Paint colors for your home, inside and out
16th-century Italian painting · art-to-room palette
This palette comes from Girolamo da Carpi's oil on panel, Saint Luke Drawing the Virgin and Christ Child, c. 1535, now at The Art Institute of Chicago. It is mostly deep browns with a tan, a forest green, a dusty rose and a pale apricot, and it suits studies, dining rooms and bedrooms where you want a snug, enclosed feel.
Quick answer
Use the pale apricot (#FFC78C, LRV 64) on the walls and the tan (#C39566) as the main color in larger furnishings or a feature wall. Bring in the brown wood tone (#65543F) for floors and furniture, the green (#435E2D) for an accent, and the dusty rose (#AE7466) for textiles. Keep the darkest brown (#443C31) for small areas like trim, a door or a bookcase interior.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
Dark Umber Brown#443C31 |
|
5 | Small accents, art, accessories |
Walnut Wood Brown#65543F |
|
10 | Wood and frames |
Warm Tan Gold#C39566 |
|
34 | Bed, sofa, curtains |
Deep Forest Green#435E2D |
|
9 | One bold piece |
Dusty Terracotta Rose#AE7466 |
|
23 | One small textile |
Pale Apricot Cream#FFC78C |
|
64 | 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.
#DCBC9ANorth light is cool and flat, so the apricot wall (#FFC78C, LRV 64) will look softer and a little less yellow, which keeps it from feeling cold. Expect the tan (#C39566, LRV 34) to read darker and more muted, so use it in small doses here.
#FFCE97Strong south light brings out the warm yellow in the apricot, and at LRV 64 it will glow and bounce plenty of light around the room. The tan will look richer and more golden, and the deep green and brown accents will stay grounded instead of looking heavy.
#D2A36DWarm evening bulbs push all of these colors further toward orange and amber. The apricot wall will look deeper and cozier, and the dusty rose textiles will warm up. Choose bulbs with a lower warmth setting if you want the green accent to stay clearly green.
Pick which painting color goes on the walls, the big furniture and the bold piece. Floors, shadows and light follow your choices.
Wood takes Walnut Wood Brown and the rug border takes Dusty Terracotta Rose 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.
You can, but at LRV 5 it absorbs almost all light and suits only a small, well-lit room or a single wall. For most homes, it works better on trim, doors or built-in shelving.
The pale apricot (#FFC78C, LRV 64) is the lightest color here, so it reflects the most light. Pair it with the tan and the wood brown in furniture to keep the room warm without making it feel closed in.
Keep it as an accent, such as a chair, a curtain or a painted cabinet. The green is deep at LRV 9, so a little goes a long way against the warm tan and apricot.
Image: The Art Institute of Chicago, 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.
