Paint colors for your home, inside and out
19th-century French painting · art-to-room palette
This palette is built from the warm, golden tones of Renoir's 1879 circus painting: soft cream, sandy beige, olive-brown and a few bright accents. It suits living rooms, dining rooms and kitchens where you want a sunny, settled feel without going stark white.
Quick answer
Use the pale cream (#DCD3B7, LRV 65) on the walls and the sandy beige (#CBB6A1) for the main furniture or large soft furnishings. Keep the deep olive-brown (#756A51) for wood, and save the yellow-green and burnt orange for a few textiles and one accent piece.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
Golden Straw Ochre#B39E59 |
|
35 | Small accents, art, accessories |
Warm Sand Beige#CBB6A1 |
|
49 | Bed, sofa, curtains |
Soft Cream Parchment#DCD3B7 |
|
65 | Main walls |
Deep Olive Brown#756A51 |
|
15 | Wood and frames |
Bright Citron Yellow#C5B23F |
|
44 | One small textile |
Burnt Amber Orange#BF7D2F |
|
26 | One bold piece |
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.
#C5C3B5North light is cool and flat, so the cream wall (#DCD3B7, LRV 65) will look a little grayer and quieter than it does on the swatch. Its warm yellow undertone helps, and at LRV 65 it still bounces enough light to keep the room from feeling dim.
#E4D7B9Strong south light will bring out the yellow in the cream and make it glow. At LRV 65 it stays easy on the eyes, but test a large sample first if you dislike a buttery look.
#BEAA86Warm evening bulbs add more yellow to an already yellow-leaning cream, so the walls will feel cozy and golden. If that gets too heavy, choose bulbs with a slightly cooler warm-white tone.
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 Olive Brown and the rug border takes Bright Citron Yellow 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.
The pale cream (#DCD3B7, LRV 65) is the best wall choice. It reads light and reflects plenty of light, and the other colors work around it. The closest paint matches are listed on this page.
You can, but it is a mid-tone at LRV 35, so it will absorb a fair amount of light. It works best in a room with good daylight, or on a single feature wall. Pair it with the cream on the other walls.
Keep them to small touches such as cushions, a throw, a lamp base or a vase. Together they make up under 5% of the painting's colors, and that restraint is a good guide for a room too.
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.
