Paint colors for your home, inside and out
15th-century Spanish painting · art-to-room palette
This palette comes from Bernat Martorell's 'Saint George and the Dragon' (1434-35, The Art Institute of Chicago), a tempera on panel. It is warm and golden from end to end, and it suits a calm living room, dining room or study where you want a glow rather than contrast.
Quick answer
Put the pale cream #EBDAC5 on the walls and the sandy tan #D5A673 on a feature wall, curtains or large upholstery. Use the near-black brown #442A10 for wood furniture or trim, the deep olive-brown #71511E for an accent chair or door, and the amber #DA9332 and bright yellow #F9CC6A for small textiles and lamps.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
Sandy Tan#D5A673 |
|
43 | Bed, sofa, curtains |
Pale Warm Cream#EBDAC5 |
|
72 | Main walls |
Dark Walnut Brown#442A10 |
|
3 | Wood and frames |
Deep Olive Brown#71511E |
|
10 | One bold piece |
Amber Gold#DA9332 |
|
36 | One small textile |
Soft Butter Yellow#F9CC6A |
|
64 | Small accents, art, accessories |
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.
#CFC8BEThe cream wall color (#EBDAC5, LRV 72) will look a little calmer and slightly deeper in cool north light, but its warm yellow undertone keeps the room from feeling gray. It still reflects plenty of light, so it works well in a north-facing room that needs brightening.
#EFDDC4In strong south light, the cream (#EBDAC5) will look bright and sunny, and its yellow undertone will show more. If that feels too yellow, keep it to the walls and let the darker browns on furniture and trim anchor the room.
#C7AE8EUnder warm evening bulbs, the cream will turn toward honey and feel cozy, and the tan and amber will deepen and glow. Choose bulbs that are not too orange, or the whole palette may start to look heavy and brown.
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 Amber Gold 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 LRV is 3, so it will absorb almost all the light and read very dark. It is safer on a door, built-in shelving or trim, or on a small room you want to feel enclosed, with lighter cream on the ceiling.
The cream #EBDAC5 has an LRV of 72, so it reads light and bounces light around the room. It is the easiest of these colors to live with on large wall areas. The sandy tan #D5A673 (LRV 43) suits a single feature wall.
Keep them small. The amber #DA9332 and butter yellow #F9CC6A each take up only a few percent of the painting, so a cushion, a throw, a lampshade or a vase is enough. Let the cream and tan carry the larger surfaces.
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.
