Paint colors for your home, inside and out
18th-century Italian painting · art-to-room palette
This palette comes from Francesco Guardi's oil painting The Antechamber of the Sala del Maggior Consiglio, ca. 1765–68, in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It runs from pale butter yellow to deep umber, all with warm yellow or red-orange undertones, so it suits rooms that need warmth and a soft, aged feel.
Quick answer
Use the palest yellow (#F4D27A, LRV 67) on the main walls and the soft wheat gold (#D1B66B, LRV 48) on a feature wall or large built-in. Save the mid olive gold for accents such as cushions, the darker bronze for textiles and curtains, the rust clay for wood, and the deepest umber for a small, low-contrast detail.
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 brown#615238 |
|
9 | Small accents, art, accessories |
dusty olive gold#9E8E63 |
|
28 | One bold piece |
dark antique bronze#857046 |
|
17 | One small textile |
soft wheat gold#D1B66B |
|
48 | Bed, sofa, curtains |
pale butter yellow#F4D27A |
|
67 | Main walls |
warm rust clay#9B694B |
|
18 | Wood and frames |
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.
#D5C28EIn north light the pale butter wall will look softer and a little cooler, so the warm undertone will be quieter. The wheat gold will read more muted and grey-leaning, which can feel calm in a room that gets little direct sun.
#F6D689In strong south light the pale butter wall will brighten and warm up, and it may look close to cream. The wheat gold and rust clay will look richer, so test a large swatch before you commit to a deep tone on a sunny wall.
#CCAA63Under warm evening bulbs the yellows will deepen and turn more golden, and the umber and bronze will feel cozier. Check the palest wall under your own lamps, since warm bulbs can push it toward a stronger yellow than it shows by day.
Pick which painting color goes on the walls, the big furniture and the bold piece. Floors, shadows and light follow your choices.
Wood takes warm rust clay and the rug border takes dark antique bronze 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, especially in a room with good light, since the pale butter yellow has an LRV of 67 and reflects light well. In a dim room, pair it with the wheat gold on one wall so the space does not feel flat.
The soft wheat gold (#D1B66B, LRV 48) works well as a feature wall behind a sofa or bed. It has enough depth to stand out from the pale wall without feeling heavy.
Use it in small amounts, such as a door, a cabinet or a narrow band of trim, rather than on all walls. Its LRV of 9 reads very dark, so in a small room it can make the space feel closed in.
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.
