, ochres, and pale creams of an 18th-century Venetian painting, with a deep shadow tone and a clean, very light cream. It suits rooms that need warmth and depth, especially spaces with a traditional or old-world feel.
Quick answer
Use the pale cream on the main wall and the sand tone on a second wall or trim. Put the deep ochre on wood, such as doors or shelving, and the dark brown on textiles like rugs, drapes, and upholstery. Keep the clay tone for one accent wall, and save the black for small details only.
Measured from the image and ordered by how much of the canvas they cover. LRV is how much light a color reflects, from 0 for black to 100 for white.
Left, every pixel of the canvas snapped to its nearest palette color. Right, the detail where each color is strongest.
The nearest color from each brand. “Near-identical” and “Very close” are hard to tell apart on a wall; with “Similar”, compare a sample with the painting. Brands with nothing close are left out.
| Painting color | Closest paints | LRV | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|
Deep Espresso Brown#42352A |
|
4 | One small textile |
Warm Clay Taupe#AA8E78 |
|
29 | One bold piece |
Burnished Ochre Brown#826B50 |
|
16 | Wood and frames |
True Black#010101 |
|
0 | Small accents, art, accessories |
Pale Straw Sand#E1C18A |
|
56 | Bed, sofa, curtains |
Soft Ivory Cream#FFF4DE |
|
91 | Main walls |
Paint names belong to their brands. Matches are measured from screen colors and are approximate; Light & Pigment is not affiliated with any paint brand.
The wall color shifted for the light it will live in. Check the version closest to your room before buying a sample.
#DCD8CEIn north light, the cream wall will look cooler and slightly grey, so the warm undertone may fade. The sand tone will look flatter here. Choose the warmer end of the palette for rooms that get little direct sun.
#FFF1D7Strong south light makes the cream wall look bright and close to white, and it can feel glaring in a large room. The sand and clay tones will look rich and clear. This is a good setting for the ochre wood and the deep brown textiles.
#D2BD9CUnder warm evening bulbs, the sand and cream walls turn golden and the clay tone looks deeper. The ochre and brown will look richer and more glowing. Most rooms with this palette look their best after dark.
Pick which painting color goes on the walls, the big furniture and the bold piece. Floors, shadows and light follow your choices.
Wood takes Burnished Ochre Brown and the rug border takes Deep Espresso Brown in every combination.
Details from the painting next to the colors and materials that carry them into a room.
A card with the painting, all 6 colors and a room scheme. Pin it, or take it to the paint store.
The espresso brown has a light reflectance value of 4, so it absorbs most of the light that hits it. On a full room it can feel closed in, especially in a small space. Use it on one wall, a built-in, or in textiles, and keep the other walls lighter.
True black has no clear undertone and a light reflectance value of 0. It works best in small amounts, such as window frames, hardware, or a thin line of trim. Too much of it on walls will make the palette feel harsh.
Use the cream as the main wall color because it reflects the most light. Use the sand tone on a second wall or on trim, where its slightly deeper value adds contrast without making the room feel dark. Check both colors in your own light before you commit.
Image: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public domain (CC0). Palette, posterized image, details and room views generated by Light & Pigment from that image. Colors look different on screen than on a wall, so always test a sample.
