Paint colors for your home, inside and out
17th-century Dutch painting · art-to-room palette
This palette comes from The Music Lesson, painted by Gerard ter Borch the Younger around 1670 and now at The Art Institute of Chicago. It is a warm, low-contrast scheme of deep browns and soft creams that suits a quiet living room, study or dining room.
Quick answer
Use the pale cream (#F4E9D3) on the walls and the sandy beige (#CEC3AF) as the main color on larger furniture or a secondary wall. Keep the deep brown (#41382D) for an accent such as a door, built-in shelving or one feature wall, and let the mid-brown (#715A41) show up in wood, with the muted rose-tan (#D0AA8E) in 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
Deep Umber Brown#41382D |
|
4 | One bold piece |
Warm Walnut Brown#715A41 |
|
11 | Wood and frames |
Muted Olive Taupe#8B8372 |
|
23 | Small accents, art, accessories |
Sandy Parchment Beige#CEC3AF |
|
55 | Bed, sofa, curtains |
Soft Clay Rose#D0AA8E |
|
44 | One small textile |
Pale Candle Cream#F4E9D3 |
|
82 | Main walls |
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.
#D5D1C8The wall color, Pale Candle Cream (LRV 82), stays light in north light, but the cool daylight can make its yellow undertone look a little flatter and grayer. Pair it with the warm wood and textile tones to keep the room from feeling chilly.
#F6E8CFIn strong south light, Pale Candle Cream (LRV 82) reflects a lot of brightness and reads as a soft, buttery white. If glare is a problem, use the sandy beige (LRV 55) on the walls instead.
#CCB696Under warm evening bulbs, the yellow undertone in Pale Candle Cream deepens and the walls take on a gentle glow. Expect the room to feel cozier, and the brown accents to look richer and darker.
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 Walnut Brown and the rug border takes Soft Clay Rose 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 it has an LRV of 4, so it absorbs almost all light and will make a room feel small and dim unless it has strong lighting. It works best on one wall, a door or built-in cabinetry, with the cream colors elsewhere.
Pale Candle Cream (LRV 82) is the best choice for the walls, because it bounces light and keeps the space open. Add the deeper browns in small doses, such as a picture frame, a chair or a table.
Keep it to textiles such as cushions, a throw or curtains. At LRV 44 with a warm red-orange undertone, it adds a soft note of warmth against the cream walls and brown wood.
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.
