Paint colors for your home, inside and out
19th-century painting · art-to-room palette
This palette is built from the dark browns, tarnished golds and brick reds in Charles Gifford Dyer's 1877 oil painting, Seventeenth-Century Interior, held by The Art Institute of Chicago. It suits a snug room with plenty of wood, such as a study, a dining room or a reading corner.
Quick answer
Use the pale gold #FDD092 on the walls, the deep brown #53442B for wood trim and furniture, and the brick red #884232 for one accent piece. Keep the near-black #2E261D for small touches, and let the rust #8C562E show up in curtains, rugs or cushions.
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 Umber Shadow#2E261D |
|
2 | Small accents, art, accessories |
Dark Walnut Brown#53442B |
|
6 | Wood and frames |
Muted Antique Gold#907755 |
|
20 | Bed, sofa, curtains |
Brick Red Accent#884232 |
|
9 | One bold piece |
Rust Textile Brown#8C562E |
|
12 | One small textile |
Warm Ochre Gold#9C763D |
|
20 | 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.
This painting has no light tone, so the wall color above is a lightened version of its palest color (#FDD092).
The wall color shifted for the light it will live in. Check the version closest to your room before buying a sample.
#DAC19DNorth light is cool and soft, so the pale gold wall #FDD092 will look a little quieter and more buttery than it does on a swatch. It helps a north-facing room feel warmer, and the dark wood tones will read deep rather than muddy.
#FDD59CStrong south light brings out the yellow in #FDD092, so it will glow and look brighter through the middle of the day. Pair it with the dark browns to keep the room from feeling too sunny, and test a large sample before you commit.
#D1A871Warm evening bulbs push the gold toward amber and make the whole room feel enclosed and cozy. The brick red and rust will look richer, while the darkest browns will nearly disappear into shadow.
Pick which painting color goes on the walls, the big furniture and the bold piece. Floors, shadows and light follow your choices.
Wood takes Dark Walnut Brown and the rug border takes Rust Textile 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.
Yes, if you keep the walls pale. The wall color #FDD092 is the light one, and the browns with an LRV of 2 to 12 work best on wood, trim and furniture. Used that way, they add depth without shrinking the room.
Keep it to one accent, such as a single chair, a door or a piece of art. At LRV 9 it is deep and strong, so a small amount goes a long way.
The painting itself has no light tone, so #FDD092 is a lightened version of its palest color, and no LRV was measured for it. The palest measured colors in the painting are #907755 and #9C763D, both at LRV 20. Check the LRV on the sample you choose, and expect a light, warm wall that bounces more light than any of the painted browns.
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.
