Paint colors for your home, inside and out
19th-century painting · art-to-room palette
This palette is taken from George Hitchcock's 1887 oil painting "Flower Girl in Holland," held by The Art Institute of Chicago. It is built on warm khaki, deep greens and slate blue, with one pale sea-green tone that keeps it from feeling heavy, so it suits rooms that want an earthy, muted scheme.
Quick answer
Use the pale sea-green #C2E7DF on the walls, since it is the only light tone here and it reflects the most light. Make the warm khaki #8F826A the main large surface, such as a sofa, cabinetry or a rug, use the deep spruce #405844 as an accent on a door, bookcase or trim, and add the brick rust #925B4C through textiles.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
warm khaki stone#8F826A |
|
23 | Bed, sofa, curtains |
deep spruce green#405844 |
|
9 | One bold piece |
dusky olive green#616B53 |
|
14 | Small accents, art, accessories |
pale sea-glass green#C2E7DF |
|
74 | Main walls |
slate blue-gray#57667A |
|
13 | Small accents, art, accessories |
muted brick rust#925B4C |
|
14 | One small textile |
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.
#B4D0CFNorth light is cool and even, so the pale sea-green wall will look cooler and a little greyer. Its light reflectance value of 74 still keeps the room bright, but pair it with warm wood or warm white trim to avoid a flat look.
#CFE7D8Strong south light brightens the pale sea-green wall and can make it read softer and more open. The deep greens and khaki will look richer in this light, so check that the wall does not wash out the darker furniture beside it.
#B0B59DWarm evening bulbs push the pale green toward a softer, more yellow-leaning tone. The khaki and rust will look warmer and cozier, while the deep greens and slate blue will look darker, so test samples under your own lamps before you commit.
Pick which painting color goes on the walls, the big furniture and the bold piece. Floors, shadows and light follow your choices.
Wood takes a warm mid-brown and the rug border takes muted brick rust 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 its light reflectance value of 74 reads light and bounces a lot of light around the room. Many people paint one or two walls in it and keep the others in a warm neutral or the khaki, so the room does not feel too cool.
They can. The deep spruce at a light reflectance value of 8 and the dusky olive at 14 both read very dark. Use them on one feature wall, a cabinet or a door, and keep the rest of the room lighter to avoid a cave-like feel.
Keep it small. In the painting it covers only about 3 percent of the canvas, so use it in textiles such as pillows, a throw or a small rug. A few pieces add warmth without taking over the room.
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.
