Paint colors for your home, inside and out
19th-century Italian painting · art-to-room palette
This palette comes from Antonio Mancini's "Resting" (c. 1887, The Art Institute of Chicago). It pairs a creamy off-white with caramel, tan and deep brown, and it suits living rooms, bedrooms and dens where you want a warm, settled feel.
Quick answer
Put the creamy #F0E5D0 on the walls, the golden #D2AA77 as the main color in larger furnishings, and the brown #664528 in wood pieces. Use #B3885C for textiles, #987E5F for an accent wall or pillows, and keep the near-black #2F231B for small, strong touches.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
Espresso Shadow Brown#2F231B |
|
2 | Small accents, art, accessories |
Muted Khaki Tan#987E5F |
|
22 | One bold piece |
Deep Walnut Brown#664528 |
|
7 | Wood and frames |
Warm Cream White#F0E5D0 |
|
79 | Main walls |
Caramel Textile Tan#B3885C |
|
28 | One small textile |
Soft Golden Sand#D2AA77 |
|
44 | Bed, sofa, curtains |
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.
#D2CEC6With an LRV of 79, the cream wall color stays bright, but north light is cool and can pull the warm yellow undertone toward a flatter, grayer beige. Pick a sample that looks a little warmer than you want and check it on the wall before you commit.
#F3E5CCStrong south light suits this cream well. It will read as a clean, soft off-white that bounces light around the room, and the yellow undertone may look a touch more buttery at midday.
#CAB595Warm evening bulbs will push the cream toward yellow and make it feel cozier and slightly deeper. If you want it to stay closer to off-white, choose bulbs with a softer, less orange glow.
Pick which painting color goes on the walls, the big furniture and the bold piece. Floors, shadows and light follow your choices.
Wood takes Deep Walnut Brown and the rug border takes Caramel Textile Tan 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 an LRV of 2 absorbs almost all light and makes a room feel small unless it is large and well lit. It works better on a single wall, a door, trim or built-in shelving, set against the cream.
The cream #F0E5D0 is the best wall choice in this palette. At LRV 79 it reads light and reflects light, and it gives the darker browns and tans a calm backdrop.
Keep #987E5F (LRV 22) and #B3885C (LRV 28) to smaller areas such as pillows, throws, a single accent wall or a rug. Let the cream cover most of the surfaces, and add the golden #D2AA77 (LRV 44) for furniture or drapes to bridge light and dark.
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.
